ECO-4 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Reservation Price, Takers, Demand Curve

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7 Aug 2020

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Definition: spending should be allocated across goods and services so that the marginal utility per dollar is the same for each good. Total utility will be satisfied when following equation is satisfied: (see example on alice"s beef and venison) If the ratio were higher for one good than for another, the consumer could always increase her total utility by buying more of the first good than the second. Rational spending rule applies to goods that are perfectly divisible e. g. milk. Allocate each additional dollar you spend to the good for which your marginal utility per dollar is highest. Market demand curve = add individual demand curves together. E. g. select a price and then add the quantity demanded by each buyer at this price. Consumer surplus: difference between a buyer"s reservation price for a good and the price actually paid. When a product can be sold only in whole-number amounts, its demand curve has the.

Related Questions

1. If marginal utility is negative, total utility is

a. Positive

b. Negative

c. Decreasing

d. Constant

e. Increasing

2. If utility-maximizing consumers face identical prices, they will have identical

a. Marginal utilities for each good

b. Ratio of marginal utilities for each good

c. Preferences

d. Ratios of total utilities for each good

e. Total utilities for each good

3. The substitution effect

a. Always increases quantity demanded of a good whose relative price has fallen

b. Is opposite in sign to the income effect for all normal goods

c. Is opposite in sign to the income effect for all normal goods

d. May cause demand curves to be upward sloping

e. Is always dominated by the income effect for normal goods

4. Demand curves for normal goods slope downward because

a. The substitution effect of a price change is greater than the income effect

b. Substitution and income effects work in the same direction

c. The income effect is always greater than the substitution effect

d. The income effect is always less than the substitution effect

e. None of the above

5. The idea that a consumer derives less additional satisfaction from consuming successive units of a good is called

a. Diminishing consumer surplus

b. The paradox of value

c. Diminishing marginal utility

d. Diminishing total value of consumption

e. Diminishing total utility

indigolocust149

When deciding consumption levels of more than one good, the utility-maximizing rule states that you are maximizing utility when

		the marginal utility o two goods are equal
		the marginal utility of two goods are zero
		the ratio of marginal utility to price of two goods is zero
		the ratio of marginal utility to price for the two goods are equal

10 points

QUESTION 2

My brother says the law of diminishing marginal utility is nonsense because he is way happier after his sixth beer than after his first one. Pick the best response.

		He has a point, maybe this is something behavioral economists should take a look at.
		True, but marginal utility refers only to the utility gained (or lost) by drinking that last beer, not to his total utility
		There are always exceptions, but in general this law will hold.
		True, but the law of diminishing marginal utility is really just saying that eventually he will prefer a glass of wine to another beer.

10 points

QUESTION 3

Frank spends $75 on 10 magazines and 25 newspapers. The magazines cost $5 each and the newspapers cost $2.50 each. Suppose that his marginal utility from the final magazine is 10 utils while his marginal utility from the final newspaper is also 10 utils. According to the utility-maximizing rule, Frank should:

		Reallocate spending from magazines to newspapers
		Reallocate spending from newspapers to magazines
		Be satisfied because he is already maximizing his total utility
		None of the above

10 points

QUESTION 4

Marginal utility can be:

		Positive, negative, or zero
		Decreasing but not negative
		Positive or negative, but not zero
		Positive, but not negative

10 points

QUESTION 5

In economics, a product provides utility if it:

is useful

violates the law of demand

takes more and more resources to produce successive units of it

satisfies consumer wants

Which of the following is true of an indifference curve?

		Along an indifference curve utility is fixed.
		If a consumer is rational then indifference curves may cross.
		Indifference curves further from the origin are associated with lower levels of utility than those that are closer to the origin.
		Because they are indifference curves, microeconomics students should be indifferent towards them.

1. (Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility) Some restaurants offer âall you can eatâ meals. How is this practice related to diminishing marginal utility? What restrictions must the restaurant impose on the customer in order to make a profit? (Answers may vary)

2. (Marginal Utility) Is it possible for marginal utility to be negative while total utility is positive? If yes, under what circumstances is it possible?

3. (Role of Time in Demand) In many amusement parks, you pay an admission fee to the park but you do not need to pay for individual rides. How do people choose which rides to go on? (Answers may vary)

4. What is the diamonds-water paradox, and how is it explained? Use the same reasoning to explain why bottled water costs so much more than tap water.

5. Please read Jane Katzâs âThe Joy of Consumption: We Are What We Buy,â in the Federal Reserve Bank of BostonâsRegional Review at http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/nerr/rr1997/winter/katz97_1.htm and briefly discuss/summarize the evidence that Katz cites about how the rising value of time has affected consumer spending patterns.

6. Suppose that marginal utility of Good X = 100, the price of X is $10 per unit, and the price of Y is $5. Assuming that the consumer is in equilibrium and is consuming both X and Y, what must the marginal utility of Y be? (Hint: Please apply the formula: MUx/Px = MUy/Py)

7. What is consumer surplus? What happens to consumer surplus as price level falls?

8. Do you think any good which does not exhibit the law of diminishing marginal utility?

ECO-4 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Reservation Price, Takers, Demand Curve

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