Sub part (a):
Diminishing marginal utility .
Sub part (a):
Explanation of Solution
The utility function is
Figure 1 illustrates the diminishing marginal utility.
In Figure 1, the horizontal axis measures the quantity of wealth and the vertical axis measures the utility. When the quantity of wealth increases then the additional utility decreases.
Concept introduction:
Marginal utility: Marginal utility refers to the additional units of satisfaction derived from one more additional unit of goods and services.
Diminishing marginal utility: Diminishing marginal utility refers to a decrease in the additional satisfaction as a result of increasing the consumption.
Sub Part (b):
Expected value.
Sub Part (b):
Explanation of Solution
Since the value is sure, the probability is 1. Expected value of A can be calculated as follows:
Expected value of A is $4,000,000.
Expected value of B can be calculated as follows.
Expected value of B is $4,200,000. Thus, B offers higher value.
Concept introduction:
Risk is the future uncertainty about deviation from expected earnings or expected outcome. Risk measures the uncertainty situation that an investor is willing to take to realize a gain from an investment.
Risk aversion: Risk aversion can be defined as it is a dislike of an uncertainty.
Marginal utility: Marginal utility refers to the additional units of satisfaction derived from one more additional unit of goods and services.
Diminishing marginal utility: Diminishing marginal utility refers to a decrease in the additional satisfaction as a result of increasing the consumption.
Sub part (c):
Expected utility.
Sub part (c):
Explanation of Solution
Expected utility of A can be calculated as follows:
Expected utility of A is $2,000.
Expected utility of B can be calculated as follows.
Expected utility of B is $1,800.
Concept introduction:
Risk is the future uncertainty about deviation from expected earnings or expected outcome. Risk measures the uncertainty situation that an investor is willing to take to realize a gain from an investment.
Risk aversion: Risk aversion can be defined as it is a dislike of an uncertainty.
Marginal utility: Marginal utility refers to the additional units of satisfaction derived from one more additional unit of goods and services.
Diminishing marginal utility: Diminishing marginal utility refers to a decrease in the additional satisfaction as a result of increasing the consumption.
Sub part (d):
greaterExpected utility.
Sub part (d):
Explanation of Solution
Since the expected utility from B is greater than A, the person should select A.
Concept introduction:
Risk is the future uncertainty about deviation from expected earnings or expected outcome. Risk measures the uncertainty situation that an investor is willing to take to realize a gain from an investment.
Risk aversion: Risk aversion can be defined as it is a dislike of an uncertainty.
Marginal utility: Marginal utility refers to the additional units of satisfaction derived from one more additional unit of goods and services.
Diminishing marginal utility: Diminishing marginal utility refers to a decrease in the additional satisfaction as a result of increasing the consumption.
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Chapter 27 Solutions
Principles of Economics, 7th Edition (MindTap Course List)
- Jamal has a utility function U= W1/2 where Wis his wealth in millions of 'dollars and Uis the utility he obtains from that wealth. In the final stage of a game show, the host offers Jamal a choice between (A) $4 million for sure, or (B) a gamble that pays $1million with a probability of 0.6 and $9 million with a probability of 0.4. a. Graph Jamal's utility function. Is he risk-averse? Explain. b. Does A or B offer, Jamal, a higher expected price? Explain your reasoning with appropriate calculations. (Hint: The expected value of a random variable is the weighted average of the possible outcomes, where the probabilities are the weights.) c. Does A or B offer Jamal a higher expected utility? Again, show your calculations. d. Should Jamal pick A or B? Why?arrow_forwardAlex has a utility function U = W2, where W is his wealth in millions of dollars and U is the utility he obtains from that wealth. In the final stage of a game show, the host offers Alex a choice between (A) $9 million for sure, or (B) a gamble that pays $1 million with probability 0.4 and $16 million with probability 0.6. Use the blue curve (circle points) to graph Alex's utility function at wealth levels of $0, $1 million, $4 million, $9 million, and $16 million. Utility (Thousands) 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Wealth (Millions of dollars) 16 18 20 V Utility Function (?)arrow_forwardThe following table shows the relationship between your wealth (in thousands of dollars) and your utility: Wealth Utility. 15.0 10 23.0 15 30.0 20 36.0 25 41.0 30 46.0 35 50.0 You can invest in asset A, which offers a riskless payoff of $15,000 or in asset B, which pays $5,000 with 40% probability and $25,000 with 60% probaility. Which investment do you choose? A. B, because its expected utility of 31.6 is greater than the utility of A. O B. A, because it is riskless. OC. A, because its utility is greater than the expected utility of B, which is 28.4. O D. B, because its expected utility of 30.6 is greater than the utility of A.arrow_forward
- Gary likes to gamble. Donna offers to bet him $31 on the outcome of a boat race. If Gary’s boat wins, Donna would give him $31. If Gary’s boat does not win, Gary would give her $31. Gary’s utility function is p1x^21+p2x^22, where p1 and p2 are the probabilities of events 1 and 2 and where x1 and x2 are his wealth if events 1 and 2 occur respectively. Gary’s total wealth is currently only $80 and he believes that the probability that he will win the race is 0.3. Which of the following is correct? (please submit the number corresponding to the correct answer). Taking the bet would reduce his expected utility. Taking the bet would leave his expected utility unchanged. Taking the bet would increase his expected utility. There is not enough information to determine whether taking the bet would increase or decrease his expected utility. The information given in the problem is self-contradictory.arrow_forwardMax is thinking of starting a pinball palace near a large Melbourne university. His utility is given by u(W) = 1 - (5,000/W), where W is his wealth. Max's total wealth is $15,000. With probability p = 0.7 the palace will succeed and Max's wealth will grow from $15,000 to $x. With probability 1 - p the palace will be a failure and he’ll lose $10,000, so that his wealth will be just $5,000. What is the smallest value of x that would be sufficient to make Max want to invest in the pinball palace rather than have a wealth of $15,000 with certainty? (Please round your final answer to the whole dollar, if necessary)arrow_forwardKhalid has a utility function U = W1/2, where W is his wealth in millions of dollarsand U is the utility he obtains from the wealth. In a game show, the host offershim a choice between (A) $4 million for sure, or (B) a gamble that pays $1million with probability 0.6 and $9 million with probability 0.4.i. Graph Khalid’s utility function with the help of above utility function. Ishe risk lover? Explain. ii. Does A or B choice offer Khalid a higher expected prize? Explain yourreasoning with appropriate calculations. iii. Does A or B offer Khalid a higher expected utility? Again, show yourcalculations. iv. Should Jamal pick A or B choice? Why?arrow_forward
- Gary likes to gamble. Donna offers to bet him $31 on the outcome of a boat race. If Gary's boat wins, Donna would give him $31. If Gary's boat does not win, Gary would give her $31. Gary's utility function is p1x^21+p2x^22, where P₁ and p2 are the probabilities of events 1 and 2 and where x₁ and x₂ are his wealth if events 1 and 2 occur respectively. Gary's total wealth is currently only $80 and he believes that the probability that he will win the race is 0.3. Which of the following is correct? (please submit the number corresponding to the correct answer). 1. Taking the bet would reduce his expected utility. 2. Taking the bet would leave his expected utility unchanged. 3. Taking the bet would increase his expected utility. 4. There is not enough information to determine whether taking the bet would increase or decrease his expected utility. 5. The information given in the problem is self-contradictory.arrow_forwardAmy likes to go fast in her new Mustang GT. Their utility function over wealth is v(w) where w is wealth. If Amy goes fast she gets an increase in utility equal to F. But when Amy drives fast, she is more likely to crash: when she drives fast the probability of a crash is 10%, but when she obeys the speed limit, the probability of a crash is only 5%. Amy's car is worth $2000 unless she crashes, in which case it is worth $0. If Amy doesn't have insurance, driving fast isn't worth the risk, so she will alway obey the speed limit. If Amy is offered an insurance contract with full insurance for a premium P with the deductible D, which of the inequalites below is her incentive compatibility constraint that makes sure that she will still obey the speed limit even when she is fully insured? 0.05U(2000 – P – D) + 0.95U(2000 – P) > 0.05U(0 – P – D + 2000) + 0.95U(2000 – P) 0.05U(2000 – P – D) + 0.95U(2000 – P) > 0.1(U(2000 – P – D) + F) + 0.90(U(2000 – P) + F) 0.05U(2000 – P – D) + 0.95U(2000)…arrow_forwardMicroeconomics Wilfred’s expected utility function is px1^0.5+(1−p)x2^0.5, where p is the probability that he consumes x1 and 1 - p is the probability that he consumes x2. Wilfred is offered a choice between getting a sure payment of $Z or a lottery in which he receives $2500 with probability p = 0.4 and $3700 with probability 1 - p. Wilfred will choose the sure payment if Z > CE and the lottery if Z < CE, where the value of CE is equal to ___ (please round your final answer to two decimal places if necessary)arrow_forward
- Roger's utility/u as a function of wealth/w is u = { ln w, w < 1600 w1/2, w >= 1600 Roger has $1000 and 3 options. 1. spend $400 to enter the game with probabilities of winning or losing: Win/(Lose) (500) 0 1000 3000 P(Win/(Lose)) 0.2 0.1 0.6 0.1 a. Show with workings which option roger would choose.arrow_forward2. Ronald has $18,000. But he is forced to bet it on the flip of a fair coin. If he wins he has $36,000. If he loses he has nothing. Ronald's expected utility function is 0.5x0.5 + 0.5y0.5, where x is his wealth if heads comes up and y is his wealth if tails comes up. What safe income would make him exactly as well off as this bet?arrow_forwardAntonio has a utility function U = W, where W is his wealth in millions of dollars and U is the utility he obtains from that wealth. In the final stage of a game show, the host offers Antonio a choice between (A) $9 million for sure, or (B) a gamble that pays $1 million with probability 0.4 and $16 million with probability 0.6. Use the blue curve (circle points) to graph Antonio's utility function at wealth levels of $0, $1 million, $4 million, $9 million, and $16 million. ? Utility (Thousands) 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 25 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0 + 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Wealth (Millions of dollars) 16 18 True or False: Antonio is risk averse. 20 20 Utility Function Choice True O False offers Antonio a higher expected prize. (Hint: The expected value of a random variable is the weighted average of the possible outcomes, where the probabilities are the weights.) Choice offers Antonio a higher expected utility. Antonio should pick choice,arrow_forward
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