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Solution
MS-IBF (IBA-CEIF)
Submitted by:
INSTRUCTOR:
DR. ZEESHAN ATIQUE Rahmat Ullah
SAHB ERP ID: 13697
Email add: Patriotic140@gmail.com
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Activity 4
Background to Demand
1. The following table shows the total utility that Eleanor derives from visits to the cinema per week.
Visits 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
TU () 12 20 25 28 30 31 31 29
MU() 12 8 5 3 2 1 0 2
(b) Draw a graph of the figures for total and marginal utility on the following diagram.
35
30
TU
Total and marginal utility ()
25
20
15
10
0
MU
-5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Weekly visits to the cinema
(c) How many visits to the cinema will she make per week if the price of a ticket is:
(i) 4.00......................................................................3 (beyond 3, price is greater than MU)
(ii) 2.50.....................................................................4 (beyond 4, price is greater than MU)
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2. (Multiple choice)
Total utility will fall whenever
A. marginal utility is falling.
B. marginal utility is rising.
C. marginal utility has reached a maximum.
D. marginal utility is zero.
E. Marginal utility is negative.
3. The following diagram shows the marginal utility (MU) that a consumer gets from consuming
different quantities of a product. Assume that the current market price of the product is P.
Marginal utility,
Price ()
(1) MU = P
P
(2)
(3)
MU
Q Quantity purchased
4. How much of a good will people buy? If they wish to maximise their self-interest (what is known
as rational behaviour), they will compare the marginal utility they expect to get from consuming
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the good with the price they have to pay. This will involve perceiving marginal utility in money
terms (i.e. how much an extra unit of the good is worth to them).
The table below shows marginal utility a person gets from consuming different quantities of a
good. Assume that the good sells for 10.
MarginalutilityforpersonYfromgoodX
Quantity Consumed 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
60 (6 units @ 10 each)
(c) What is the persons marginal consumer surplus from consuming a second unit?
10 (= 20 (MU) 10 (P))
(c) What is the persons total consumer surplus from consuming 2 units?
25 (= 45 (TU ) 20 (TE))
(e) At what level of consumption is the persons total consumer surplus maximised?
(f) What is the relationship between price and marginal utility at this level?
P= MU= 10
(a) If he takes the gamble, what will be his utility this year if he wins?
700 utils (with a total income of 8000)
(b) If he takes the gamble, what will be his utility this year if he loses?
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0 utils (with a total income of 0)
(c) What would be his average expected utility from the gamble?
(d) Why is it likely that he will not take the gamble, and thus be risk averse?.................................
Because, with a diminishing marginal utility of income, by taking the gamble his average expected
utility (350 utils) is less than by not taking the gamble (500 utils)....................................................
6. Sally, a first-year degree student, lives in lodgings and pays a fixed amount for food and
accommodation. The money she has left over she spends on books and compact discs. Her
preferences between various combinations of books and CDs are shown in the following table.
She is indifferent between the combinations in each of the five sets shown, but has preferences
between sets.
Set 1 Books 40 30 23 16 12 10 6 4 2
CDs 3 5 8 14 19 22 30 37 46
Set 2 Books 33 22 16 13 7 4
CDs 7 14 20 25 37 45
Set 3 Books 40 30 22 20 17 14 11 6 2 1
CDs 1 2 4 5 7 10 13 20 30 37
Set 4 Books 27 20 11 5
CDs 6 10 20 33
Set 5 Books 30 20 16 12 6 3 1
CDs 1 3 4 6 10 14 20
(a) Plot indifference curves on the following diagram corresponding to each of the five sets
above.
Set 2
Set 3 Sets 1, 4
Set 5
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(e) Given the information in the table, why would Sally not be indifferent between the
combinations in the following set: 36 books & 5 CDs. 23 books & 8 CDs, 12 books & 13
CDs, 3 books & 20 CDs?
Because this indifference curve would cross others (see below).
Set 2
New set Set 3 Sets 1, 4
Set 5
(f) What is Sallys marginal rate of substitution of books for CDs in set 5 for
(i) the fourth CD?................................................................................................................4
(ii) the sixth CD?.........................................................................................................4/2 = 2
(iii) the tenth CD?.....................................................................................................6/4 = 1.5
Now assume that Sally has 300 per year to spend on a combination of books and CDs, and
assume that all the books and CDs she wants cost 10 each.
(g) Draw in her budget line on the diagram on the previous page...................................................
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(h) What is the optimum amount of books and CDs for her to buy with this 300?
16 books, 14 CDs
40
35
30
Number of books
25
20
15
10
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Number of CDs
(i) Assume now that the price of CDs rises to 20. Draw in her new budget line. See below.
(j) What is the optimum amount of books and CDs per year for her now to buy?
20 books, 5 CDs
7. Match each of the following changes (i) (viii) in an indifference diagram to the causes (a) (h)
below of those changes. (In each case assume that nothing else changes and that units of X are
measured on the horizontal axis and units of Y on the vertical axis.)
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(b) A shift in tastes towards Y and away from X......................................................................(iii)
(d) A change in the optimum level of consumption resulting from a change in tastes............(viii)