1.4. Consider two economies, labelled A person be endowed with 20 units of the consumption when young and nothing when old. In Economy A, each young person chooses to consume 10 units of the consump- tion good. In Economy B, each young person chooses to consume 8 units of the con- sumption good. In each economy, the young person's choice is the one that maximizes lifetime welfare. a. What, if anything, can you infer about the welfare level of the current and future generations from this information? Specifically, is one on an indifference curve representing greater welfare than the other? b. What, if anything can you infer about the welfare of the initial old from the descrip- tion given for Fir J.DO

Jeremy is deeply in love with Jasmine. Jasmine lives where cell phone coverage is poor, so he can either call her on the land-line phone for five cents per minute or he can drive to see her, at a round—trip cost of 2 in gasoline money. He has a total of 10 per week to spend on staying in touch. To make his preferred choice, Jeremy uses a handy utilimometer that measures his total utility from personal visits and from phone minutes. Using the values in Table 6.6, figure out the points 011 Jeremys consumption choice budget constraint (it may be helpful to do a sketch) and identify his utility-maximizing point.

What is scarcity? Can you think of two causes of scarcity?

If the price of a pie is 12, what is the maximum number of pies she could buy in a week?

What are four responses to the claim that people should not behave in the way described in this chapter?

Is the economic model of decision-making intended as a literal description of how individuals, firms, and the governments actually make decisions?

What is the difference between a positive and a normative statement?

Praxilla, who lived in ancient Greece, derives utility from reading poems and from eating cucumbers. Praxilla gets 30 units of marginal utility from her first poem 27 units of marginal utility from her second poem 24 units of marginal utility from her third poem, and so on, with marginal utility declining by three units for each additional poem. Praxilla gets six units of marginal utility for each of her next three cucumbers consumed, five units of marginal utility for each of her next three cucumbers consumed, four units of marginal utility for each of the following three cucumbers consumed, and so on, with marginal utility declining by one for every three cucumber consumed. A poem costs three bronze coins hut a cucumber costs only one bronze coin. Praxilla has 18 bronze coins. Sketch Praxillas budget set between poems and cucumbers, placing poems on the vertical axis and cucumbers on the horizontal axis. Start off with the choice of zero poems and 18 cucumbers, and calculate the changes in marginal utility of moving along the budget line to the next choice of one poem and 15 cucumbers. Using this step-by-step process based on marginal utility, create a table and identify Praxillas utility—maximizing choice. Compare the marginal utility of the two goods and the relative prices at the optimal choice to see if the expected relationship holds. Hint: Label the table columns: 1) Choice, 2} Marginal Gain from More Poems, 3) Marginal Loss from Fewer Cucumbers, 4) Overall Gain or Loss, 5) Is the previous choice Optimal? Label the table rows: 1) 0 Poems and 18 Cucumbers, 2) 1 Poem and 15 cucumbers, 3) 2 Poems and 12 cucumbers, 4) 3 Poems and 9 Cucumbers, 5) 4 Poems and 6 cucumbers 6) 5 Poems and 3 Cucumbers, 7) 6 Poems and 0 Cucumbers.

Individuals may not act in the rational, calculating way described by the economic model of decision making, measuring utility and costs at the margin, but can you make a case that they behave approximately that way?