Laertes has an endowment of $20 each period. He can borrow money at an interest rate of 200%, and he can lend money at a rate of 0%. (Note: If the interest rate is 0%, for every dollar that you save, you get back $1 in the next period. If the interest rate is 200%, then for every dollar you borrow, you have to pay back $3 in the next period.)
(a) Use blue ink to illustrate his budget set in the graph below. (The boundary of the budget set is not a single straight line.)
(b) Laertes could invest in a project that would leave him with m1 = 30 and m2 = 15. Besides investing in the project, he can still borrow at 200% interest or lend at 0% interest. Use red ink to draw the new budget set in the graph above. Would Laertes be better off or worse off by investing in this project given his possibilities for borrowing or lending? Or can’t one tell without knowing something about his preferences? Explain.
(c) Consider an alternative project that would leave Laertes with the endowment m1 = 15, m2 = 30. Again suppose he can borrow and lend as above. But if he chooses this project, he can’t do the first project. Use pencil or black ink to draw the budget set available to Laertes if he chooses this project. Is Laertes better off or worse off by choosing this project than if he didn’t choose either project? Or can’t one tell without knowing more about his preferences? Explain.