Answered: Cost-Benefit Analysis

Business

Economics

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Microeconomic Theory

12th Edition

ISBN:9781337517942

Author:NICHOLSON

Publisher:NICHOLSON

Chapter7: Uncertainty

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 7.8P

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Suppose that Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore have the same value function: v(x) = x1/2 for gains and v(x) = -2(|x|)1/2 for losses. The two are also facing the same choice, between (S) $1 for sure and (G) a gamble with a 25% chance of winning $4 and a 75% chance of winning nothing. Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore both subjectively weight probabilities correctly. Winnie the Pooh codes all outcomes as gains; that is, he takes as his reference point winning nothing. For Pooh: What is the value of S? What is the value of G? Which would he choose? Eeyore codes all outcomes as losses; that is, he takes as his reference point winning $4. For Eeyore: What is the value of S? What is the value of G? Which would he choose?
Assume that there are two parties, I and V. I engages in an activity that tends to injure V. V and I both can take care to reduce the expected harm from accidents. Specifically, suppose that if I takes no care (i.e., spends $0 on accident precautions), expected injury to V is $250. If I spends $40 on accident precautions, however, the expected injury to V is reduced to $175. Further suppose that V has a choice between taking no care or spending $50 in care to avoid accidents. If V spends $50 in care, V’s expected harm falls by $20 regardless of the level of care that I takes. Assume that courts adopt the socially‐optimal level of injurer care as the negligence standard. That is, if I takes less than the socially‐optimal level of care, she will be found negligent and must pay for all damages to V. If I takes at least the socially optimal level of care, she will not have to compensate V for his damages. 1. Under a negligence standard, what is I’s dominant strategy? a) I does not have a…
Assume that there are two parties, I and V. I engages in an activity that tends to injure V. V and I both can take care to reduce the expected harm from accidents. Specifically, suppose that if I takes no care (i.e., spends $0 on accident precautions), expected injury to V is $25. If I spends $5 on accident precautions, however, the expected injury to V is reduced to $18. Further suppose that V has a choice between taking no care or spending $4 in care to avoid accidents. If V spends $4 in care, V’s expected harm falls by $2 regardless of the level of care that I takes. Assume that courts adopt the socially-optimal level of injurer care as the negligence standard. That is, if I takes less than the socially-optimal level of care, she will be found negligent and must pay for all damages to V. If I takes at least the socially optimal level of care, she will not have to compensate V for his damages. What is the Nash equilibrium of this game under a rule of no liability? Question…
Suppose that you graduate from college next year and you have two career options: 1) You will start a job in an investment bank paying a $100,000 annual salary. 2) You will start a Ph.D. in economics and, as a student, you will receive a $20,000 salary. You are bad with decisions, so you are letting a friend of yours decide for you by flipping a coin. The probabilities of options 1 and 2 are, therefore, each 50%. a) Illustrate, using indifference curves, your preferences regarding consumption choices in the two different states of the world. Assume that you are risk-averse. [Include also the 45 degrees line in your figure] b) Now show how the indifference curves would change if you were substantially more risk averse than before. Explain. c) Now show the indifference curves if you are risk neutral and if you are risk loving. d) Show your expected utility preferences from point a) mathematically.
Now, imagine that Port Chester decides to crack down on motorists who park illegally by increasing the number of officers issuing parking tickets (thus, raising the probability of a ticket). If the cost of a ticket is $100, and the opportunity cost for the average driver of searching for parking is $12, which of the following probabilities would make the average person stop parking illegally? Assume that people will not park illegally if the expected value of doing so is negative. Check all that apply.
Utility functions incorporate a decision maker’s attitude towards risk. Let’s assume that the following utilities were assessed for Danica Wary. x u(x) -$2,000 0 -$500 62 $0 75 $400 80 $5,000 100 Would a risk neutral decision maker be willing to take the following deal: 30% chance of winning $5,000, 40% chance of winning $400 and a 30% chance of losing $2,000? Using the utilities given in the table above, determine whether Danica would be willing to take the deal described in part a? Is Danica risk averse or is she a risk taker? What is her risk premium for this deal?
Utility Theory You live in an area that has a possibility of incurring a massive earthquake, so you are considering buyingearthquake insurance on your home at an annual cost of $180. The probability of an earthquake damagingyour home during one year is 0.001. If this happens, you estimate that the cost of the damage (fully coveredby earthquake insurance) will be $160,000. Your total assets (including your home) are worth $250,000. A. Apply Bayes’ decision rule to determine which alternative (take the insurance or not) maximizes yourexpected assets after one year.
Y5 Alfred is a risk-averse person with $100 in monetary wealth and owns a house worth $300, for total wealth of $400. The probability that his house is destroyed by fire (equivalent to a loss of $300) is pne = 0.5. If he exerts an effort level e = 0.3 to keep his house safe, the probability falls to pe = 0.2. His utility function is: U = w0.5 – e where e is effort level exerted (zero in the case of no effort and 0.3 in the case of effort).a. In the absence of insurance, does Alfred exert effort to lower the probability of fire?HINT: Calculate and compare the expected utility i) with effort, and ii) without effort. If effort is exerted, then the effort cost is paid regardless of whether or not a fire occurs.b. Alfred is considering buying fire insurance. The insurance agent explains that a home owner’s insurance policy would require paying a premium α and would repay the value of the house in the event of fire, minus a deductible “D”. [A deductible is an amount of money that the…
Matthew is playing snooker (more difficult variant of pool) with his friend. He is not sure which strategy to choose for his next shot. He can try and pot a relatively difficult red ball (strategy R1), which he will pot with probability 0.4. If he pots it, he will have to play the black ball, which he will pot with probability 0.3. His second option (strategy R2) is to try and pot a relatively easy red, which he will pot with probability 0.7. If he pots it, he will have to play the blue ball, which he will pot with probability 0.6. His third option, (strategy R3) is to play safe, meaning not trying to pot any ball and give a difficult shot for his opponent to then make a foul, which will give Matthew 4 points with probability 0.5. If potted, the red balls are worth 1 point each, while the blue ball is worth 5 points, and the black ball 7 points. If he does not pot any ball, he gets 0 point. By using the EMV rule, which strategy should Matthew choose? And what is his expected…
Suppose that you have two opportunities to invest $1M. The first will increase the amount invested by 50% with a probability of 0.6 or decrease it with a probability of 0.4. The second will increase it by 5% for certain. You wish to split the $1M between the two opportunities. Let x be the amount invested in the first opportunity with (1-x) invested in the second. Find the optimal value of x. Using expected value as the criterion (linear utility) Using the flowing utility function: u(x)=2.3 ln⁡〖(1+4.5x)
Each of the two players independently (and simultaneously with the other) decides whether to go to a play or a concert. Each would rather go with the other to a concert than with them to a play, but prefers this to not being together, in which case they don't care where they go alone. Additionally, each is indifferent between attending the play together and participating in a lottery where both go to the concert with a probability of ¾ and to different events with a probability of ¼. Describe the game in matrix form and find all its equilibria under the assumption that the players have von Neumann-Morgenstern preferences.
When a famous painting becomes available for sale, it is often known which museum or collector will be the likely winner. Yet, the auctioneer actively woos representatives of other museums that have no chance of winning to attend anyway. Suppose a piece of art has recently become available for sale and will be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with the winner paying an amount equal to the second highest bid. Assume that most collectors know that Valerie places a value of $15,000 on the art piece and that she values this art piece more than any other collector. Suppose that if no one else shows up, Valerie simply bids $15,000/2=$7,500 and wins the piece of art. The expected price paid by Valerie, with no other bidders present, is $________.. Suppose the owner of the artwork manages to recruit another bidder, Antonio, to the auction. Antonio is known to value the art piece at $12,000. The expected price paid by Valerie, given the presence of the second bidder Antonio, is $_______. .