Ejercicios De Microeconomia I

Chapter 3

1. If we observe a consumer choosing (x1, x2 ) when (y1, y2) is available one time, are we
justified in concluding that (x1, x2) ˃ (y1, y2)?
No se puede concluir tal cosa, porque es indiferente la elección entre las cestas de
consumo (x1, x2) y (y1, y2), tendrían una relación (x1, x2) ~ (y1, y2).

2. Consider a group of people A, B, C and the relation "at least as tall as," as in "A is at least
as tall as B." Is this relation transitive? Is it complete?
No es transitiva la relación a menos que concluyamos que A es al menos tal alto como B y
B es tal alto como C, entonces A es tan alto como C. No es completa porque no es
indiferente la elección.

3. Take the same group of people and consider the relation "strictly taller than." Is this
relation transitive? Is it reflexive? Is it complete?
Podemos inducir que es transitiva por lo ya expuesto antes en el problema 2 ya que A
siempre será más alto que cualquiera de las personas B y C. No es completa porque no es
indiferente, es excluyente. Y puede ser reflexiva porque la misma cesta puede ser
estrictamente más alto que ella misma.

4. A college football coach says that given any two linemen A and B, he always prefers the
one who is bigger and faster. Is this preference relation transitive? Is it complete?
No puede ser completa porque no es indiferente la elección del entrenador de futbol, y
puede ser transitiva porque siempre uno de los dos delanteros para ser elegido tiene que
ser más alto y más rápido.

5. Can an indifference curve cross itself? For example, could Figure 3.2 depict a single
indifference curve?

No se puede dar un cruce entre curvas de indiferencia a

menos que estas curvas sean indiferentes unas de otras.

6. Could Figure 3.2 be a single indifference curve if preferences are monotonic?

No puede darse en el caso que

las preferencias sean monótonas ya que siempre el consumidor elije las cestas que le den
mayor beneficio y las cestas sean las mejores.

7. If both pepperoni and anchovies are bads, will the indifference curve have a positive or a
negative slope?
 Posee una pendiente positiva.

8. Explain why convex preferences means that "averages are preferred to extremes."

Porque los consumidores prefieren consumir ambos bienes a solo

especializarse en uno de ellos y dejar de consumirlo.

9. What is your marginal rate of substitution of $1 bills for $5 bills?

10. If good 1 is a "neutral," what is its marginal rate of substitution for good 2?

La Relación Marginal de Sustitución es infinita en todos sus

puntos.

11. Think of some other goods for which your preferences might be concave.
Chapter 4

1. The text said that raising a number to an odd power was a monotonic transformation.
What about raising a number to an even power? Is this a monotonic transformation?
(Hint: consider the case f (u) = u^2.)

2. Which of the following are monotonic transformations? (1) u = 2v - 13; (2) u = -1/v^2; (3)
u = 1/v^2; (4) u = 1nv; (5) u = -e^-v; (6) u = v^2 ., (7) u = v^2 for v > 0; (8) u = v^2 for v < 0.

3. We claimed in the text that if preferences were monotonic, then a diagonal line through
the origin would intersect each indifference curve exactly once. Can you prove this
rigorously? (Hint: what would happen if it intersected some indifference curve twice?)

4. What kind of preferences are represented by a utility function of the form u(x1,x2) = √(x1
+ x2)? Hat about the utility function v(x1,x2)= √( 13x1 + 13x2)?

5. What kind of preferences are represented by a utility function of the form u(xl,x2) = X1 +
√(X2)?IS the utility function v(x1, x2) = x1^2+ 2x1 √(x2) + x2 a monotonic transformation
of u(x1, x2)?

6. Consider the utility function u(x1,x2) = √(x1x2). What kind of preferences does it
represent? Is the function v (x1, x2 )= x1^2x2 a monotonic transformation of u(x1, x2)? Is
the function w(x1, 22) = x1^2 x2^2; a monotonic transformation of u(x1, x2)?

7. Can you explain why taking a non no tonic transformation of a utility function doesn't
change the marginal rate of substitution?