Question

A girl is given $15 by her parents. She has two options of how to spend the money. She can either save the money for future purchases or she can start a lemonade stand on her driveway. If she spends her $15 on the lemonade stand, there is a 50% probability she will lose $10 and a 50% probability she will make $12. Assuming the girl has a square root utility function, what should the girl do with the money?

a. Start her lemonade stand.
b. Save her money.
c. The outcome is the same for both choices.

Answer 1

B) Save her money.

Step-by-step explanation:

The girl's utility of saving her money = √$15 = $3.87

If the girl starts her lemonade business, the expected utility of her investment = (50% x √$5) + (50% x √$27) = (50% x $2.236) + (50% x $5.196) = $1.118 + $2.598 = 3.72

Since the utility of saving her money ($3.87) is > than the utility obtained by the investment ($3.72), the girl should save her money.