Question

Becky and Sarah are sisters who share a room. Their room can easily get messy, and their parents are always telling them to tidy it. Here are the costs and benefits to both Becky and Sarah, of taking the time to clean their room: If both Becky and Sarah clean, they each spend two hours and get a clean room. If Becky decides not to clean and Sarah does all the cleaning, then Sarah spends 10 hours cleaning (Becky spends 0) but Sarah is exhausted. The same would occur for Becky if Sarah decided not to clean—Becky spends 10 hours and becomes exhausted. If both girls decide not to clean, they both have a dirty room.

a) Cleaning is a public good.
b) Cleaning is a private good.
c) Cleaning is a common resource.
d) Cleaning is a natural monopoly.

Answer 1

The best outcome for Becky and Sarah is to both clean the room, while the worst is if neither cleans. The Prisoner's Dilemma predicts they might choose not to clean. Allocating chores by comparative advantage maximizes efficiency but may lead to free-rider problems similar to those in trade scenarios.

Step-by-step explanation:

The scenario described with Becky and Sarah cleaning their room resembles game theory and in particular, the Prisoner's Dilemma. The best outcome for both Becky and Sarah would be to cooperate and clean the room together, spending only 2 hours each with a satisfactory result. The worst outcome is if both decide not to clean, leading to a dirty room which is undesirable.

However, due to the structure of the dilemma and individual incentives, both sisters might choose not to clean, aiming to avoid work and expecting the other to do it, leading to the worst outcome.

In the case of the roommate situation in Washington, D.C., to maximize free time, chores should be distributed considering comparative advantages. If you are 70% faster at doing the dishes and 10% faster at vacuuming, it would be beneficial to assign dishwashing to yourself and vacuuming to the roommates.

The effectiveness and speed difference might create a free-rider problem, where the roommates could slack off, expecting you to complete the tasks due to your higher efficiency. This situation is akin to a trade-related problem, where countries or individuals may rely on others with comparative advantages to provide certain goods or services, potentially leading to dependency and imbalance.