economics utility

5. • Consumers analyze the optimal way in which to leverage their purchasing power
to maximize their utility and minimize opportunity costs through employing trade -
offs.
• The way economists demonstrate this arithmetically and visually is through
generating budget curves and indifference curves.
• Budget curves indicate the relationship between two goods relative to opportunity
costs, which defines the value of each good relative to one another.
• Indifference curves underline the way in which a given consumer interprets the
value of each good relative to one another, demonstrating how much of ‘good Xis
equivalent in utility to a certain quantity of ‘good Y (and vice versa).
• Through utilizing these economic tools, economists can predict consumer
behavior and consumers can maximize their overall utility based upon their
budget constraints.

6. • Consumers are inherently equipped with an infinite demand
• a finite pool of resources,
• Consumeres must make budgetary decisions based on their
preferences.
• The way economists demonstrate this arithmetically and visually is
through generating budget curves and indifference curves.

7. • Consumer preferences are defined as the subjective (individual)
tastes, as measured by utility, of various bundles of goods. They
permit the consumer to rank these bundles of goods according to the
levels of utility they give the consumer. Note that preferences are
independent of income and prices. Ability to purchase goods does not
determine a consumer’s likes or dislikes. One can have a preference
for Porsches over Fords but only have the financial means to drive a
Ford.

8. Budget curves: This indicates the relationship between two goods
relative to opportunity costs, which defines the value of each good
relative to one another.