|
Quasilinear Utility
In economics and consumer theory, quasilinear utility functions are linear in one argument, generally the numeraire. Quasilinear preferences can be represented by the utility function u(x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_n) = x_1 + \theta (x_2, \ldots, x_n) where \theta is strictly concave. A useful property of the quasilinear utility function is that the Marshallian/Walrasian demand for x_2, \ldots, x_n does not depend on wealth and is thus not subject to a wealth effect; The absence of a wealth effect simplifies analysis and makes quasilinear utility functions a common choice for modelling. Furthermore, when utility is quasilinear, compensating variation (CV), equivalent variation (EV), and consumer surplus are algebraically equivalent. In mechanism design, quasilinear utility ensures that agents can compensate each other with side payments. Definition in terms of preferences A preference relation \succsim is quasilinear with respect to commodity 1 (called, in this case, the ''numeraire'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of Agent (economics), economic agents and how economy, economies work. Microeconomics analyzes what's viewed as basic elements in the economy, including individual agents and market (economics), markets, their interactions, and the outcomes of interactions. Individual agents may include, for example, households, firms, buyers, and sellers. Macroeconomics analyzes the economy as a system where production, consumption, saving, and investment interact, and factors affecting it: employment of the resources of labour, capital, and land, currency inflation, economic growth, and public policies that have impact on glossary of economics, these elements. Other broad distinctions within economics include those between positive economics, desc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indirect Utility
__NOTOC__ In economics, a consumer's indirect utility function v(p, w) gives the consumer's maximal attainable utility when faced with a vector p of goods prices and an amount of income w. It reflects both the consumer's preferences and market conditions. This function is called indirect because consumers usually think about their preferences in terms of what they consume rather than prices. A consumer's indirect utility v(p, w) can be computed from his or her utility function u(x), defined over vectors x of quantities of consumable goods, by first computing the most preferred affordable bundle, represented by the vector x(p, w) by solving the utility maximization problem, and second, computing the utility u(x(p, w)) the consumer derives from that bundle. The resulting indirect utility function is :v(p,w)=u(x(p,w)). The indirect utility function is: *Continuous on R''n''+ × R+ where ''n'' is the number of goods; *Decreasing in prices; *Strictly increasing in income; *Homogenou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linear Utility
In economics and consumer theory, a linear utility function is a function of the form: ::u(x_1,x_2,\dots,x_m) = w_1 x_1 + w_2 x_2 + \dots w_m x_m or, in vector form: ::u(\overrightarrow) = \overrightarrow \cdot \overrightarrow where: * m is the number of different goods in the economy. * \overrightarrow is a vector of size m that represents a bundle. The element x_i represents the amount of good i in the bundle. * \overrightarrow is a vector of size m that represents the subjective preferences of the consumer. The element w_i represents the relative value that the consumer assigns to good i. If w_i=0, this means that the consumer thinks that product i is totally worthless. The higher w_i is, the more valuable a unit of this product is for the consumer. A consumer with a linear utility function has the following properties: * The preferences are strictly monotone: having a larger quantity of even a single good strictly increases the utility. * The preferences are weakly convex, bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quasiconvex Function
In mathematics, a quasiconvex function is a real-valued function defined on an interval or on a convex subset of a real vector space such that the inverse image of any set of the form (-\infty,a) is a convex set. For a function of a single variable, along any stretch of the curve the highest point is one of the endpoints. The negative of a quasiconvex function is said to be quasiconcave. All convex functions are also quasiconvex, but not all quasiconvex functions are convex, so quasiconvexity is a generalization of convexity. ''Univariate'' unimodal functions are quasiconvex or quasiconcave, however this is not necessarily the case for functions with multiple arguments. For example, the 2-dimensional Rosenbrock function is unimodal but not quasiconvex and functions with star-convex sublevel sets can be unimodal without being quasiconvex. Definition and properties A function f:S \to \mathbb defined on a convex subset S of a real vector space is quasiconvex if for all x, y \ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Locally Non-satiated
In microeconomics, the property of local nonsatiation of consumer preferences states that for any Market basket, bundle of goods there is always another bundle of goods arbitrarily close that is strictly preferred to it.''Microeconomic Theory'', by Andreu Mas-Colell, A. Mas-Colell, et al. Formally, if X is the consumption set, then for any x \in X and every \varepsilon>0, there exists a y \in X such that \, y-x \, \leq \varepsilon and y is strictly preferred to x. Several things to note are: # Local nonsatiation is implied by monotone preferences, monotonicity of preferences. However, as the converse is not true, local nonsatiation is a weaker condition. # There is no requirement that the preferred bundle ''y'' contain more of any good – hence, some goods can be "bads" and preferences can be non-monotone. # It rules out the extreme case where all goods are "bad (economics), bads", since the point ''x'' = 0 would then be a bliss point (economics), bliss point. # Local nonsati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indifference Curve
In economics, an indifference curve connects points on a graph representing different quantities of two goods, points between which a consumer is ''indifferent''. That is, any combinations of two products indicated by the curve will provide the consumer with equal levels of utility, and the consumer has no preference for one combination or bundle of goods over a different combination on the same curve. One can also refer to each point on the indifference curve as rendering the same level of utility (satisfaction) for the consumer. In other words, an indifference curve is the locus of various points showing different combinations of two goods providing equal utility to the consumer. Utility is then a device to represent preferences rather than something from which preferences come. The main use of indifference curves is in the representation of potentially observable demand patterns for individual consumers over commodity bundles. There are infinitely many indifference curves: one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convex Preferences
In economics, convex preferences are an individual's ordering of various outcomes, typically with regard to the amounts of various goods consumed, with the property that, roughly speaking, "averages are better than the extremes". The concept roughly corresponds to the concept of diminishing marginal utility without requiring utility functions. Notation Comparable to the greater-than-or-equal-to ordering relation \geq for real numbers, the notation \succeq below can be translated as: 'is at least as good as' (in preference satisfaction). Similarly, \succ can be translated as 'is strictly better than' (in preference satisfaction), and Similarly, \sim can be translated as 'is equivalent to' (in preference satisfaction). Definition Use ''x'', ''y'', and ''z'' to denote three consumption bundles (combinations of various quantities of various goods). Formally, a preference relation \succeq on the consumption set ''X'' is called convex if whenever :x, y, z \in X where y \succeq x a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ordinal Utility
In economics, an ordinal utility function is a function representing the preferences of an agent on an ordinal scale. Ordinal utility theory claims that it is only meaningful to ask which option is better than the other, but it is meaningless to ask ''how much'' better it is or how good it is. All of the theory of consumer decision-making under conditions of certainty can be, and typically is, expressed in terms of ordinal utility. For example, suppose George tells us that "I prefer A to B and B to C". George's preferences can be represented by a function ''u'' such that: :u(A)=9, u(B)=8, u(C)=1 But critics of cardinal utility claim the only meaningful message of this function is the order u(A)>u(B)>u(C); the actual numbers are meaningless. Hence, George's preferences can also be represented by the following function ''v'': :v(A)=9, v(B)=2, v(C)=1 The functions ''u'' and ''v'' are ordinally equivalent – they represent George's preferences equally well. Ordinal utility contrasts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardinal Utility
In economics, a cardinal utility function or scale is a utility index that preserves preference orderings uniquely up to positive affine transformations. Two utility indices are related by an affine transformation if for the value u(x_i) of one index ''u'', occurring at any quantity x_i of the goods bundle being evaluated, the corresponding value v(x_i) of the other index ''v'' satisfies a relationship of the form :v(x_i) = au(x_i) + b\!, for fixed constants ''a'' and ''b''. Thus the utility functions themselves are related by :v(x) = au(x) + b. The two indices differ only with respect to scale and origin. Thus if one is concave, so is the other, in which case there is often said to be diminishing marginal utility. Thus the use of cardinal utility imposes the assumption that levels of absolute satisfaction exist, so that the magnitudes of increments to satisfaction can be compared across different situations. In consumer choice theory, ordinal utility with its weaker assumption ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorman Polar Form
Gorman polar form is a functional form for indirect utility functions in economics. Motivation Standard consumer theory is developed for a single consumer. The consumer has a utility function, from which his demand curves can be calculated. Then, it is possible to predict the behavior of the consumer in certain conditions, price or income changes. But in reality, there are many different consumers, each with his own utility function and demand curve. How can we use consumer theory to predict the behavior of an entire society? One option is to represent an entire society as a single "mega consumer", which has an aggregate utility function and aggregate demand curve. But in what cases is it indeed possible to represent an entire society as a single consumer? Formally: consider an economy with n consumers, each of whom has a demand function that depends on his income m^i and the price system: :x^i(p,m^i) The aggregate demand of society is, in general, a function of the price system ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demand Function
In economics, a demand curve is a graph depicting the relationship between the price of a certain commodity (the ''y''-axis) and the quantity of that commodity that is demanded at that price (the ''x''-axis). Demand curves can be used either for the price-quantity relationship for an individual consumer (an individual demand curve), or for all consumers in a particular market (a market demand curve). It is generally assumed that demand curves slope down, as shown in the adjacent image. This is because of the law of demand: for most goods, the quantity demanded falls if the price rises. Certain unusual situations do not follow this law. These include Veblen goods, Giffen goods, and speculative bubbles where buyers are attracted to a commodity if its price rises. Demand curves are used to estimate behaviour in competitive markets and are often combined with supply curves to find the equilibrium price (the price at which sellers together are willing to sell the same amount as buy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consumer Theory
The theory of consumer choice is the branch of microeconomics that relates preferences to consumption expenditures and to consumer demand curves. It analyzes how consumers maximize the desirability of their consumption as measured by their preferences subject to limitations on their expenditures, by maximizing utility subject to a consumer budget constraint. Factors influencing consumers' evaluation of the utility of goods: income level, cultural factors, product information and physio-psychological factors. Consumption is separated from production, logically, because two different economic agents are involved. In the first case consumption is by the primary individual, individual tastes or preferences determine the amount of pleasure people derive from the goods and services they consume.; in the second case, a producer might make something that he would not consume himself. Therefore, different motivations and abilities are involved. The models that make up consumer theory ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
