Preview

Utility Maximizing Rule

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
280 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Utility Maximizing Rule
Utility Maximizing Rule
The consumer’s money income should be allocated so that the last dollar spent on each product yields the same amount of extra (marginal) utility.

How should the $10 income be allocated?

UTILITY MAXIMIZING COMBINATION
Algebraic Restatement of the Utility Maximization Rule

MUx/Px = MUy/Py = MUz/Pz

8 utils$1=16 utils$2

MARGINAL UTILITY-PRICE RATIO:
The ratio of the marginal utility obtained from consuming a good to the price of the good. This ratio is particularly important in determining consumer equilibrium, which is reached when the marginal utility-price ratios are the same for all goods. Equality between all marginal utility-price ratios is the rule of consumer equilibrium which is satisfied with utility maximization.
The marginal utility-price ratio indicates the satisfaction derived from the last dollar spent on a good. A consumer maximizes utility be equating the marginal utility-price ratio for each good purchased and consumed. If the ratios are not equal, then utility can be increased by changing the combination of goods consumed.
Consumer Equilibrium
When consumers make choices about the quantity of goods and services to consume, it is presumed that their objective is to maximize total utility. In maximizing total utility, the consumer faces a number of constraints, the most important of which are the consumer's income and the prices of the goods and services that the consumer wishes to consume. The consumer's effort to maximize total utility, subject to these constraints, is referred to as the consumer's problem. The solution to the consumer's problem, which entails decisions about how much the consumer will consume of a number of goods and services, is referred to as consumer

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    EGC1 Study Guide

    • 9768 Words
    • 37 Pages

    Marginal Utility: The extra utility a consumer obtains from the consumption of 1 additional unit of a good or service; equal to the…

    • 9768 Words
    • 37 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Consumption of goods and services by consumers generates satisfaction, happiness, content, pride of ownership, etc. Economists have the term UTILITY to describe them all; with the assumption that consumers seek to maximize utility. Start the chapter by acquainting yourselves with the definitions of Utility, Util, Total and Marginal Utilities, and thereon the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility. Then, closely study exhibit 1 for numerical and graphical examples of these new terms.…

    • 1174 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nolan Miller

    • 93257 Words
    • 374 Pages

    1 The Economic Approach 2 Consumer Theory Basics 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Commodities and Budget Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Demand Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Three Restrictions on Consumer Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 5 8 9…

    • 93257 Words
    • 374 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In order to understand consumer behavior one must understand the term. Consumer behavior is the study of consumers and the processes they use to choose, use (consume), and dispose of products and services. (MarketingTeacher, n.d.) This allows economists to predict consumer-buying patterns. Each consumer relies on different products and services based on their own income as well as their needs. Economists follow past trends and buying habits in order to assume future purchases. Now looking at utility, this defines the measurement in which you are willing to pay for an item for enjoyment or satisfaction received. The more you consume of a good, the less utility you receive from the last unit consumed. As an…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Principle of utility, which approves of an action in o far as an action has an overall tendency to promote the greatest amount of happiness. Happiness is identified with pleasure and the absence of pain.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lex Service plc

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Marginal Utility- the added utility derived from increasing consumption of a particular product by one unit holding the consumption of all other goods service constant.…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Utility Analysis

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Marginal utility is an economic concept that is used in determining the additional satisfaction that one obtains as he consumes additional amount of a particular commodity (Samuelson and Nordhaus, 2001).…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    by its usefulness in maximizing utility. On the other hand, utility can be defined as…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Indifference Curve and Units

    • 3606 Words
    • 15 Pages

    8. The first Pepsi yields Craig 18 units of utility and the second yields him an additional 12 units of utility. His total utility from three Pepsis is 38 units of utility. The marginal utility of the third Pepsi is:…

    • 3606 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Key to Success in Econ

    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Let I be the income of the consumer, Px be the price of good x and Py be the price of good y. If good is measured along the horizontal axis and good is measured along the vertical axis, then the “ -intercept” measures the maximum amount of good that the consumer can afford, which can be expressed as…

    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Water Diamond Paradox

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The notion of marginal utility or marginal benefit of a commodity and the concepts of consumer surplus based on it can be used to resolve the water-diamond paradox. The marginal benefit or marginal valuation per litre of water for the consumer is very low as the actual supply of water per period is large. On the other hand, the marginal utility or marginal benefit of diamonds is very high because the amount of diamond actually available is very small. If, in fact, only a few litres of water were available, marginal valuation of water would have been much greater than that of diamonds. Note that marginal valuation of a commodity reflects how much amount of money consumer is prepared to pay for a commodity. This indicates marginal utility or use value of the commodity for the consumer. It is worth noting that downward sloping demand curve for a commodity can be interpreted as showing the marginal valuation or marginal utility in terms of money to the consumer of various units…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Utility Theory

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages

    As consumers, we are constantly forced into making choices. They face a variety of goods and services which can be purchased, but often are limited by the amount of money with which those purchases can be made. The utility theory, also sometimes referred to as the consumer behavior theory, is often used to explain the behavior of individual consumers and the amount of satisfaction a consumer derives from the consumption of goods and services. The theory of consumer behavior explains how people can best utilize their resources to achieve the highest level of satisfaction possible. According to Mr. Hirschey, the utility theory hinges on three basic assumptions: First, more is better, is described as consumers preferring more of a particular good or service. The second is that consumer preferences are complete, which allows the consumer to prioritize the assumed benefits of consumption. Finally, preferences are transitive, which enables the consumer to make a decision based on the desirability of consumption of a particular good or service. All of these assumptions help businesses gain a better understanding of the consumer they wish to attract, while providing economists and those that study consumers a better understanding of the habits of consumers. There are a several other concepts of importance that are observed; the first approach is the marginal utility. According to the marginal utility theory, consumers should benefit from consumption of an extra unit of goods or services. For example, let’s look at the consumption of a candy bar. Let’s say a consumer purchases a candy bar every Friday for a month. If you were to survey this individual every week we would expect to see an increase in satisfaction each week. The second point is the law of diminishing marginal utility. The law of diminishing marginal utility states that, as a consumer consumes more of a specific product or service,…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    price effect

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages

    For an individual, indifference curves and an assumption of constant prices and a fixed income in a two-good world will give the following diagram. The consumer can choose any point on or below the budget constraint line BC. This line is diagonal since it comes from the equation . In other words, the amount spent on both goods together is less than or equal to the income of the consumer. The consumer will choose the indifference curve with the highest utility that is within his budget constraint. Every point on I3 is outside his budget constraint so the best that he can do is the single point on I2 that is tangent to his budget constraint. He will purchase X* of good X and Y* of good Y.…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    economics exam papers

    • 5311 Words
    • 22 Pages

    Given prices and income, you know how to graph a consumer’s budget. If you also know the consumer’s preferences, you can graph some of…

    • 5311 Words
    • 22 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The basic concept in this approach is utility, which refers to the satisfying power that a…

    • 5314 Words
    • 22 Pages
    Powerful Essays