An individual unexpectedly receives their entire year's salary as a single payment on January 1st, with no further income expected until the next year. At this specific point (having all resources now and none for the future), which of the following best describes their likely preference for trading consumption between the present and the future?

Investment Decision with Lump-Sum Income

A person wins a lottery and receives their entire multi-million dollar prize as a single payment today, with no other expected income for the rest of their life. True or False: This person would likely be willing to save or invest a portion of their winnings even if the expected return was slightly less than the amount invested (i.e., a negative real interest rate).

Preferences for Consumption Over Time

Match each scenario describing an individual's resource distribution over time to the corresponding level of situational impatience and willingness to trade between present and future consumption.

Consumption Preferences at Endowment Extremes

Consider an individual who has all of their lifetime resources available for consumption in the present period and expects to have zero resources in the future period. On a standard intertemporal choice graph (present consumption on the horizontal axis, future consumption on the vertical axis), which statement best describes their indifference curve at this specific point and the trade-off they would be willing to make?

Imagine an individual who has their entire lifetime income of $100,000 available to them today, with no income expected in the future. This person wants to arrange their spending to have some money available for both today and the future. Given this specific situation, which of the following exchanges would they most likely be willing to accept?

A farmer has just harvested their entire year's crop, which they can sell immediately for $80,000. This sum represents all the income they will have until the next harvest a year from now. To ensure they have funds throughout the year, they consider placing some of this money into a savings vehicle. Given their immediate situation of having all their resources now and none for the future, which of the following trade-offs would they most likely be willing to accept?

Explaining Consumption Smoothing Behavior

Preferences for Consumption Over Time