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Questions › DSE › DSE 2018 › Q42
4 marks, −1Microeconomics › General equilibrium and exchange economies › Walras' law, numeraire and relative pricesModerateabout 2 min

DSE 2018 Question 42: General equilibrium and exchange economies

Consider an exchange economy with two agents, 1 and 2, and two goods XXX and YYY. Given bundles (a,b),(c,d)∈R+2(a,b),(c,d) \in \mathbb{R}^2_+(a,b),(c,d)∈R+2​ with (a,b)≥(c,d)(a,b) \geq (c,d)(a,b)≥(c,d) and (a,b)≠(c,d)(a,b) \neq (c,d)(a,b)=(c,d), agent 1 strictly prefers (a,b)(a,b)(a,b). Consider the claims: (I) in a competitive equilibrium both prices must be positive, and (II) the sum of the allocations to 1 and 2 must equal the sum of their endowments. Which of the following statements is correct?

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Plain-text version

Consider an exchange economy with two agents, 1 and 2, and two goods X and Y. Given bundles (a,b),(c,d) ∈ ℝ²₊ with (a,b) ≥ (c,d) and (a,b) ≠ (c,d), agent 1 strictly prefers (a,b). Consider the claims: (I) in a competitive equilibrium both prices must be positive, and (II) the sum of the allocations to 1 and 2 must equal the sum of their endowments. Which of the following statements is correct? (A) I and II are true (B) I is true, but II is false (C) I and II are false (D) I is false, but II is true

Also written as: Consider an exchange economy with two agents, 1 and 2, and two goods X and Y. Given bundles (a,b),(c,d) in R^2_+ with (a,b) >= (c,d) and (a,b) != (c,d), agent 1 strictly prefers (a,b). Consider the claims: (I) in a competitive equilibrium both prices must be positive, and (II) the sum of the allocations to 1 and 2 must equal the sum of their endowments. Which of the following statements is correct?

General equilibrium and exchange economies has come up 69 times in 7 exams since 2004.

What this question tests

This question is on Walras' law, numeraire and relative prices, part of General equilibrium and exchange economies in Microeconomics.

Why one market clears automatically when the others do, and why only relative prices matter.

TestStop has 19 past-paper questions on this subtopic; the nearest in year are below.

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