A consumer with $120 income and the utility function u(x,y) = (x^2)y where x is food and y clothing can go for shopping in one of the two stores A or B, where the prices for food and clothing are respectively pAx = 1, PAy = 80 and PBx = 8, PBy = 1.
(a) If she can visit only one of the stores, which one would she go and what would be her optimal bundle there? Could she afford this very bundle at the other store? (HINT: How happy would she be if she chooses to go to store A for shopping? To store B? Which one is higher and what bundle would she buy there?)
(b) If she can freely visit both stores (so that she buys each good from the store where it is sold cheaper), what would be her optimal bundle? What would she buy from each store?
(c) How much money would she be willing to give up (out of her $120 budget) for the ability to visit both stores as in (b) rather than being restricted to shopping in only one store (the one she chooses in (a)? (HINT: suppose she pays $A for this privilege. Then, with income I = 120-A, the utility of the optimal bundle when she visits both stores and buys each good from the store where it is cheaper is equal to her optimal utility in (a).
Trending nowThis is a popular solution!
Step by stepSolved in 6 steps
- Consider a consumer with the utility function U (x1, x2 ) = 10x12/3x21/3 −50. Suppose the prices of x1 and x2 are 10 and 2 respectively and the consumer has an income of 150. How would the optimal bundle change if the utility function was log- linear: 2lnx1 +lnx2?arrow_forwardFor the utility function U = Qx0.46Qy(1-0.46) and the budget 100 = 11Qx + 11Qy find the CHANGE in optimal consumption of X if the price of X increases by a factor of 1.5. Please enter your response as a positive number with 1 decimal and 5/4 rounding (e.g. 1.15 = 1.2, 1.14 = 1.1).arrow_forward(2) Lisa can buy either whole chickens or chicken wings at her local supermarket. Her utility function over whole chickens and chicken wings is U(xc,Xw) = 2xc + Xw, where x, and xw are chickens and chicken wings, respectively. What is her demand function xc (pc, Pw, m) for chickens?arrow_forward
- Ayana is pitching an idea for a startup company that makes and sells solar-powered phonechargers (C). Her market research has found that consumer demand for this product can beexpressed as a function of the price of the charger itself (PC), the price of phones (PF), andthe consmer’s income (I). Consumer demand can be described by the function C(PC, PF, I) =(i−10PC)/ (PF) Suppose her chargers come in all different capacities to meet any quantity demanded, so youdon’t need to worry about restricting C to whole numbers for this problem. (a) Does this product satisfy the law of demand?Explain.arrow_forwardA consumer’s preferences over pizza (x) and steak (y) are given by u(x,y) = x^2y (HINT: MUx = 2xy and MUy = x2) and his income is I = $120 and py = $1. (a) Calculate his optimal bundle when pX = $8 (call this bundle A) and separately when pX = $1 (call this point C). (b) Finding the decomposition bundle B, calculate the income and substitution effects on the amount of pizza of a decrease in the price of pizza from pX = $8 down to pX = $1. (c) Forget about the decomposition bundle and the two effects. In (a), the price of pizza decreases, hence the agent ends up better off. Let’s quantify how much “better off” the agent becomes after this price drop, in dollars. For this, instead of the price drop, suppose the agent is given some money $m and he optimize utility with this additional gift included to his budget. What should m be, so that his optimal utility with his expanded budget is exactly equal to his utility at the bundle C (the bundle he chooses optimally when pizza price drops to…arrow_forwardWhich of the following statement is TRUE based on this question : A utility function with 2 goods (X,Y) is given by U = X^1/2Y. If there’s 3 bundles, bundle A = (9,3); bundle B = (4,1); bundle C = (16, 4)arrow_forward
- Suppose the utility function of U(x1, x2) = x11/2x21/2 and the budget constraint of p1x1+p2x2=m. Let’s assume that p1=$1.5, p2=$2, and m=$60. Find the optimal bundle. Also, specify the optimal bundle.arrow_forwardA consumer derives utility from good A and B according to the following utility function:U(A,B) = A2/5 B3/5. The price of good A is $20 while good B is priced $10. The consumer’s budget is $200. What is the optimal bundle for the consumer?arrow_forwardA consumer’s preferences over pizza (x) and steak (y) are given by u(x,y) = x2y (HINT: MUx = 2xy and MUy = x2) and his income is I = $120 and py = $1. (a) Calculate his optimal bundle when pX = $8 (call this bundle A) and separately when pX = $1 (call this point C). (b) Finding the decomposition bundle B, calculate the income and substitution effects on the amount of pizza of a decrease in the price of pizza from pX = $8 down to pX = $1. (c) Forget about the decomposition bundle and the two effects. In (a), the price of pizza decreases, hence the agent ends up better off. Let’s quantify how much “better off” the agent becomes after this price drop, in dollars. For this, instead of the price drop, suppose the agent is given some money $m and he optimize utility with this additional gift included to his budget. What should m be, so that his optimal utility with his expanded budget is exactly equal to his utility at the bundle C (the bundle he chooses optimally when pizza price drops to…arrow_forward
- A consumer has utility (see image) on ice creams (x) and cakes (y). (a) Are the indifference curves bowed towards the origin? (b) Derive his demand function (as a function of prices px, py and budget I) for ice cream (x). (c)(Looking at the demand function you found in (b), Is ice cream a normal good? Are ice cream and cakes substitutes or complements? Calculate the income elasticity of market demand at the point px = 2, py = 1 and I = 12.arrow_forward3) The utility function of a consumer who consumes quantities x and y of two goods is defined by the expression U(x, y)=√xy subject to the constraint 7x+3y=84 where $84 is the consumer's overall budget. Assuming marginal utilities U,,U>0, maximize the utility function of the consumer. What are the optimal values of x, y and U(x,y) ?arrow_forwardSuppose a consumer had a utility function given by: U=X + 4Y. If the price of Good X (Px) is $1 and the price of Good Y is $8 then what is the utility maximizing quantity of Good X the consumer will purchase with a budget of $4? (Round to the nearest two decimal places if necessary.)arrow_forward
- Principles of Economics (12th Edition)EconomicsISBN:9780134078779Author:Karl E. Case, Ray C. Fair, Sharon E. OsterPublisher:PEARSONEngineering Economy (17th Edition)EconomicsISBN:9780134870069Author:William G. Sullivan, Elin M. Wicks, C. Patrick KoellingPublisher:PEARSON
- Principles of Economics (MindTap Course List)EconomicsISBN:9781305585126Author:N. Gregory MankiwPublisher:Cengage LearningManagerial Economics: A Problem Solving ApproachEconomicsISBN:9781337106665Author:Luke M. Froeb, Brian T. McCann, Michael R. Ward, Mike ShorPublisher:Cengage LearningManagerial Economics & Business Strategy (Mcgraw-...EconomicsISBN:9781259290619Author:Michael Baye, Jeff PrincePublisher:McGraw-Hill Education