Exam 20: Uncertainty and Information

-Jimmy's utility of wealth schedule is given in the table above. Jimmy has a job with a one-third chance of earning $200 and a two-thirds chance of earnings $400. Jimmy's cost of risk is

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?

Consider a market for used cars. Suppose there are only two kind of cars: lemons and good cars. A lemon is worth $1,500 both to its current owner and to anyone who buys it. A good car is worth $6,000 to its current and potential owners. Buyers can't tell whether a car is a lemon until after they have bought the car. What do economists call the problem that buyers of used cars face? What is the price of a used car? Explain and substantiate your answer.

What is private information and what problems does it create?

-Andrew's utility of wealth schedule is depicted in the above table. Andrew is offered a job as a cook which pays $10,000. He is also offered a job as a server which will pay $5,000 if tips are poor and $15,000 if tips are good. There is a 50 percent chance that tips will be poor and a 50 percent chance that tips will be good. Given the nature of Andrew's job offers and his utility of wealth schedule, Andrew will

For a risk-averse individual, as wealth increases, total utility ________ and marginal utility ________.

-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

-George is considering investing in a frozen yogurt store. If the store does well he will make $20,0000, but if the store does poorly he will make only $10,000. There is a 50 percent chance of each outcome. His utility of wealth schedule is in the above table. The expected utility of this investment is

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. 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.

-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. If Steve buys the insurance for $1,000, his expected wealth will be ________, and his expected utility will be ________ than with no insurance.

Adverse selection is created by

Option A provides $9,000 with probability 50 percent or $11,000 with probability 50 percent. Option B provides $8,000 with probability 50 percent or $12,000 with probability 50 percent. For most people the cost of risk associated with B is

-Andrew's utility of wealth schedule is depicted in the above table. Andrew is offered a job as a cook which pays $10,000. He is also offered a job as a server which will pay $5,000 if tips are poor and $15,000 if tips are good. There is a 50 percent chance that tips will be poor and a 50 percent chance that tips will be good. Given the nature of Andrew's job offers and his utility of wealth schedule, Andrew's expected utility from working as a cook is ________ and from working as a server is ________.

Moral hazard is

-John's utility of wealth curve is shown in the above figure. He currently has total wealth of $20,000. If there is a 50 percent chance that his $10,000 car will be stolen, what is the value of insurance against the theft?

Joe is contemplating a job where, with probability 0.6, he will make $100,000 and with probability 0.4 he will make $30,000. What is Joe's expected income from taking the job?

Assuming that the marginal utility of wealth diminishes implies that

-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?

-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?