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9 - Theory of Demand
9 - Theory of Demand
Economics
(COBMECO)
Theory of Demand
Alellie B. Sobreviñas, Ph.D.
alellie.sobrevinas@dlsu.edu.ph
De La Salle University Manila
School of Economics
Utility
Alellie B. Sobreviñas, Ph.D.
alellie.sobrevinas@dlsu.edu.ph
De La Salle University Manila
School of Economics
Utility
the satisfaction a product yields
helps us better understand the process of
choice
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Utility
Two approaches in the analysis of utility
1. Cardinal Utility Utils: hypothetical unit of
Approach measurement
Example: a bag of mangoes gives
Give a value of utility to you a moderate utility of 20 utils;
different options, i.e., give a large pizza may give a greater
different choices a satisfaction of 50 utils
specific utility value
A normative judgement: people do
Enables consumers to
not go around in terms of “utils”
rank the magnitude of
but make a rough heuristic
how much they prefer
judgements about what to buy
one good to another
Utility
Two approaches in the analysis of utility:
2. Ordinal Utility
Approach
Example: We prefer A to B,
but we cannot say how much
in cardinal terms
Ranks choices by order of
preference Argument: People do not
Does not try to give the really give concrete
magnitude of how much a values of utility to
consumer prefers a good different options
Utility
Example: Which car gives you the most utility?
1. Cardinal Utility 2. Ordinal Utility
Approach Approach
Utils Rank
50 1
40 2
30 3
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Utility
There are no real ways to measure utility as it
is a subjective idea (vary from one person to
another).
The demand curve can give a rough idea of
likely utility.
“Utility is taken to be correlative to Desire or Want… desires cannot be
measured directly, but only indirectly by the outward phenomena to
which they give rise: in those cases with which economics is chiefly
concerned the measure is found in the price which a person is willing to
pay for the fulfillment or satisfaction of his desire.” – Alfred Marshall
(Principles of Economics; 1890)
Utility
Law of diminishing marginal utility: The more of any
one good consumed in a given period, the less
satisfaction (utility) generated by consuming each
additional (marginal) unit of the same good.
“familiar and fundamental tendency of human nature”
(Alfred Marshall, 1890)
helps in understanding the behavior of people in a wide
range of markets, from product markets and financial markets
to labor markets
Utility
Marginal utility: The additional satisfaction gained by
the consumption or use of one more unit of a good or
service
Total utility: The total satisfaction a product yields
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Utility
Example: Frank loves country music, and a country band plays
7 nights a week at a club near his house.
Total Utility and Marginal Utility of Trips to the Club Per Week
Utility
Example:
Graphs of Total Utility and
Marginal Utility of Trips to
the Club Per Week
When marginal
utility is zero, total
utility stops rising.
Indifference Curves
Alellie B. Sobreviñas, Ph.D.
alellie.sobrevinas@dlsu.edu.ph
De La Salle University Manila
School of Economics
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Indifference curve
Assumptions:
1. Analysis is restricted to goods that yield positive marginal
utility or more simply, that “more is better”.
2. The marginal rate of substitution is defined as MUx /MUY , or
the ratio at which a household is willing to substitute X for Y.
Example: When MUx /MUY =4, you would be willing to trade 4 units of Y
for 1 additional unit of X.
We assume a diminishing marginal rate of substitution, i.e., as more
of X and less of Y are consumed, MUx /MUY declines
As you consume more of X and less of Y, X becomes less valuable in
terms of units of Y, or Y becomes more valuable in terms of X.
Indifference curve
Assumptions:
3. Consumers have the ability to choose among the combinations
of goods and services available.
a. Prefer A over B
b. Prefer B over A
c. Indifferent between A and B (i.e., she likes A and B equally)
4. Consumer choices are consistent with a simple assumption of
rationality
Example: Prefers A to B → Prefers B to C → Prefers A to C
Indifference curve
A set of points, each point representing a combination of goods X and Y,
all of which yield the same total utility
a curve that shows
consumption bundles that
give the consumer the same
level of satisfaction.
The consumer is indifferent
among combinations A, B,
and C because they are all
on the same curve.
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Indifference curve
The slope at any point on an indifference
curve equals the rate at which the
consumer is willing to substitute one
good for the other. This rate is called the
marginal rate of substitution (MRS).
In this case, the MRS measures how
much Y the consumer requires to be
compensated for a one unit reduction in
consumption of X.
The indifference curve is not a straight
line
the MRS is not the same at all points
on a given indifference curve
Indifference curve
Preference map: A consumer’s set of indifference curves
Each consumer has a
unique family of
indifference curves.
Higher indifference curves
represent higher levels of
total utility.
Indifference curve
Properties of Indifference Curves
Soda The absolute value of the slope of
the indifference curves decreases,
or the curve gets flatter, as we
move to the right (i.e., convex
toward the origin)
Pizza
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Indifference curve
Properties of Indifference Curves
Soda The absolute value of the slope of
the indifference curves decreases,
or the curve gets flatter, as we
move to the right (i.e., convex
toward the origin)
Pizza
Budget Constraint,
Income and Substitution Effects
Alellie B. Sobreviñas, Ph.D.
alellie.sobrevinas@dlsu.edu.ph
De La Salle University Manila
School of Economics
The Budget Constraint
Recall: Determinants of Household Demand
1. The price of the product
2. The income available to the household
3. The household’s amount of accumulated wealth
4. The prices of other products available to the household
5. The household’s tastes and preferences
6. The household’s expectations about future income,
wealth, and prices
Budget Constraint: the limits imposed on household choices by
income, wealth and product prices
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The Budget Constraint
Example: Possible Choices of a Person Earning P40,000 per month
after Taxes
Option Monthly Food Other Total Available
Rent Expenses
A P16,000 P10,000 P14,000 P40,000 Yes
B 24,000 8,000 8,000 40,000 Yes
C 28,000 6,000 6,000 40,000 Yes
D 40,000 4,000 4,000 40,000 No
Choice set or opportunity set: The set of options that is defined
and limited by a budget constraint.
The Budget Constraint
More formally: Budget constraint and Opportunity Set
Example: Mary and John
Both receive scholarships
(tuition fee and payment for
dormitory which covers their
meals as well)
10 jazz club trips= P4,000
They receive a total of P8,000 5 Thai meals= P4,000
per month to cover all their Total= P8,000
other expenses
Simple example: Assume both
spend their money on only 2
things: meals at a local Thai
restaurant and nights at a local
jazz club
The Budget Constraint
The Equation of Budget Constraint
where PY = the price of Y
PX = the price of X Y = quantity of Y consumed
X = quantity of X consumed I = household income
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The Budget Constraint
Example: Mary and John
P800 Thai meals P400 Jazz visits P8,000
Let X represents the no. of Thai meals
Y represents the no. of Jazz club visits
Assuming Mary and John spend the entire income on either X or
Y:
𝑃800𝑋 P400Y= P8,000
When Y=0 : P800X = P8,000; X= 10
When X=0: P400Y = P8,000; Y= 20
The Budget Constraint
Budget Constraints Change When Prices Rise or Fall
Example: The Effect of a Decrease in Price on Mary and John’s Budget Constraint
Suppose the price of Thai meals
drops to P400
New and flatter budget constraint:
reflects the new trade‐off between
Thai meals and Jazz visits
The opportunity set has expanded:
at the lower price, more
combinations of Thai meals and Jazz
visits are available
Budget constraint:
400X + 400Y = 8,000
Consumer Utility‐Maximizing Equilibrium
By multiplying both sides of this
equation by MUY and dividing both
sides by PX , we can rewrite this utility‐
maximizing rule as:
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Income and Substitution Effects
The Income Effect (of a price change)
the change in consumption that results when a price change
moves the consumer to a higher or lower indifference curve
The Substitution Effect (of a price change)
the change in consumption that results when a price change
moves the consumer along a given indifference curve to a point
with a new marginal rate of substitution
Income and Substitution Effects
Example:
How might a consumer respond when he learns that the price
of soda has fallen?
“Great news! Now that soda is cheaper, my income has
greater purchasing power. I am, in effect, richer than I was.
Because I am richer, I can buy both more pizza and more
soda.” (This is the income effect.)
“Now that the price of soda has fallen, I get more liters of
soda for every pizza that I give up. Because pizza is now
relatively more expensive, I should buy less pizza and more
soda.” (This is the substitution effect.)
Income and Substitution Effects
Example: Income and substitution effects when the price of soda falls
Good Income Effect Substitution Effect Total Effect
Soda Consumer is Soda is relatively Income and substitution
richer, so she cheaper, so effects act in the same
buys more consumer buys direction so consumer
soda more soda. buys more soda.
Pizza Consumer is Pizza is relatively Income and substitution
richer so she more expensive, so effects act in opposite
buys more consumer buys less directions, so total effect
pizza pizza on pizza consumption is
ambiguous
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Income and Substitution Effects
Example: Income and substitution effects when the price of soda falls
Quantity of
soda
Income and Substitution Effects
Example: Income and substitution effects when the price of soda falls
Quantity of
soda
The substitution effect —the
movement along an
indifference curve to a point
with a different MRS—is
shown here as the change
from point A to point B along
indifference curve I1.
Income and Substitution Effects
Example: Income and substitution effects when the price of soda falls
Quantity of
soda
The income effect —the shift
to a higher indifference
curve—is shown here as the
change from point B on
indifference curve I1 to point C
on indifference curve I2.
A to B: pure change in MRS
without any change in the
consumer’s welfare
(substitution effect)
B to C: pure change in welfare
without any change in MRS
(income effect)
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Questions?
Main References
Case, K., Fair, R. and Oster, S. (2012). Principles of
Economics (10th edition). Singapore: Prentice Hall, Inc.
Mankiw, N.G. (2015). Principles of Economics (7th edition).
Toronto: Thomson Nelson
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