📚 Learning Guide
Marginal Utility and Budgeting
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If a consumer has a limited budget and is deciding between two products, how does the concept of marginal utility guide their purchasing decision when prices vary?

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Learning Path
Learning Path

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Choose the Best Answer

A

They will always buy the cheaper product regardless of utility.

B

They will maximize their utility by comparing the marginal utility per dollar spent on each product.

C

They will choose the product with the higher total cost.

D

They will ignore prices and choose based on brand loyalty.

Understanding the Answer

Let's break down why this is correct

Answer

Marginal utility is the additional satisfaction or benefit a consumer gets from consuming one more unit of a product. When a person has a limited budget and is choosing between two products, they compare the marginal utility of each product to its price. For example, if a consumer is deciding between a pizza and a salad, they will consider how much happiness each additional slice of pizza or each bowl of salad brings them. If the pizza gives them more satisfaction per dollar spent than the salad, they are likely to choose the pizza. This way, consumers aim to maximize their happiness within their budget by selecting the product that offers the best value for their money.

Detailed Explanation

To get the most satisfaction, a buyer looks at how much happiness each product gives per dollar spent. Other options are incorrect because Some might think the cheaper option is always better; Choosing the item with the higher total cost can be a mistake.

Key Concepts

Utility maximization
Price sensitivity
Topic

Marginal Utility and Budgeting

Difficulty

medium level question

Cognitive Level

understand

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