Connect Online Access for Essentials of Economics
Connect Online Access for Essentials of Economics
11th Edition
ISBN: 9781260521269
Author: Bradley Schiller, Karen Gebhardt
Publisher: Mcgraw-hill Higher Education (us)
Question
Book Icon
Chapter 4, Problem 1QFD
To determine

To explain the reason behind people stuffing themselves in all-you-can-eat buffet with the help of utility and demand theories.

Expert Solution & Answer
Check Mark

Explanation of Solution

Consumer preferences are affected by their experiences, religion, and upbringing.

The theory of consumer behavior examines consumer preferences and the way it influence their economic behavior.

Utility is defined as the ability of a good to satisfy a want or the satisfaction that the consumer receives from the goods they consume.

In utility analysis, there are 2 analysis introduced by two different economists. Both theories assume that preferences are rational and every consumer tries to maximize their satisfaction from consuming goods and services.

The first analysis is Cardinal Utility (Marginal Utility Analysis). This means that a person can add certain values or numbers of utils from consumption of each unit of a good.

Here, utility is measurable in a cardinal sense.

The second one is the Ordinal Utility (Indifference Curve Analysis). This only ranks the utility received from consumption of various amounts of a good or baskets of goods.

The utility is measurable in an ordinal sense.

Ordinal Utility process is used to ranks various consumable bundles, whereas Cardinal Utility provides an actual index or measure of satisfaction.

People stuff themselves at all-you-can-eat buffets because the marginal cost of an additional bite is zero at any level.

From the perspective of utility, the additional utility derived from an additional bite should be zero. Until it becomes zero, people keep consuming the good.

From the perspective of demand, they consume food at buffets till the point where the demand curve intersects the X-axis where quantity is measured. This means that the price is zero and the quantity demanded is maximized.

Want to see more full solutions like this?

Subscribe now to access step-by-step solutions to millions of textbook problems written by subject matter experts!
Students have asked these similar questions
Exercise 5Consider the demand and supply functions for the notebooks market.QD=10,000−100pQS=900pa. Make a table with the corresponding supply and demand schedule.b. Draw the corresponding graph.c. Is it possible to find the price and quantity of equilibrium with the graph method? d. Find the price and quantity of equilibrium by solving the system of equations.
1. Consider the market supply curve which passes through the intercept and from which the marketequilibrium data is known, this is, the price and quantity of equilibrium PE=50 and QE=2000.a. Considering those two points, find the equation of the supply. b. Draw a graph for this equation. 2. Considering the previous supply line, determine if the following demand function corresponds to themarket demand equilibrium stated above. QD=.3000-2p.
Supply and demand functions show different relationship between the price and quantities suppliedand demanded. Explain the reason for that relation and provide one reference with your answer.
Knowledge Booster
Background pattern image
Similar questions
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
Recommended textbooks for you
Text book image
Exploring Economics
Economics
ISBN:9781544336329
Author:Robert L. Sexton
Publisher:SAGE Publications, Inc
Text book image
Micro Economics For Today
Economics
ISBN:9781337613064
Author:Tucker, Irvin B.
Publisher:Cengage,
Text book image
Economics For Today
Economics
ISBN:9781337613040
Author:Tucker
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Text book image
Economics (MindTap Course List)
Economics
ISBN:9781337617383
Author:Roger A. Arnold
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Text book image
Microeconomics
Economics
ISBN:9781337617406
Author:Roger A. Arnold
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Text book image
Microeconomics: Private and Public Choice (MindTa...
Economics
ISBN:9781305506893
Author:James D. Gwartney, Richard L. Stroup, Russell S. Sobel, David A. Macpherson
Publisher:Cengage Learning