In: Economics
Homer’s Marginal Rate of Substitution for donuts and… beverages
is MRS = - B/2D, , where D is number of boxes of
donuts and B is 40 oz. cans of… beverage. Homer has $300 to spend
this semester on these two items. Each donut box (D) costs $10, and
each can of beverage costs (B) $5.
Homer is currently consuming 20 donut boxes and 20 beverages this
semester.
a) Graph Homer’s budget constraint, and show that this is a
feasible bundle for Homer (on or inside his budget constraint). Put
donuts on the x-axis.
b) Use the MRS and the slope of the budget constraint to show that
Homer’s current consumption is not optimal. Draw an indifference
curve through the current bundle that reflects the MRS you
calculated and the suboptimality of the bundle. You don’t need a
precise graph of the indifference curve as long as your graph
captures the slope of the IC relative to the slope of the budget
line. Lastly, propose a shift in consumption that will increase
Homer’s utility. You don’t need to use specific numbers – based on
your picture and/or the slopes, where are the bundles that Homer
can afford that give higher utility?
c) Solve for Homer’s optimal bundle. Draw a new indifference curve
in your graph that shows that this new bundle is optimal. Use the
“equal slopes” condition to derive a condition on B and D at the
optimal bundle, then plug that in to the budget constraint to find
the specific bundle Homer can afford where this condition is
true.