Suppose we consider the demand curve shown to the right for music CDs. This naive view of utility maximization would mean that when the price is 10 she should purchase 13 CDs, because her utility is positive for all 13 CDs. The yellow shaded area is her utility and it is clear that this area is maximized when she buys 13. If this were how utility maximization worked, it would mean she should buy 13 at any price, if the price were 6, 10 or 14 she would still buy 13 CDs. Since we know price matters, this can't be right!
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