Exam 20: Uncertainty and Information

-Andrew has the utility of wealth curve shown in the above figure. He owns an SUV worth $30,000 and that is his only wealth. There is a 10 percent chance that he will have an accident within a year. If he does have an accident, his SUV is worthless. Suppose all SUV owners are like Andrew. An insurance company agrees to pay each person who has an accident the full value of his/her SUV. The company's operating expenses are $1,500. What is the minimum insurance premium that the company is willing to accept?

A major function of incentive payments, guarantees, and signals is to enable markets to overcome the problem of

-Bruce Copperwood's utility of wealth curve is illustrated in the above figure. Bruce is presently employed at a salary of $100,000. There is a 10 percent probability that Bruce will be totally disabled, in which case he will have no wealth. An insurance company (with no operating expenses) would be willing to offer Bruce a disability insurance policy paying $100,000 in the case of total disability for a minimum premium of

You took a summer job as a salesperson in a shoe store with the knowledge that you will either make $2,000 or $3,500 with probabilities 0.4 and 0.6 respectively. What is your expected income for the summer job?

Adverse selection is the tendency for people who accept contracts to be those who

-Adriana wants to try working as an independent contractor this summer. She has a 50 percent chance that she will make $9,000 and 50 percent chance that she will make nothing. Her utility of wealth curve is shown in the figure above. What minimum fixed salary should another employer offer Adriana to persuade her to work for his firm?

"People buy insurance do protect themselves from moral hazard." True or false? Explain.

In the health insurance market, adverse selection occurs when

-Al works as a sales clerk at a department store for a fixed salary of $2,500 per month. He is offered a job as a salesperson at a car dealership in which there is a 50 percent chance that he will make $5,000 a month and a 50 percent chance that he will make only $1,000 a month. The figure above Al's utility of wealth curve: a) What is Al's expected income from the offered job? b) What is Al's expected utility from the offered job? c) Will Al accept the offer? Why or why not? d) What is the minimum fixed salary for which Al will continue to work for the department store and not accept the dealership's offer?

If Pearl is a risk averse, then

George is considering buying shares of Intel. If the company does well, he will gain $100, but if the company does poorly, he will lose $100. George is risk averse, so for George the magnitude of the pain of losing $100 will ________ the pleasure of gaining $100.

Mortgage insurance protects lenders when a borrower defaults by making up any shortfall needed to repay the loan if the sale of the property doesn't cover the debt. Federally regulated lenders must have mortgage insurance on loans where the buyer's down payment is less than 20 per cent of the price. This can partially prevent ________.

The assumption that the marginal utility of wealth diminishes implies that

-John's utility of wealth curve is shown in the above figure. He currently has wealth of $20,000. If there is a 10 percent chance of losing all his wealth, what is the value of insurance against this loss?

-Nancy's utility of wealth curve is given in the above figure. Option A gives Nancy $100 for sure. Option B gives Nancy $50 half the time and $150 half the time. Nancy's expected utility of option A

Information can be thought of as a

Rhonda's utility of wealth is 65 units at $5,000, 80 units at $7,000, and 95 units at $10,000. Starting from zero wealth, she must choose between options A and B. Option A gives her $7,000 for sure. Option B gives her $5,000 with probability 0.6 or $10,000 with probability 0.4. Rhonda

-John's utility of wealth curve is shown in the above figure. He currently has wealth of $20,000 and there is a 10 percent chance of losing it all. John is

Travel insurance (which pays a traveler if the traveler needs to cancel his or her trip) has a clause that states it will not pay if the trip is cancelled because of a pre-existing condition. If sick people are more likely to purchase travel insurance, this clause is meant to

Mike owns a car worth $20,000, and that is his only wealth. There is a 10 percent chance that Mike will have an accident within a year. If he does have an accident, his car is worthless. What is Mike's expected wealth?