ECON2013 Problem Set 2 2022
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Problem Set 2
ECON2013
2022
1. (30 points) Explain each of the following findings/curiosities briefly using concepts from the “Departures from Rational Choice”lectures.
(a) (10 Points) In an experiment half of the participants were randomly given mugs, while the other half were given pens. After the partici- pants looked at both items, the experimenter offered to exchange each mug for a pen plus 5 cents, and each pen for a mug plus 5 cents. If the characteristics of both groups are essentially the same and each individual has fixed (that is, stable) given preference between mugs and pens, then if, say, 60% of subjects on average preferred mugs to pens, we should see approximately 60% of those given pens to switch to mugs, and approximately 40% of those given mugs to switch to pens. In general, we should see a situation where approximately x% switch from mugs to pens, and approximately (100-x)% switch from pens to mugs. However, it was observed that only 12% of those who originally received a mug, and 10% of those who originally received a pen, chose to exchange it for the other item plus 5 cents.
(b) (10 points) Dan Ariely in his 2008 book Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions, opens his first chapter with an example relating to subscriptions to The Economist magazine.
(i) 1-year online subscription for USD 59
(ii) 1-year print subscription for USD 125
(iii) 1-year online and print subscription for USD 125
Why does The Economist magazine bother to offer an option that is clearly dominated by one of the other two options?
(c) (10 points) In a study, students agreed to fill out a short online survey for $2. At the end of the survey, respondents were offered a chance to exchange their $2 for a gift. Some students could exchange the money for a metal zebra pen, and some students could exchange the money for their choice of a metal zebra pen or two plastic pilot pens. Among the students who had two options for exchange, 53 percent chose to keep the money. Of the students who had only one option, 25 percent chose to keep the money. Explain these differences in the observed (average) willingness to exchange.
2. (20 points) Explain the following phenomena using the idea that the carrier of value for an individual is a function of the change in his or her situation from a reference point by answering the following three questions: (i) what outcome is being evaluated in a reference-dependent way? (ii) what is the reference point?; and (iii) what feature of the value function explains the phenomenon, and how?
(a) (5 points) On the residential housing market, each seller sets an initial “asking price” for her house that can be substantially different from the final sale price. Controlling for the current market value of their house, sellers set a higher asking price, and eventually receive a higher sale price, if the housing market has gone down since they bought their house. (Houses of such sellers sit on the market for a longer time.)
(b) (5 points) Online sport betting platforms offer to pay out on bets even before the conclusion of the sporting event. For example, if the football team you back to win goes 2 goals ahead at any stage during normal time, bet365 will settle your bet early as a winner regardless of the final result.
(c) (5 points) Half of the subjects in an experiment were asked to imagine that they were at the Apple Store to buy a keyboard case for their iPad for $125, and then learned that they could buy the same caser $5 cheaper at JB HiFi. However, the nearest JB HiFi store was a 20 minutes drive away. 30% said they would drive to the JB HiFi store.
The other half of the subjects were asked the same question, except they were told the keyboard case cost $15. This time, 70% reported that they would drive to the other store to save $5.
(d) (5 points) Small investors tend to hold on to losing stocks (stocks that have gone down in value relative to the purchase price) and sell winning stocks (stocks that have gone up in value relative to the purchase price)
3. (50 points) When the Australian Government introduced the ‘carbon tax’ on 1 July 2012, it was accompanied by a package of tax reforms and other compensation measures designed to make the average household at least as well off despite the rise in electricity prices resulting from the im- position of the carbon tax. Suppose we model the average household’s con- sumption of electricity as a utility maximization problem in which the house- hold is choosing between consumption of electricity (measured in units of gigawatt hours along the horizontal axis) and its consumption of “all other goods” (hereafter referred to as “aog”, and measured in units of dollars) along the vertical axis. If we normalize the price of aog to be 1, and let p denote the price of electricity, then the slope of the household’s budget line will be −p.
(a) [20 marks] Using the standard model of rational choice, analyze the effect of an increase in the price of electricity accompanied by a compensation package that increases the household’s income by the amount that its expenditure on electricity would need to rise in order to purchase the same quantity of electricity that it was demanding before the price rise. In particular argue why the Government was expecting such a household to reduce the quantity of electricity it demanded and for that household to be made better off as a result of these changes. [Hint: you may assume that the average household exhibits the property of “moderation in all things” or equivalently, that “variety is the spice of life” and thus draw indifference curves that are bowed-in toward the origin.]
(b) [20 marks] Repeat your analysis but this time for a household that exhibits loss aversion.
(c) [10 marks] For a household that exhibits loss aversion, how else might the Government encourage it to reduce those activities (such as its demand for electricity) that contribute to green-house gas emssions?
2022-08-22