Andrea has a budget of £21 to spend on toothbrushes and tooth paste. He does not receive any utility from owning a toothbrush, but for the consumption of every tube of tooth paste he gains a utility of 2 utils – but only if he owns a tooth brush. Without a tooth brush, Andrea gains no utility from consuming tooth paste. In addition, after consuming 10 tubes of tooth paste, a toothbrush needs to be replaced, i.e., Andrea needs to buy a new one. The current price of tooth brushes on the market is £5 and the current price for tooth paste is £1 per tube. Assume that Andrea aims to maximise consumer surplus. a) In a graph, draw total utility as a function of number of toothpaste tubes, assuming that Andrea buys 1 tooth brush.​​​​   b) How many tubes will Andrea buy if he wants to maximise consumer surplus, assuming that Andrea can buy any amount of tooth brushes? What is Andrea’s total consumer surplus? ​​​​​​​   c) How many tubes will he buy if the current price is £0.50 per tube?​

ENGR.ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
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Chapter1: Making Economics Decisions
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Andrea has a budget of £21 to spend on toothbrushes and tooth paste. He does not receive any utility from owning a toothbrush, but for the consumption of every tube of tooth paste he gains a utility of 2 utils – but only if he owns a tooth brush. Without a tooth brush, Andrea gains no utility from consuming tooth paste. In addition, after consuming 10 tubes of tooth paste, a toothbrush needs to be replaced, i.e., Andrea needs to buy a new one. The current price of tooth brushes on the market is £5 and the current price for tooth paste is £1 per tube. Assume that Andrea aims to maximise consumer surplus.

a) In a graph, draw total utility as a function of number of toothpaste tubes, assuming that Andrea buys 1 tooth brush.​​​​
 
b) How many tubes will Andrea buy if he wants to maximise consumer surplus, assuming that Andrea can buy any amount of tooth brushes? What is Andrea’s total consumer surplus? ​​​​​​​
 
c) How many tubes will he buy if the current price is £0.50 per tube?​
 
d) Find Andrea’s income-consumption curve for tooth paste tubes for incomes between £0 and £21, assuming a price of £1 per tube.​​

 

 

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