Exam 20: Uncertainty and Information

You overhear the following in the hallway, "Everyone eventually dies, so how can a life insurance company make a profit? Isn't it a losing battle? You will always have to pay the death benefit to your clients!" You know that life insurance companies can be profitable. This is because

Moral hazard occurs because people act

Nick has two job offers, one as a financial planner and one as an economist for a regional bank. The income that Nick would expect to earn as a financial planner depends how effective he is in getting clients. He estimates that he would receive either $80,000 and a utility of 75, with a probability of .50, or he would earn $30,000 and a utility of 35, with a probability of .50. The economist job would pay $45,000 per year and has a utility of 55. To maximize his expected utility, which job should Nick take?

Jon is risk averse. When he buys insurance against all risks,

-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. What is Andrew's expected utility?

An increase in Todd's wealth from $2 million to $4 million raises his utility from 400 units to 500 units. If he has a utility of wealth curve with the typical shape showing risk aversion, then with a wealth of $6 million his utility might be

Katy has an ailing and wealthy, but miserly, parent. The parent has told Katy that if she takes care of him until he dies, then she will get $100,000 in inheritance. Katy knows that there is only a 50-50 chance that her father will leave her the full amount or nothing. To take care of her father, she has to take a job that pays $30,000 where her current job pays her $70,000 per year. If her father is expected to pass away in 1 year, what is Katy's expected wealth if she takes care of her father?

Expected utility is the utility that arises from expected wealth.

Insurance companies charge a lower premium to drivers who carry a higher deductible because

Even if your college degree is irrelevant to an employer's needs, your high GPA might still get you the job because

-The above figure shows the utility of wealth curve for a homeowner whose only possession is a $50,000 house. If there is a 20 percent chance that the home could be entirely destroyed, what is the person's expected wealth?

Adverse selection occurs when a sales offer attracts the kinds of customers that the seller does not want.

In the health insurance market, moral hazard occurs when

-Marylou, whose utility of wealth curve is shown in the figure above, faces two options. Option A yields her $200 for sure. Option B has a 0.4 probability of yielding $100 and a 0.6 probability of yielding $300. Marylou

-Wendy works as a teller at a bank for a fixed salary of $1,800 per month. She is offered a job as a salesperson at which there is a 40 percent chance that she will make $5,000 a month and a 60 percent chance that she will make only $1,000 a month. The figure shows Wendy's utility of wealth curve: a) What is Wendy's expected income from the offered job? b) What is Wendy's expected utility from the offered job? c) Will Wendy accept the offer? Why or why not? d) What is the minimum fixed salary for which Wendy will continue to work for the bank and not take the sales job?

Moral hazard exists chiefly because of

Most college professors are granted tenure after six years of employment. Tenure implies a lifetime appointment. What problem does this situation create, and how can colleges minimize the problem?

-Andrew's utility of wealth schedule is depicted in the above table. Andrew is offered a job as a cook which pays $10,000. He is also offered a job as a server which will pay $5,000 if tips are poor and $15,000 if tips are good. There is a 50 percent chance that tips will be poor and a 50 percent chance that tips will be good. Given the nature of Andrew's job offers and his utility of wealth schedule, Andrew will

-Van, whose utility of wealth curve is shown in the above figure, owns a home that is valued at $100,000. Initially there is a 10 percent chance that the house will be destroyed by hurricane. As the risk of destruction due to hurricane rises from 10 percent to 20 percent, the minimum cost of insurance

The use of incentive payments for salespeople combats