Question

Joss is a marketing consultant Iris and Daphne are potential customers interested in commissioning Joss to undertake a market survey and compile the findings in a report. Iris is willing to pay $500 for the service while Daphne is willing to pay $800. Suppose that the opportunity cost of Joss's time is $1, 200. Assume that Iris and Daphne do not know each other. Which of the following statements is true?
(A) Joss should charge each customer $600, that way he will earn his opportunity cost and it will be fair to both Iris and Daphne.
(B) Joss should charge Iris $500 and Daphne no more than $700, that way he earns his opportunity cost and there is no loss in economic surplus.
(C) Joss should charge Iris $500 and Daphne $800, that way economic surplus is maximized.
(D) Joss should charge Iris $500 but charging Daphne $800 is unfair because it allows Joss to earn more than his opportunity cost.

Answer 1

Answer:

(C) Joss should charge Iris $500 and Daphne $800, that way economic surplus is maximized.

Explanation:

Assuming information asymmetries in the market, and Iris and Daphne are incapable of compare their willingness to pay against the average price of the market for this type of service, C is true since Joss maximize the economic surplus by increasing his productivity using the time better than his opportunity cost.