CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
AND UTILITY
MAXIMIZATION
INTRODUCTION
If you were to compare the shopping carts of
almost any two consumers, you would
observe striking differences.
how individual consumers allocate their
incomes among the various goods and
services available to them.
LAW OF DIMINISHING MARGINAL
UTILITY
The simplest theory of consumer behavior
rests squarely on the Law of diminishing
marginal utility.
This principle is defined as the added
satisfaction declines as a consumer acquires
additional units of a given product.
TERMINOLOGY
Utility is a want- satisfying power
Utility'' and ''usefulness'' are not synonymous.
Utility is subjective.
Utility is difficult to quantify.
TOTAL UTILITY AND MARGINAL
UTILITY
Total utility and marginal utility are related,
but different ideas.
Total utility is the total amount of satisfaction
or pleasure a person derives from consuming
some specific quantity-for example, 10 unitsof a good or service.
Marginal utility is the extra satisfaction a
consumer realizes from an additional unit of
that product.
TOTAL UTILITY
MARGINAL UTILITY
MARGINAL UTILITY AND DEMAND
The law of diminishing marginal utility
explains why the demand curve for a given
product slopes downward.
If successive units of a good yield smaller and
smaller amounts of marginal, or extra utility,
then the consumer will buy additional units of
a product only if its price falls.
THEORY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Consumer Choice and Budget Constraint
Rational Behavior
Preferences
Budget constraint
Prices
Utility maximizing Rule
Of all the different combinations of goods and
services a consumer can obtain within his or her
budget, which specific combination will yield the
maximum utility or satisfaction?
To maximize satisfaction, the consumer should
allocate his or her money income so that the last
dollar Spent on each product yields the same
amount of marginal utility.
This is called the Utility maximizing rule.
there is no change in taste, income, products, or
prices.
ALGEBRIC
REASTATEMENT
Our allocation rule says that a consumer will
maximize her satisfaction when she allocates
her money income so that the last dollar
spent on product A, the last on product B, and
so forth, yield equal amounts of additional, or
marginal utility.
MU of product A = MU of product B
Price of A
Price of B
UTILITY MAXIMIZATION AND
DEMAND CURVE
basic determinants of an Individual's demand for a
specific product are
(1) preferences or tastes,
(2) money income, and
(3) The prices of other goods. The utility data in
Table 19.1 reflect our consumer's preferences.
We continue to suppose that her Money income
is $ 10.. And, concentrating on the construction
of a simple demand curve for product B, we
assume that the price of A, representing ''other
goods,'' is still $1.
the income effect is the impact that a
change in the price of a product has on a
consumer's real income and consequently on
the quantity demanded of that good.
The substitution effect is the impact that a
change in the products price has on its
relative expensiveness and consequently on
the quantity demanded.