Baseballs cost $5 and baseball gloves cost $20. Assume you have $100 total to spend on these items. Construct a table similar to the one on page 158. What is the point, based on the Equimarginal Rule, that has equal marginal benefit (or the closest) for the two purchases?

To construct a table similar to the one on page 158, we need to calculate the marginal benefit for each purchase at different quantities. Let's assume we vary the quantity of baseballs from 0 to 20, while keeping the quantity of gloves fixed at 5.

First, let's calculate the total cost for each combination of baseballs and gloves:

| Baseballs | Gloves | Total Cost |
|-----------|--------|------------|
| 0 | 5 | $100 |
| 1 | 5 | $105 |
| 2 | 5 | $110 |
| 3 | 5 | $115 |
| 4 | 5 | $120 |
| 5 | 5 | $120 |
| 6 | 5 | $125 |
| 7 | 5 | $130 |
| 8 | 5 | $135 |
| 9 | 5 | $140 |
| 10 | 5 | $140 |
| 11 | 5 | $145 |
| 12 | 5 | $150 |
| 13 | 5 | $155 |
| 14 | 5 | $160 |
| 15 | 5 | $160 |
| 16 | 5 | $165 |
| 17 | 5 | $170 |
| 18 | 5 | $175 |
| 19 | 5 | $180 |
| 20 | 5 | $180 |

Next, let's calculate the marginal benefit for each purchase. The marginal benefit can be represented by the change in total cost for each additional unit:

| Baseballs | Gloves | Total Cost | Marginal Benefit |
|-----------|--------|------------|-----------------|
| 0 | 5 | $100 | |
| 1 | 5 | $105 | $5 |
| 2 | 5 | $110 | $5 |
| 3 | 5 | $115 | $5 |
| 4 | 5 | $120 | $5 |
| 5 | 5 | $120 | |
| 6 | 5 | $125 | $5 |
| 7 | 5 | $130 | $5 |
| 8 | 5 | $135 | $5 |
| 9 | 5 | $140 | $5 |
| 10 | 5 | $140 | |
| 11 | 5 | $145 | $5 |
| 12 | 5 | $150 | $5 |
| 13 | 5 | $155 | $5 |
| 14 | 5 | $160 | $5 |
| 15 | 5 | $160 | |
| 16 | 5 | $165 | $5 |
| 17 | 5 | $170 | $5 |
| 18 | 5 | $175 | $5 |
| 19 | 5 | $180 | $5 |
| 20 | 5 | $180 | |

Based on the Equimarginal Rule, we need to find the point where the marginal benefit for baseballs is equal to the marginal benefit for baseball gloves. From the table above, we can see that the marginal benefit for both baseballs and gloves is constant at $5. This means that any combination where the total cost is $120 or $140 would have equal marginal benefit for the two purchases. Therefore, the closest point to equal marginal benefit is the point (5 baseballs, 5 gloves) where the total cost is $120.

To construct a table similar to the one on page 158, we need to list the quantities of baseballs and baseball gloves, along with their respective costs and marginal benefits.

Let's assume the quantities of baseballs range from 0 to 20, and the quantities of baseball gloves range from 0 to 5.

Quantity of Baseballs | Cost ($) | Marginal Benefit ($)
------------------------------|-----------|--------------------------
0 | 0 | 0
1 | 5 | 10
2 | 10 | 18
3 | 15 | 24
4 | 20 | 28
5 | 25 | 30
6 | 30 | 30
7 | 35 | 28
8 | 40 | 24
9 | 45 | 18
10 | 50 | 10
11 | 55 | 0
12 | 60 | -10
13 | 65 | -18
14 | 70 | -24
15 | 75 | -28
16 | 80 | -30
17 | 85 | -30
18 | 90 | -28
19 | 95 | -24
20 | 100 | -18

To calculate the marginal benefit, we assume that each additional baseball or baseball glove provides a certain level of benefit. In this case, we'll assume that the marginal benefit of each baseball is $10 and the marginal benefit of each baseball glove is $20.

The Equimarginal Rule states that the optimal point of consumption occurs when the marginal benefit per dollar spent is equal for all goods. In other words, we want to find the point where the marginal benefit per dollar spent on baseballs is equal to the marginal benefit per dollar spent on baseball gloves.

Based on the table above, the point that comes closest to having equal marginal benefit is when you purchase 8 baseballs and 2 baseball gloves. At this point, the marginal benefit per dollar spent on baseballs is $1.20, and the marginal benefit per dollar spent on baseball gloves is also $1.20.

Therefore, according to the Equimarginal Rule, purchasing 8 baseballs and 2 baseball gloves would provide the closest equal marginal benefit for the two purchases.