In: Economics
Harry derives utility from two goods: X and Y . He has an income of 100 dollars. Both X and Y cost 2 dollars per unit Given the utility function U = XY (MUx = Y and MUY = X), how many units of X and Y should Harry consume in order to maximize his utility?
(a) X = 100, Y = 0
(b) X = 0, Y = 100
(c) X = 50, Y = 50
(d) X = 25, Y = 50
(e) X = 25, Y = 25
The utility function is given as:
U = XY
The consumer maximizes the utility at the point where the marginal rate of substitution equals the price ratio.
The marginal rate of substitution (MRS) is:
Price of good X equals the price of good Y which equals $2. So, the price ratio (Px/Py) = 1
Equating MRS and price ratio:
The money income is equal to $100.
The equation of budget line can be written as:
PxX + PyY = M
Where, Px is the price of good X, Py is the price of good Y, X is the quantity demanded of good X and Y represents the quantity demanded of good Y.
Putting the values:
Putting X = Y:
Since, X = Y,
Y is also equal to 25.
So,
So, the consumer should consume 25 units of good X and 25 units of good Y in order to maximize the utility.