Exam 20: Uncertainty and Information

-Beachcomber Beatrice spent her entire wealth of $100,000 to build a beach house on the Gulf of Mexico. There is a 10 percent chance that the house will be totally destroyed by a hurricane. Beatrice's utility of wealth schedule is given in the table above. What is Beatrice's expected wealth?

If Al is risk averse, as his wealth increases, his total utility of wealth ________ and his marginal utility of wealth ________.

-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. Andrew would have the same expected utility as he currently has if his wealth was ________ and he faced no uncertainty.

Signals are believable when the cost of sending a

Suppose that there are only two types of used cars, peaches and lemons. Peaches are worth $10,000 and lemons are worth $4,000. Without effective signals such as warranties, the owners of peaches cannot sell their cars for $10,000 because the

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

Explain the concept of adverse selection. Give an example.

A risk averse person has diminishing marginal utility of wealth.

-James has a utility of wealth schedule in the above table. He is offered a job selling video games at Games Galore. James' compensation depends on how much he sells. In a poor sales period, a salesperson makes $100 per month. In a good sales period, a salesperson makes $600 per month. James is told by the manager that, in any given month, there is a 25 percent chance of a poor sales period and a 75 percent chance of a good sales period. Suppose that one of James' professors offers him the opportunity to be a research assistant for a fixed and guaranteed amount each month. What amount must James' professor pay in order to make James indifferent between being a research assistant and working at Games Galore?

-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 utility?

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?

The cost of risk is the amount by which expected wealth must increase to give the same ________ as a no-risk situation.

-Larry owns a car worth $20,000, and that is his only wealth. There is a 10 percent chance that Larry will have an accident within a year. If he does have an accident, his car is worthless. Larry's utility of wealth curve is shown in the figure above. An insurance company agrees to pay a car owner like Larry the full value of his car in case of an accident if the car owner buys the company's insurance policy. The company's operating expenses are $2,500 per policy. a) What is Larry's expected wealth? b) What is Larry's expected utility? c) What is the maximum amount that Larry is willing to pay for car insurance? d) What is the minimum premium that the insurance company is willing to accept? e) Will Larry buy the insurance policy? Why or why not?

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. What's Adriana's expected income?

-Beachcomber Beatrice spent her entire wealth of $100,000 to build a beach house on the Gulf of Mexico. There is a 10 percent chance that the house will be destroyed by a hurricane. Beatrice's utility of wealth schedule is given in the table above. What is the maximum amount that Beatrice would be willing to pay for an insurance policy that pays $100,000 if her beach house is destroyed by a hurricane?

Suppose Nara could invest her $1000 in a savings account or she could invest in the stock market. After one year, the savings account has a guaranteed 5 percent interest rate and the stock market has a 10 percent chance of tripling her money, and 90 percent chance of losing it all. What is Nara's expected wealth if she places her money in the savings account?

-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?

Suppose Nara could invest her $1000 in a savings account or she could invest in the stock market. After one year, the savings account has a guaranteed 5 percent interest rate and the stock market has a 10 percent chance of tripling her money, and 90 percent chance of losing it all. What is the difference in Nara's expected wealth between these two options?

If reckless drivers are more likely than safe drivers to buy automobile insurance, then a moral hazard problem has occurred.

-James has a utility of wealth schedule in the above table. He is offered a job selling video games at Games Galore. James' compensation depends on how much he sells. In a poor sales period, a salesperson makes $100 per month. In a good sales period, a salesperson makes $600 per month. James is told by the manager that, in any given month, there is a 25 percent chance of a poor sales period and a 75 percent chance of a good sales period. Suppose that one of James' professors offers him the opportunity to be a research assistant for a fixed and guaranteed amount each month. Comparing the two opportunities, working at Games Galore versus being a research assistant, what is James' cost of risk?