Faculty of Management Sciences

Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance

PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
(PMI511S)

Unit 1 Consumer Equilibrium

Lecturer: Mr. Mally Likukela

mlikukela@nust.na
Unit 1:
Objective
Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

 DEFINE Utility, total utility and marginal utility

 CALCULATE total and marginal utility

 FORMULATE the law of diminishing marginal

utility

 DEFINE weighted marginal utility

 DETERMINE consumer equilibrium

 Consumer Equilibrium – The Utility
Approach
Individuals
Consume goods and services because they derive pleasure or satisfaction from doing so.

Economists
use the term utility to describe the pleasure or satisfaction that a consumer obtains from his or her
consumption of goods and services.

Utility
Utility is the degree of satisfaction a consumer Characteristics of utility
derives from the consumption of a good
or service. Utility differs from person to person.

Cardinal utility Utility differs from place to place.

It is based on the assumption that utility can
be counted or measured by a number, e.g. 2, Utility differs from time to time.
4, 6 etc. This approach is useful because it
enables us to compare the utility that we Utility is a subjective and abstract concept:
derive from different products.
it is a personal opinion and it is not
Ordinal utility
 It assumes that the consumer is able to rank physically measurable.
the different products in order of preference,
e.g. I prefer beef to fish.
 Consumer Equilibrium – The Utility
Approach

Total utility (TU)

 
Total utility is the satisfaction one gets from one’s entire consumption of a product.
Total utility will increase as more and more units of a product are consumed, but only up to a
certain point.

Marginal utility (MU)

Formula:
 
Marginal utility is the satisfaction one gets from the  
consumption of one additional unit of a product. Change in TU
Marginal utility falls when more and more units of a MU = ------------
product are consumed. Change in Q

The law of diminishing marginal utility

 
It states that the marginal utility of a good or service eventually decreases as more of it is
consumed during a given time period.
Consumer Equilibrium – The Utility
Approach
Total utility

Total and marginal utility

Quantity Total Marginal
of utility(TU) utility(MU)
product
X

0 0 0

1 30 30

2 46 16 Marginal utility

3 56 10

4 60 4

5 55 -5

6 45 -10
CONSUMER UTILITY

Consumer demand theory analyzes consumer behavior, especially

purchasing behavior, based on the satisfaction of wants and needs by
consumption of goods.

Consumer Equilibrium

A consumer will be in equilibrium when he or she maximizes total utility.

A consumer will maximize total utility when the weighted marginal utility
of the goods consumed are equal.

The weighted marginal utility is the marginal utility divided by the price
of the good.
CONSUMER
UTILITY
A consumer will maximize total utility when the weighted marginal utility of the
goods consumed are equal.

The weighted marginal utility is the marginal utility divided by the price of the
good.

Where:
MUx MUY MUx = marginal utility of good x
----- = ------ Px = price of good x
Px Py MUy = marginal utility of good y
Py = price of good y

All consumers face an INCOME CONSTRAINT. Under that constraint the best a
consumer can do is to maximize total utility.
CONSUMER
UTILITY
All consumers face an INCOME CONSTRAINT. Under that constraint the best a
consumer can do is to maximize total utility.
Example: TU MU MU/P Quantity TU MU MU/P
Sylvia’s budget: N$20chicken consumed
chicken chicken chips chips chips
Chicken: N$2 per piece
Chips: N$3 per packet   
0 0 - 0 0 0 -
20 20 10 1 25 25 8.3
34 14 7 2 41 16 5.3
44 10 5 3 53 12 4
50 6 [3] 4 62 9 [3]
In summary:

Consumer equilibrium will be at a point where:

I.The weighted MU values of the products are the same.
II.The total utility of the product is maximized.
III.The combination is within the available income bracket of the
consumer.

Consumer Surplus

Consumer surplus is the difference between what consumers would have been
willing to pay and what they actually pay.

The consumer buys 0Q units of the product.

The price is 0P.
The consumer spends 0P x 0Q (the area 0PCQ)
Consumer surplus is ABC