The following table gives hypothetical annual total costs and total benefits of maintaining alternative populations of Asian elephants.

a. Calculate the marginal costs and benefits, and draw marginal benefit and cost schedules.
b. Given the data, what is the socially optimal world population of Asian elephants?
c. Suppose that two events occur simultaneously. Technological development allows machines to do more efficiently much of the work that elephants once did, which reduces by $10 million the marginal benefit of maintaining the elephant population for each 7,500 increment in the elephant population. In addition, new techniques for breeding, feeding, and protecting elephants reduce the marginal cost by $40 million for each 7,500 increment in the elephant population. What is the new socially optimal population of Asian elephants?

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Population of Total Cost ($ millions) Total Benefit $ millions) Asian Elephants 7,500 15,000 22,500 30,000 37,500 45,000 20 45 100 185 260 325 375 410 155 235 330