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

Calculate the output per dollar wage and unit labor cost, Using the Wage Ra...

Using the Wage Rate and Output per Hour as indicated on the table below, calculate the output per dollar wage and unit labor cost. Then decide on the optimal wage rate for this c

Gdp growth, GDP Growth, Employment and Poverty: The advocates of econo...

GDP Growth, Employment and Poverty: The advocates of economic reforms point out that the reform process has the potential of accelerating economic growth. After the teething t

Monopolistic competition maximizes, "A firm in monopolistic competition max...

"A firm in monopolistic competition maximizes its profit by producing where its price is equal to its marginal cost." Is this statement correct or incorrect?  Explain.

Pension benefits, Pensions: Pension benefits are paid to individuals who ha...

Pensions: Pension benefits are paid to individuals who have retired from active employment, in order to support themselves in last years of their lives. Pension programs can be spo

Is lm model, why slopes of is and lm curves affect effectivness of fiscal a...

why slopes of is and lm curves affect effectivness of fiscal and mnetary policy?

Rationale for the intervention of government, 1. Describe why government re...

1. Describe why government regulation is required, citing the major reasons for government involvement in a market economy. 2. Justify the rationale for the intervention of gove

What is demand curve, Demand Curve The demand curve is a graph which pr...

Demand Curve The demand curve is a graph which presents the amount of a good that consumers are willing and able to buy at various prices. A normal demand curve is downward slo

Types of privatisation of the economy, Privatisation in the narrow sense ca...

Privatisation in the narrow sense can take several forms: a) Total Denationalisation: This implies complete transfer of ownership of apublic enterprise to private hands. Some

What are the possible advantages of free trade, What are the possible advan...

What are the possible advantages of free trade? Firms a)  Specialisation and enhanced use of comparative advantage b)  Possibility of advantages of scale c)  Spread

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