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

Labour economics, Consider the following flow (in thousands of people) betw...

Consider the following flow (in thousands of people) between the various labour market states in a particular month:

Elasticities of supply and demand, ELASTICITIES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND ...

ELASTICITIES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND Usually, elasticity is a measure of the sensitivity of one variable to the other. It told us the percentage change in one variable in re

What is the gross domestic product of norway, Normal 0 false ...

Normal 0 false false false EN-IN X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

#title., factor afecting the demand for durable product

factor afecting the demand for durable product

How have economists traditionally defined economic growth, How have economi...

How have economists traditionally defined "economic growth," and how is that different from "living standards growth"?  Economists have traditionally explained economic growth

HCA586, how do cooperative and noncooperative games differ

how do cooperative and noncooperative games differ

Please Help, 7.Consider the following production possibilities table: Op...

7.Consider the following production possibilities table: Option Y X A 0 100 B 80 80 C 120 50 D 140 10 a)Provide a measure of the approximate marginal opportunity cost of

Calculate quarterly performance metrics , I would tend to think that a 5% p...

I would tend to think that a 5% per year goal is more reasonable. Smaller incremental goals always appear to be more attainable, while more radical goals may actually be more diffi

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