Exercise 2: Maximizing utility with perfect substitutes. (50
pts)
Bill likes both Red Bull (x1) and Monster (x2) energy drinks. Both
help him stay awake
to finish his microeconomics homework, so they’re perfect substitutes in that sense (though Monster cans are larger). His preferences over the drinks can be represented by utility function
U(x1, x2) = 5x1 + 4x2.
(b) What’s Bill’s optimal (x1, x2) choice given his preferences, income, and the prices of the two goods.
(c) What is the value of Bill’s utility at this utility
maximizing choice?
(d) Monster is running a major promotion and is selling for $.50 a
can. What is Bill’s
new consumption choice?
(e) What is the new value of Bill’s utility at this utility
maximizing choice?
Exercise 2: Maximizing utility with perfect substitutes. (50 pts) Bill likes both Red Bull (x1) and...
Furthermore, let the price of x1 be $1 and the price of x2 be $4, while his income is fixed at $20. a) Graph the budget line with x1 on the x axis and x2 on the y-axis. (1 Marks) b) On the same sketch above, graph two indifference curves. (Be careful about the rate of substitution between both x1 and x2 and hence the slopes of the indifference curves). (2 Marks) c) What is the optimal bundle chosen by...