chapter_10-lq-fall_2009精要.docVIP

Chapter 10—The Rational Consumer 1. For each of the following situations, decide whether Al has increasing, constant, or diminishing marginal utility. (a) The more economics classes Al takes, the more he enjoys the subject. And he also finds that the more economics classes he takes, the easier each class gets, making him enjoy each additional class even more than the one before that. (b) Al likes loud music. In fact, according to him “the louder, the better.” Each time he turns the volume up a notch, he adds 5 utils to his total utility. (c) Al enjoys watching old episodes of the TV sitcom Friends. He claims that even old episodes are always funny, but he does admit that the more he sees an episode, the less funny it gets. (d) On of Al’s favourite foods is toasted marshmallows. The more he eats, however, the fuller he gets, and the less he enjoys each additional marshmallow. And there is a point at which he becomes satiated: beyond that point, more marshmallows actually make him feel worse rather than better. 2. Brenda likes to have bagels and coffee for breakfast. The accompanying table shows Brenda’s total utility from various consumption bundles of bagels and coffee. Quantity of Bagels Quantity of Coffee Total Utility 0 0 0 0 2 28 0 4 40 1 2 48 1 3 54 2 0 28 2 2 56 3 1 54 3 2 62 4 0 40 4 2 66 Suppose Brenda knows she will consume 2 cups for sure. However, she may choose to consume 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 bagels. (a) Calculate Brenda’s marginal utility form bagels as she goes from consuming 0 bagels to 1 bagel, from 1 bagel to 2 bagels, from 2 bagels to 3 bagels, and from 3 bagels to 4 bagels. (b) Draw Brenda’s marginal utility cure of bagels. Does Brenda have increasing, diminishing, or constant marginal utility? (c) She has $8 of income to spend on bagels and coffee. Bagel’s cost $2 each, and coffee costs $2 per cup. Which bundles are on Brenda’s budget line? For each of these bundles, what is the level of utility (in utils) that B