平迪克 微观经济学 第七版 答案 chapter3.doc

EXERCISES 1. In this chapter, consumer preferences for various commodities did not change during the analysis. Yet in some situations, preferences do change as consumption occurs. Discuss why and how preferences might change over time with consumption of these two commodities: cigarettes The assumption that preferences do not change is a reasonable one if choices are independent across time. It does not hold, however, when “habit-forming” or addictive behavior is involved, as in the case of cigarettes. The consumption of cigarettes in one period influences the consumer’s preference for cigarettes in the next period: the consumer desires cigarettes more because he has become more addicted to them. dinner for the first time at a restaurant with a special cuisine The first time you eat at a restaurant with a special cuisine can be an exciting new dining experience. This makes eating at the restaurant more desirable. But once you’ve eaten there, it isn’t so exciting to do it again (“been there, done that”), and preference changes. On the other hand, some people prefer to eat at familiar places where they don’t have to worry about new and unknown cuisine. For them, the first time at the restaurant would be less pleasant, but once they’ve eaten there and discovered they like the food, they would find further visits to the restaurant more desirable. In both cases, preferences change as consumption occurs. 2. Draw indifference curves that represent the following individuals’ preferences for hamburgers and soft drinks. Indicate the direction in which the individuals’ satisfaction (or utility) is increasing. Joe has convex preferences and dislikes both hamburgers and soft drinks. Since Joe dislikes both goods, he prefers less to more, and his satisfaction is increasing in the direction of the origin. Convexity of preferences implies his indifference curves will have the normal shape in that they are bowed towards the direction of increasing satisfaction. Conv