Exam 20: Uncertainty and Information

-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 cost of risk?

-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 their SUV. The company's operating expenses are $1,500. Andrew will ________ the company's policy because the minimum insurance premium that the company is willing to accept is ________ the maximum premium that Andrew is willing to pay.

The International Maritime Bureau said the waters off Somalia are the world's most dangerous, accounting for nearly a third reported pirate attacks worldwide. Suppose all boats are insured to $100,000 and pay a premium of $10,000 each. Suppose 10 out of 100 boats are attacked by pirates and these 10 file claims with their insurance. If the insurance company's only costs are the claims it must pay, has the insurance company earned an economic profit?

Dana wants to try working as an independent contractor this summer. She has a 50 percent chance that she will make $10,000 and 50 percent chance that she will make nothing. What's Dana's expected income from taking this job?

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

Insurance works because

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. The expected income as a financial planner is ________ and as an economist is ________.

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

-Based on the table and information in the previous question, which of the following is TRUE?

If Ringo is risk averse, at a wealth of $200,000 his utility of wealth curve has a ________ slope and his marginal utility of wealth is ________ than at a wealth of $100,000.

How can a warranty at the seller's expense signal that a product is high quality?

One of the ways the market for used cars copes with the problems associated with private information is through the offering of

Jessica must choose option A or option B. Option A gives her $10,000 for sure. Option B gives her $5,000 if a fair coin toss shows heads and $15,000 if it shows tails. If Jessica is risk averse her utility of wealth curve becomes

Mel's utility of wealth is 130 units at $3,000, 160 units at $5,000, and 190 units at $9,000. Starting from zero wealth, he must choose between options A and B. Option A gives him $5,000 for sure. Option B gives him $3,000 with probability 0.4 or $9,000 with probability 0.6. Mel

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?

There is a growing market for buying and selling information about the online behavior of consumers. Most people use one of only a small number of search engines (such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo!) when surfing the net. It has been hard for new search engines to gain any market share. The market for search is best considered as

If insured drivers decide to drive more recklessly than uninsured drivers do, then an adverse selection has occurred.

Adverse selection can occur when

-Ashton has the utility of wealth curve shown in the above figure. He owns a sports car worth $30,000, and that is his only wealth. Ashton is a careless driver and there is a 30 percent chance that he will have an accident within a year. If he does have an accident, his car is worthless. What is Ashton's expected wealth?

-Bobby is offered a job as a salesperson in which there is a 50 percent chance that he will make $2,000 and a 50 percent chance that he will make $10,000. Bobby's utility of wealth curve is shown in the figure above. What is Bobby's expected income from taking this job?