Respuesta :
Answer:
A. I would be willing to lend at average rate of 10%
B-1. No, this market will not function well.
B-2. This example illustrates an adverse selection problem.
Explanation:
A. At what interest rate would you be willing to lend if the risk-free rate were 6%?
Appropriate interest rate for type A firm bond = Premium over the risk-free rate of Type A firm + Risk-free rate = 2% + 6% = 8%
Appropriate interest rate for type B firm bond = Premium over the risk-free rate of Type B firm + Risk-free rate = 6% + 6% = 12%
Average rate = (Appropriate interest rate for type A firm bond + Appropriate interest rate for type B firm bond) / 2 = (8% + 12%) / 2 = 10%
Since the probability of any of the two firms is equal and I do not have the knowledge of which type of firm they are dealing with, I would be willing to lend at average rate of 10%.
B-1. Would this market function well?
No, this market will not function well.
The reason is that the average rate of 10% is higher than the Appropriate interest rate for type A firm bond of 8%. This would make the type A firm to withdraw from the market and only type B firm will be left in the market.
B-2. What type of asymmetric information problem does this example illustrate?
This example illustrates an adverse selection problem. This is because after type A firm which is a desirable leaves the market, only type B firm which is the less desirable firms will be willing to borrow. This makes the quality of the market to detoriorate.