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UTILITY MAXIMIZATION
AND CHOICE
2
Complaints about the
Economic Approach
• The economic model of choice is
extremely selfish because no one has
solely self-centered goals
3
Optimization Principle
• To maximize utility, given a fixed amount
of income to spend, an individual will buy
the goods and services:
– that exhaust his or her total income
– for which the psychic rate of trade-off
between any goods (the MRS) is equal to
the rate at which goods can be traded for
one another in the marketplace
4
A Numerical Illustration
• Assume that the individual’s MRS = 1
– willing to trade one unit of x for one unit of
y
• Suppose the price of x = $2 and the
price of y = $1
• The individual can be made better off
– trade 1 unit of x for 2 units of y in the
marketplace
5
The Budget Constraint
• Assume that an individual has I dollars
to allocate between good x and good y
pxx + pyy I
Quantity of y The individual can afford
If all income is spent
I on y, this is the amount to choose only combinations
py of y that can be purchased of x and y in the shaded
triangle
Quantity of x
I 6
px
First-Order Conditions for a
Maximum
• We can add the individual’s utility map
to show the utility-maximization process
Quantity of y The individual can do better than point A
by reallocating his budget
A
C The individual cannot have point C
B because income is not large enough
U3
Point B is the point of utility
U2
maximization
U1
Quantity of x
7
First-Order Conditions for a
Maximum
• Utility is maximized where the indifference curve is
tangent to the budget constraint
Quantity of y px
slope of budget constraint
py
dy
slope of indifference curve
B dx U constant
px dy
U2
- MRS
py dx U constant
Quantity of x
8
Second-Order Conditions for a
Maximum
• The tangency rule is only necessary but
not sufficient unless we assume that MRS
is diminishing
– if MRS is diminishing, then indifference curves
are strictly convex
• If MRS is not diminishing, then we must
check second-order conditions to ensure
that we are at a maximum
9
Second-Order Conditions for a
Maximum
• The tangency rule is only a necessary
condition
– we need MRS to be diminishing
Quantity of y
There is a tangency at point A,
but the individual can reach a higher
level of utility at point B
B
A
U2
U1
Quantity of x 10
Corner Solutions
• In some situations, individuals’ preferences
may be such that they can maximize utility by
choosing to consume only one of the goods
Quantity of x
A 11
The n-Good Case
• The individual’s objective is to maximize
utility = U(x1,x2,…,xn)
subject to the budget constraint
I = p1x1 + p2x2 +…+ pnxn
•
•
•
L/xn = U/xn - pn = 0
L/ = I - p1x1 - p2x2 - … - pnxn = 0
13
Implications of First-Order
Conditions
• For any two goods,
U / x i pi
U / x j p j
MU x1 MU x2 MU xn
...
p1 p2 pn
MU xi
pi
16
Corner Solutions
• When corner solutions are involved, the
first-order conditions must be modified:
L/xi = U/xi - pi 0 (i = 1,…,n)
• If L/xi = U/xi - pi < 0, then xi = 0
• This means that
U / x i MU xi
pi
– any good whose price exceeds its marginal
value to the consumer will not be purchased
17
Cobb-Douglas Demand
Functions
• Cobb-Douglas utility function:
U(x,y) = xy
• Setting up the Lagrangian:
L = xy + (I - pxx - pyy)
• First-order conditions:
L/x = x-1y - px = 0
L/y = xy-1 - py = 0
L/ = I - pxx - pyy = 0 18
Cobb-Douglas Demand
Functions
• First-order conditions imply:
y/x = px/py
• Since + = 1:
pyy = (/)pxx = [(1- )/]pxx
I I
x* y*
px py
px [1 ] py [1 ]
py px
23
CES Demand
• In these demand functions, the share of
income spent on either x or y is not a
constant
– depends on the ratio of the two prices
I I
x* y*
py 0 .5
p
0 .5
px 1 py 1 x
px py
25
CES Demand
• If = -,
U(x,y) = Min(x,4y)
• The person will choose only combinations
for which x = 4y
• This means that
I = pxx + pyy = pxx + py(x/4)
I = (px + 0.25py)x
26
CES Demand
• Hence, the demand functions are
I
x*
px 0.25 py
I
y*
4 p x py
27
Indirect Utility Function
• It is often possible to manipulate first-
order conditions to solve for optimal
values of x1,x2,…,xn
• These optimal values will depend on the
prices of all goods and income
x*1 = x1(p1,p2,…,pn,I)
x*2 = x2(p1,p2,…,pn,I)
•
•
•
x*n = xn(p1,p2,…,pn,I)
28
Indirect Utility Function
• We can use the optimal values of the xs
to find the indirect utility function
maximum utility = U(x*1,x*2,…,x*n)
• Substituting for each x*i, we get
maximum utility = V(p1,p2,…,pn,I)
• The optimal level of utility will depend
indirectly on prices and income
– if either prices or income were to change,
the maximum possible utility will change
29
The Lump Sum Principle
• Taxes on an individual’s general
purchasing power are superior to taxes
on a specific good
– an income tax allows the individual to
decide freely how to allocate remaining
income
– a tax on a specific good will reduce an
individual’s purchasing power and distort
his choices
30
The Lump Sum Principle
• A tax on good x would shift the utility-
maximizing choice from point A to point B
Quantity of y
B A
U1
U2
Quantity of x
31
The Lump Sum Principle
• An income tax that collected the same
amount would shift the budget constraint
to I’
Quantity of y Utility is maximized now at point
I’ C on U3
A
B C
U3 U1
U2
Quantity of x
32
Indirect Utility and the
Lump Sum Principle
• If the utility function is Cobb-Douglas with
= = 0.5, we know that
I I
x* y*
2 px 2 py
• So the indirect utility function is
I
V ( px , py , I ) (x*) (y*)
0.5 0.5
2 px0.5 py0.5
33
Indirect Utility and the
Lump Sum Principle
• If a tax of $1 was imposed on good x
– the individual will purchase x*=2
– indirect utility will fall from 2 to 1.41
• An equal-revenue tax will reduce income to
$6
– indirect utility will fall from 2 to 1.5
34
Indirect Utility and the
Lump Sum Principle
• If the utility function is fixed proportions
with U = Min(x,4y), we know that
I I
x* y*
px 0.25 py 4 p x py
• So the indirect utility function is
I
V ( px , py , I ) Min( x *,4 y *) x*
px 0.25 py
4 I
4y *
4 px py px 0.25 py 35
Indirect Utility and the
Lump Sum Principle
• If a tax of $1 was imposed on good x
– indirect utility will fall from 4 to 8/3
• An equal-revenue tax will reduce income to
$16/3
– indirect utility will fall from 4 to 8/3
• Since preferences are rigid, the tax on x
does not distort choices
36
Expenditure Minimization
• Dual minimization problem for utility
maximization
– allocating income in such a way as to achieve
a given level of utility with the minimal
expenditure
– this means that the goal and the constraint
have been reversed
37
Expenditure Minimization
• Point A is the solution to the dual problem
43
Concavity of Expenditure
Function
At p*1, the person spends E(p*1,…)
If he continues to buy
the same set of goods as
p*1 changes, his
E(p1,…) Epseudo
expenditure function
would be Epseudo
E(p1,…)
E(p*1,…)
Since his consumption
pattern will likely change,
actual expenditures will
be less than Epseudo such
as E(p1,…)
p*1 p1
44
Important Points to Note:
• To reach a constrained maximum, an
individual should:
– spend all available income
– choose a commodity bundle such that the
MRS between any two goods is equal to
the ratio of the goods’ prices
• the individual will equate the ratios of the
marginal utility to price for every good that is
actually consumed
45
Important Points to Note:
• Tangency conditions are only first-
order conditions
– the individual’s indifference map must
exhibit diminishing MRS
– the utility function must be strictly quasi-
concave
46
Important Points to Note:
• Tangency conditions must also be
modified to allow for corner solutions
– the ratio of marginal utility to price will be
below the common marginal benefit-
marginal cost ratio for goods actually
bought
47
Important Points to Note:
• The individual’s optimal choices
implicitly depend on the parameters of
his budget constraint
– choices observed will be implicit functions
of prices and income
– utility will also be an indirect function of
prices and income
48
Important Points to Note:
• The dual problem to the constrained
utility-maximization problem is to
minimize the expenditure required to
reach a given utility target
– yields the same optimal solution as the
primary problem
– leads to expenditure functions in which
spending is a function of the utility target
and prices
49