Exam 20: Uncertainty and Information

-Steve owns a motorcycle valued at $5,000, and that is his only asset. There is a 5 percent chance that Steve will have an accident within a year. If he does have an accident, his motorcycle is worthless. Steve's utility of wealth curve is shown in the figure above. An insurance company agrees to pay Steve the full value of his motorcycle in case of an accident if he buys the company's insurance policy. The company's operating expenses are $500 per policy. With no insurance, Steve's expected wealth is

How can we measure the cost of risk?

What is private information and what problems does it create?

-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 wealth?

Information can be thought of as a

-Steve owns a motorcycle valued at $5,000 and that is his only asset. There is a 5 percent chance that Steve will have an accident within a year. If he does have an accident, his motorcycle is worthless. Steve's utility of wealth curve is shown in the figure above. An insurance company agrees to pay Steve the full value of his motorcycle in case of an accident if he buys the company's insurance policy. The company's operating expenses are $500 per policy. Both Steve and the insurance company will gain if the insurance premium 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 annual income from real estate brokerage is

Used car buyers believe a car is good quality when the seller signals the car's quality by offering a warranty because

Your grade point average acts as ________ to potential employers.

-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

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

Insurance can be profitable when it

If a lender checks credit reports on individuals before mailing out loan offers, it is most likely trying to avoid

A risk averse person will always buy insurance against risk.

If a salesperson is paid by the volume of sales he or she makes, then the

If Pearl is a risk averse, then

-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

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

Insurance companies

What is expected utility?