Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Microeocnomics Session 6-8
Microeocnomics Session 6-8
Microeocnomics Session 6-8
• Example:
Hurley divides his income between two goods:
fish and mangos.
• A “consumption bundle” is a particular combination of
the goods, e.g., 40 fish & 300 mangos.
• Budget constraint: the limit on the consumption
bundles that a consumer can afford
ACTIVE LEARNING 1
The budget constraint
Quantity
of Fish
ACTIVE LEARNING 2
Budget constraint, continued
If the quantity of
B
fish is reduced,
the quantity of
A
mangos must be
I1
increased to keep
Hurley equally
happy. Quantity
of Fish
Four Properties of Indifference Curves
Quantity Hurley’s
3. Indifference curves of Mangos indifference curves
cannot cross.
Suppose they did.
Hurley should prefer
B to C, since B has B
more of both goods.
Yet, Hurley is indifferent C A
between B and C: I1 I4
He likes C as much as A
(both are on I4).
He likes A as much as B Quantity
of Fish
(both are on I1).
Four Properties of Indifference Curves
Quantity
4. Indifference curves of Mangos
are bowed inward.
A
Hurley is willing to give
up more mangos for a 6
fish if he has few fish
1
(A) than if he has
B
many (B). 2
1 I1
Quantity
of Fish
The Marginal Rate of Substitution
Quantity Quantity
of Coke of hot dogs
Optimization: What the Consumer Chooses
A is the optimum: Quantity
of Mangos
The optimum
the point on the
is the bundle
budget constraint
Hurley most
that touches the
1200 prefers out of
highest possible
all the bundles
indifference curve.
he can afford.
Hurley prefers B to A, B
but he cannot afford B. 600
A
marginal
price of fish
value of fish
(in terms of
mangos)
(in terms of 150 300 Quantity
mangos) of Fish
The Effects of an Increase in Income
Quantity
of Mangos
An increase in
income shifts the
budget constraint
outward.
B
If both goods are A
“normal,” Hurley
buys more of each.
Quantity
of Fish
ACTIVE LEARNING 3
Inferior vs. normal goods
If mangos are
inferior, the new
optimum will
contain fewer
mangos.
A
B
Quantity
of Fish
The Effects of a Price Change
Quantity
Initially,
of Mangos
PF = $4
1200
PM = $1 initial
optimum
PF falls to $2 new
optimum
budget constraint 600
rotates outward, 500
Hurley buys
more fish and
fewer mangos.
150 300 600 Quantity
350 of Fish
The Income and Substitution Effects
A fall in the price of fish has two effects on
Hurley’s optimal consumption of both goods.
• Income effect
A fall in PF boosts the purchasing power of Hurley’s
income, allows him to buy more mangos and more fish.
• Substitution effect
A fall in PF makes mangos more expensive relative to fish,
causes Hurley to buy fewer mangos and more fish.
Notice: The net effect on mangos is ambiguous.
The Income and Substitution Effects
Initial Quantity
optimum at A. In this example,
of Mangos
the net effect
PF falls. on mangos is
Substitution effect: negative.
from A to B,
buy more fish and
fewer mangos. A
C
Income effect:
from B to C, B
buy more of both
goods.
Quantity
of Fish
ACTIVE LEARNING 4
The substitution effect in two cases
A
B B
Quantity Quantity
of Coke of hot dogs
Deriving Hurley’s Demand Curve for Fish
A: When
B: $4, Hurley
WhenPPF F==$2, Hurley demands
demands 350
150 fish.
fish.
Quantity Price of
of Mangos Fish
A
$4
A
B
B
$2
DFish
At the optimum,
the MRS between
current and future
consumption equals