Answered: CONSUMPTION NEXT YEAR (Thousands of…

ENGR.ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

14th Edition

ISBN:9780190931919

Author:NEWNAN

Publisher:NEWNAN

Chapter1: Making Economics Decisions

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 1QTC

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Question

Musashi is a tenured faculty member who teaches particle physics at a university where he earns an annual salary of $200,000. He intends to take the next year off to focus on writing a new undergraduate physics textbook, so he will not earn any income next year. He is currently deciding how much of this year's salary he should save for next year. Assume that there are no tax implications associated with the decision, and ignore what happens after next year. Therefore, next year Musashi will consume whatever he saves this year plus interest, and he is not concerned with the future beyond next year.

The following graph shows Musashi's preferences for consumption this year and next year. Suppose initially Musashi cannot earn interest on the money he saves.

Use the green line (triangle symbol) to plot Musashi's budget constraint (BC1BC1) on the following graph. Then use the black point (plus symbol) to show his optimum consumption bundle.

Note: Dashed drop lines will automatically extend to both axes.

see 1st graph

Now suppose Musashi can earn 20% real interest on any money he saves.

Use the blue line (circle symbol) to plot his new budget constraint (BC2BC2) on the previous graph. Then use the grey point (star symbol) to plot his optimum consumption bundle at this interest rate. (Hint: To plot BC2BC2, think about how much money Musashi would have next year if he saved his entire income this year.)

Using the previous graph, complete the following table by indicating how much Musashi should save of his current income when he cannot earn any interest on his savings and when he can earn 20% interest on his savings.

Interest Rate	Amount Musashi Saves
(Percent)	(Dollars)
0
20

Which of the following statements is a good description of the results of this exercise, as well as its implications for broader consumer behavior?

All consumers, including Musashi, save less money when interest rates are high, because they don't need to save as much money to have the same future income.

In this case, Musashi saves less money when interest rates are high. However, consumers with different preferences might save more money when interest rates are high.

All consumers, including Musashi, save more money when interest rates are high, because they get a higher return on that investment.

In this case, Musashi saves more money when interest rates are high. However, consumers with different preferences might save less money when interest rates are high.