On a tropical island the inhabitants live off food they pick from large fruit trees. The government
mandates that teams of 2 be sent out to pick the fruit because one must hold the ladder for safety
reasons. Two types of people live on the island. One is the sharing type (S) who grew up in the
part of the island where property was held in common and equality was the norm. The other type
grew up in the part of the island that was individualistic and ruthlessly competitive (I). When two
I's work together they each grab all the fruit they can reach from the ground because they will not
hold the ladder for each other. They each can pick 50 pounds per day that way. When two S's
work together they hold the ladder for each other so the best fruit in the tree tops can be picked
and they each pick 75 pounds of fruit. If an S and an I work on a team, the I gets 90 because of
his skill in picking only from the ground and the S picks only 25 since no one will hold the
ladder for him. The group with the most fruit to eat increases its population share at the expense
of the other group. a. Calculate the mathematical expectation for each type (S & I), for each
possible situation and totally. Is it more beneficial to play the role of I or S? b. If the share of Is is
70% of society and the share of Ss is 30% of society, how the mathematical expectations for
payoffs will change, for both strategies? c. If 100% of the island population are Ss or 100% of
the island population are Is, what is better for total wealth of the island?.
On a tropical island the inhabitants live off food they pick from larg (1).pdf
1. On a tropical island the inhabitants live off food they pick from large fruit trees. The government
mandates that teams of 2 be sent out to pick the fruit because one must hold the ladder for safety
reasons. Two types of people live on the island. One is the sharing type (S) who grew up in the
part of the island where property was held in common and equality was the norm. The other type
grew up in the part of the island that was individualistic and ruthlessly competitive (I). When two
I's work together they each grab all the fruit they can reach from the ground because they will not
hold the ladder for each other. They each can pick 50 pounds per day that way. When two S's
work together they hold the ladder for each other so the best fruit in the tree tops can be picked
and they each pick 75 pounds of fruit. If an S and an I work on a team, the I gets 90 because of
his skill in picking only from the ground and the S picks only 25 since no one will hold the
ladder for him. The group with the most fruit to eat increases its population share at the expense
of the other group. a. Calculate the mathematical expectation for each type (S & I), for each
possible situation and totally. Is it more beneficial to play the role of I or S? b. If the share of Is is
70% of society and the share of Ss is 30% of society, how the mathematical expectations for
payoffs will change, for both strategies? c. If 100% of the island population are Ss or 100% of
the island population are Is, what is better for total wealth of the island?
