Question
Devah lives for two periods: period 1 in which she works and earns income, and period 2 in which she is retired and earns no
Devah lives for two periods: period 1 in which she works and earns income, and period 2 in which she is retired and earns no income. At the start of her life, her utility over consumption is given by
U(c1,c2)=(c1)^0.5+?[(c2)^0.5]
where c1and c2are consumption in periods 1 and 2, respectively (both measured in dollars), and?is a measure of myopia or "present bias"(0
During period 1, Devah will have total income of $400 that she can either devote to c1or to savings,s. Any money that she saves can be used for consumption in period 2 (during which time she will not have any other source of income). Assume that interest on savings is zero.
- Suppose now that?=0.5 but that the rest of the problem remains the same (including there being no interest on savings). Devah's optimal consumption in period 1 (c1) is $, her optimal private savings (s) are $, and her optimal consumption in period 2 (c2) is $(enter only numbers in the blanks, and please round to the nearest whole number if necessary).
- Continue to assume that?=0.5. Suppose that now, however, the government institutes a Social Security program that taxes Devah $40 during her working years, but returns that $40 to her when she retires. In the presence of this Social Security program, Devah's optimal consumption in period 1 (c1) is $, her optimal private savings (s) are $, and her optimal consumption in period 2 (c2) is $(enter only numbers in the blanks, and please round to the nearest whole number if necessary).
- In the previous question about Devah's consumption and savings choices in the presence of the Social Security program, every $1 of Social Security benefits crowds out $of private savings for her retirement (enter a dollar amount in the blank, and please round to the second decimal place if necessary).
- Consider Devah from the previous questions. Continue to assume that?=0.5. Instead of taxing Devah $40 during her working years and returning $40 to her when she retires, now assume that the government taxes Devah $40 during her working years and returns $80 to her when she retires. In the presence of this Social Security program, Devah's optimal consumption in period 1 (c1) is $, her optimal private savings (s) are $, and her optimal consumption in period 2 (c2) is $(enter only numbers in the blanks, and please round to the nearest whole number if necessary).
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