--%>
Assignment Help - homework help

Demand curve for peanuts

Question:

a) Johnny consumes peanuts (x1) and a composite good (x2). His utility function is U = x1x2. His marginal utilities are MU1 = x2 and MU2 = x1. Johnny's budget is $20 and the price of the composite good is $1. Derive Johnny's demand function for peanuts.

b) Ambrose consumes peanuts (x1) and a composite good (x2).He has a utility functionU = 4 x1 + x2. This means his MU1 = 2/√x1 and his MU2 = 1 . The price of the composite good is p2 = 1. His budget is $20 per month. Derive Ambrose's demand function for peanuts. How does it compare with Johnny's demand curve for peanuts?

Solution:

a) U = x1x2

MRS = MU1/MU2 = x2/x1

Now, MRS = P1/P2 = P/1 = x2/x1 => x2 = 2Px1 {taking P1 = P}

Putting this value in budget equation:

Px1 + x2 = 20

  1.   Px1 + 2Px1 = 30
  2.   Px1 = 10
  3.   x1 = 10/P
  4.   x2 = 20

b) U = 4 Öx1 + x2.

MRS = MU1/ MU2 = (2/Öx1)/1 = 2/Öx1

Now, MRS = P1/P2 = P/1 = 2/Öx1

  1.   Öx1=2/P
  2.   x1 = 4/P2

Therefore, Ambrose's demand for peanuts does not depend upon his income, while Johnny's demand for peanuts does depend upon his income.

   Related Questions in Microeconomics

  • Q : Illustration of a natural monopoly Of

    Of the given firms, the best illustration of a natural monopoly is: (i) Dell, the largest seller of personal computers. (ii) Toyota, i.e., the huge car company in the world. (iii) OPEC, i.e., the international oil cartel. (iv) Google that dominates th

    		•
  • Q : Wage Discrimination-supply labor curve

    The employer with monopsony power which as well had the capability to wage discriminate perfectly would confront the marginal factor cost of the labor curve: (i) Similar to the supply of labor curve it faces. (ii) Lower than the supply of labor curve it faces. (iii) H

    		•
  • Q : Maximizing consumer and adjusts consumer

    Can someone help me in finding out the right answer from the given options. Zeus got one million dollars for winning every event in current Olympics. In past, he would have frivolously exhausted his winnings on the lightning bolts, however after studying economics, he

    		•
  • Q : Law of Income Distribution by Pareto

    The theorist who asserted as, “When you redistributed the world’s income and wealth equally across the whole population, eighty percent of this would be back within the hands of the population’s top 20% in twenty years,” which

    		•
  • Q : Profit maximization and maximization of

    Give the difference between corporate profit maximization and maximization of shareholder wealth?

    		•
  • Q : Making investment possible in an

    The group which ultimately makes investment in an economy possible is: (1) business firms. (2) households which consume less than their disposable incomes. (3) banks. (4) savings and loan associations. (5) financial tycoons.

    Q : Giving wholesale price per dozen by

    When Rose Garden Wholesalers has a typical type cost structure of rose farms within this purely competitive industry, into the long run new competitors would most likely enter the market providing the wholesale price

    		•
  • Q : Estimate profit-maximizing price The

    The profit-maximizing price for RoboMaids is: (1) $24,000 per robot. (2) $20,000 per robot. (3) $16,000 per robot. (4) $12,000 per robot. (5) $10,000 per robot.

    Q : Negatively-sloped demand curve for

    A firm which cannot price discriminate although which faces a negatively-sloped demand curve for output: (1) has a marginal revenue curve which is always below which demand curve. (2) will never knowingly produce at a level of output where the price e

    		•
  • Q : Average production cost by maximum

    When Nostalgia Corporation maximizes profit in its production of Silver Screen DVDs, in that case its average production cost per DVD will be roughly: (i) $3 per copy. (ii) $5 per copy. (iii) $7 per copy. (iv) $9 per copy. (v) $11 per copy.