Chapter 30: Q.2 - Critical Thinking Questions (page 686)
Could it be rational for someone to choose to be uninsured and pay an annual $250 penalty? Explain your reasoning.
It will be rational for someone to pay an annualpenalty
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Consider the graph nearby, which depicts Lorenz curves for countries X, Y, and Z.
a. Which country has the least income inequality?
b. Which country has the most income inequality?
c. Countries Y and Z are identical in all but one respect: population distribution. The share of the population made up of children below working age is much higher in country Z. Recently, however, birthrates have declined in country Z and risen in country Y. Assuming that the countries remain identical in all other respects, would you expect that in 20 years the Lorenz curves for the two countries will be closer together or farther apart? (Hint: According to the age-earnings cycle, what typically happens to income as an individual begins working and ages?)
Describe how to use a Lorenz curve to represent a nation's income distribution
Identify the key determinants of income differences across individuals and discuss theories of the desired income distribution.
Estimates indicate that in recent years, the poorest 40 percent of the population earned about 15 percent of total income in Argentina. In Brazil, the poorest 40 percent earned about 10 percent of total income. The next-highest 30 percent of income earners in Argentina received roughly 25 percent of total income. In Brazil, the next-highest 30 percent of income earners received approximately 20 percent of total income. Can you determine, without drawing a diagram (though you can if you wish), which country's Lorenz curve was bowed out farther to the right?
A government agency notifies the physicians' group in Problem 30-10 that to continue providing services in the community, the group must document its activities. The resulting paperwork expenses raise the cost of each unit of health care services that the group provides. What is the likely effect on the profit-maximizing price and the equilibrium quantity of health care services provided by the physicians' group in this community?
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