DSE 2021 Question 27: Welfare economics and social choice
In an exchange economy there are two goods X and Y and two agents A and B. A owns 10 units of good Y while B owns 10 units of good X. A has lexicographic preferences with good X coming before good Y (she chooses the bundle with the most X; only in a tie on X does she compare Y). B has lexicographic preferences with good Y before good X. Statement I: an allocation where A gets 10 units of good X and B gets 10 units of good Y is Pareto optimal. Statement II: an allocation where A gets 10 units of X and 5 units of Y while B gets 5 units of Y is Pareto optimal. Choose the correct answer.
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Plain-text version
In an exchange economy there are two goods X and Y and two agents A and B. A owns 10 units of good Y while B owns 10 units of good X. A has lexicographic preferences with good X coming before good Y (she chooses the bundle with the most X; only in a tie on X does she compare Y). B has lexicographic preferences with good Y before good X. Statement I: an allocation where A gets 10 units of good X and B gets 10 units of good Y is Pareto optimal. Statement II: an allocation where A gets 10 units of X and 5 units of Y while B gets 5 units of Y is Pareto optimal. Choose the correct answer. (A) Both Statement I and Statement II are true (B) Both Statement I and Statement II are false (C) Statement I is true but Statement II is false (D) Statement I is false but Statement II is true
Welfare economics and social choice has come up 62 times in 6 exams since 2004.
What this question tests
This question is on Pareto efficiency and Pareto improvements, part of Welfare economics and social choice in Microeconomics.
What it means for an allocation to be efficient, checked in exchange economies and other settings.
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