Microeconomics, Microeconomics

Assignment Help:
Consider the following insurance market. There are two states of the world, B and G, and two types of consumers, H and L, who have probabilities pH =0.5 and pL =0.25 (high and low risk) respectively of being in state B. They have common endowment e=(eG,eB) = (£900, £100). The individuals have expected utility preferences over state-contingent consumptions c=(cG,cB), with common utility function u(ci)=ln(ci), where i=B,G. Insurance firms are risk-neutral profit maximisers and offer contracts in exchange for the individuals’ endowments.

Suppose the market is competitive.

a) Outline the definition of a competitive equilibrium of this market and explain why every contract, offered by every firm, must earn zero profit in equilibrium. [7 marks]

b) Suppose the information concerning individuals’ types is symmetric, but void. It is commonly known, however, that the proportion of low risk consumers is 0.4. Derive the equilibrium set of contracts. [5 marks]

c) Find the equilibrium set of contracts when information is symmetric and perfect. [5 marks]

Now suppose that information is asymmetric; individuals know their own type but insurance firms cannot distinguish between types. (Note: there does exist an equilibrium set of contracts for this market. You may make use of this fact without proving it).

d) Explain why it must be that, if {cH,cL} is the equilibrium set of contracts, then
cH ? cL. [4 marks]

e) Explain and derive the equilibrium contract offered to high risk individuals. [3 marks]

f) Explain and derive the equilibrium contract offered to low risk individuals. [9 marks]

Related Discussions:- Microeconomics

Perfect competition in neoclassical economics, Q. Perfect Competition in ne...

Q. Perfect Competition in neoclassical economics? Perfect Competition: An abstract assumption, central to neoclassical economics, in that companies are so small that none can i

Demand, factors influencing the conditions of demand for a given product

factors influencing the conditions of demand for a given product

Calculate price elasticity of demand, 1. Consider the consumption decisions...

1. Consider the consumption decisions of R.B. Turbo, a new student at Teachers College, Columbia University. Ms. Turbo has only available $1,000 in monthly income to spend on food

The free enterprise: price system, The Free Enterprise:  Price System ...

The Free Enterprise:  Price System The free market system is where the decision about what is produced is the outcome of millions of separate individual decisions made by cons

Reasons for state trading, There are different reasons for state trading. I...

There are different reasons for state trading. Important reasons are given below. (i) State may directly buy the goods required by the various government departments and agencie

Explain about the term cost function, Explain about the term cost function....

Explain about the term cost function. Cost Functions This function measures the minimum cost of producing a specified level of output for some fixed factor prices. Likewise

Calculate marginal costs and Pbook-estimated market price, Question Yo...

Question You are the COO at PineApple, a company that produces notebook computers for business people. The company has just developed a new model - Pbook. For production of P

Theory, Explainbainlimitpricetheory

Explainbainlimitpricetheory

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd