Exam 20: Uncertainty and Information

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?

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

-In the figure above, Lourdita faces a 0.5 probability of receiving $3,000 and a 0.5 probability of receiving $9,000. Her cost of bearing this risk is the distance from

-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. Suppose all sports cars owners are like Ashton. An insurance company agrees to pay each person who has an accident the full value of their car. The company's operating expenses are $1,000. Ashton will ________ the company's policy because the minimum premium for such insurance that the company is willing to accept is ________ the maximum premium Ashton is willing to pay.

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

If you have private information that you are a safer driver than your record indicates, you are likely to buy an insurance policy with

Moral hazard occurs because people act

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

-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, would this person buy a $20,000 insurance policy to replace the house if destroyed?

-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, the highest price for insurance this person would pay is

-Lucy works as a college instructor for a fixed annual salary of $30,000. She is considering quitting this job and becoming a real estate broker. Lucy believes that as a realtor she has a 40 percent chance to make $60,000 per year and a 60 percent chance to make $25,000 a year. The figure above shows Lucy's total utility of wealth curve (U). Lucy's expected utility from real estate brokerage is

-Gunnar can work as a campus security officer at a guaranteed salary of $20,000 per year or as a real estate agent. If Gunnar works as a real estate agent, there is a 50 percent chance that he will earn $10,000 per year and a 50 percent chance that he will earn $30,000 per year. Based on the table above, Gunnar's expected utility if he works as a real estate agent is

If an individual has a 0.3 probability of receiving $10 and a 0.7 probability of receiving $20, the expected income is