Exam 20: Uncertainty and Information

-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?

Which of the following is an example of moral hazard?

-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.

If Pearl is a risk averse, then

Insurance is possible and can be profitable because of

Mortgage insurance protects lenders when a borrower defaults by making up any shortfall needed to repay the loan if the sale of the property doesn't cover the debt. Federally regulated lenders must have mortgage insurance on loans where the buyer's down payment is less than 20 percent of the price. Why is this 20 percent threshold efficient for the insurance company?

Diminishing marginal utility of wealth leads to risk aversion because at a given level of wealth a dollar gained

-Pablo must choose among options A, B, and C. Option A gives him $10,000 for sure. Option B gives him $4,000 with probability 0.5 or $16,000 with probability 0.5. Option C gives him $8,000 with probability 0.5 or $12,000 with probability 0.5. If he receives diminishing marginal utility from wealth, Pablo will

-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

In the health insurance market, moral hazard occurs when

-John's utility of wealth curve is shown in the above figure. He currently has wealth of $20,000 and there is a 10 percent chance of losing it all. John is

-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 utility from taking this job?

The slope of the utility of wealth curve of a risk-averse person

-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

If Shaniq 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. The maximum amount that Bruce is willing to pay for a disability insurance policy that would pay him $100,000 in the case of total disability is

-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?

Explain the concept of adverse selection. Give an example.

Christy is a telemarketer. She estimates that this summer, she has a 0.2 probability of earning $10,000, a 0.5 probability of earning $5,000, and a 0.3 probability of earning only $1,000. What is Christy's expected income?

-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). Of the following, what minimum salary raise (if any) should Lucy's current employer offer her to persuade her to stay?