THEORY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

BY- NIRBHAY BHADR JHA

 CONSUMER
• A consumer is a person who buys goods and
services for the satisfaction of his wants. His
objective is to get maximum satisfaction with
limited expenditure.
 UTILITY
• Want satisfying power of a commodity is called
utility.

• Example: A person wants to go to Chennai. He

boards a train and reaches his destination. So, train
service has utility.

• A person wants to save money. A bank accepts his

deposits. So, banking service has utility.
 I AM HUNGRY. I WANT
FOOD. THIS APPLE CAN
SATISFY MY WANT

APPLE HAS THE POWER TO

SATISFY A WANT. APPLE HAS
UTILITY
 TOTAL UTILITY
• It is the sum total of utility derived by consuming all
the units of a commodity.

TUn = MU1 + MU2 + MU3 + ---+ MU n

OR
TU = 𝝨 MU
 MARGINAL UTILITY
• It is the addition to total utility when one more unit
of a commodity is consumed. It is the utility derived
from the last unit consumed.
 FORMULA TO CALCULATE MARGINAL UTILITY

Marginal Utility = TUn – TU n-1

TU n Total Utility
TU n - 1 Utility from n-1 units
OR
⩟𝑇𝑈
Marginal Utility =
⩟𝑄
𝛥 TU Change in Total Utility
𝛥Q Change in number of units consumed
 LAW OF DIMINISHING MARGINAL UTILITY
• It was put forward by H H Gossen.
• It is also called Gossen’s First Law of Consumption
 Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility
• Other things remaining the same, as we consume
more and more units of a commodity, the utility
derived from each successive unit (Marginal Utility)
goes on decreasing.
 SCHEDULE
UNITS OF APPLE MARGINAL TOTAL UTILITY
CONSUMED UTILITY
1 10 10
2 8 18
3 4 22
4 0 22
5 (-) 2 20
DIAGRAM
• Marginal Utility curve slopes downward indicating
fall in marginal utility as consumption increases.

• Total Utility Curve rises at a diminishing rate when

marginal utility is positive.

• Total Utility remains constant when Marginal Utility

is zero.

• Total utility falls when marginal utility is negative.

ASSUMPTIONS OF LAW OF DIMINISHING MARGINAL UTILITY
• The consumer is rational. He wants to get maximum
satisfaction.
• All the units of the commodity consumed are of
same quality.
• All the units are consumed without any time gap.
• It is possible to measure utility in terms of numbers.
• Tastes and preferences of the consumer do not
change.
• The commodity must be consumed in sizeable
quantity.
 CRITICISM OF THE LAW OF DIMINISHING MARGINAL UTILITY

• Utility is a psychological experience. It cannot be

measured in terms of numbers.

• Tastes and preferences of the consumer may

change.

• The quality of different units of a commodity may

be different.
 CONSUMER’S EQUILIBRIUM
• Equilibrium is a state of rest or position of no

further change.

• A consumer is in equilibrium when he consumes

that quantity which gives him maximum

satisfaction.
 CARDINAL UTILITY ANALYSIS
CONSUMER”S EQUILIBRIUM - ONE COMMODITY CASE
(i) First Condition:
In the case of single commodity, consumer is in
equilibrium when the marginal utility of a commodity
is equal to its price.
MUx = Px
MUx - Marginal Utility of commodity X
Px – Price of Commodity X
• If MUx > Px, the consumer will increase the
consumption of good X. When consumption
increases Marginal Utility will fall and will become
equal to Price.

• If MUX < Px, the consumer will reduce the

consumption of X. When consumption falls,
marginal utility will increase. It will become equal to
Price.
• Schedule:
Units of Apple Marginal Utility Price

1 15 5
2 13 5
3 9 5
4 5 5
5 3 5
The Consumer will consume 4 Apples because at that point
Marginal Utility and Price are equal
DIAGRAM
• (ii) Second Condition:

Marginal Utility keeps on falling as consumption

increases.

It is due to the operation of the Law of Diminishing

Marginal Utility
 CONSUMER’S EQUILIBRIUM
TWO COMMODITY CASE

• Consumer’s equilibrium in two commodities is

explained by the Law of Equi - Marginal Utility.

• This law was put forward by H H Gossen.

• It is also called Gossen’s Second Law of

Consumption.
• Conditions of Consumers equilibrium
(i) The ratio of marginal utility of one
commodity to its price is equal to the ratio of
marginal utility of the other commodity to its price.
He gets same utility from the last rupee spent on
each good.
𝑀𝑈𝑥 𝑀𝑈𝑦
=
𝑃𝑥 𝑃𝑦
MUx – Marginal Utility of Commodity X
MUy – Marginal Utility of Commodity Y
Px – Price of X
Py – Price of Y
 𝑀𝑈𝑥 𝑀𝑈𝑦
• Suppose, > , the consumer will increase the
𝑃𝑥 𝑃𝑦

consumption of X and reduce the consumption of Y.

• Marginal Utility of X will fall and Marginal Utility of

Y will increase.

𝑀𝑈𝑥 𝑀𝑈𝑦
• This will go on until becomes equal to
𝑃𝑥 𝑃𝑦
 𝑀𝑈𝑥 𝑀𝑈𝑦
• Suppose, < , the consumer will decrease the
𝑃𝑥 𝑃𝑦

consumption of X and increase the consumption of

Y.

• Marginal Utility of X rise and Marginal Utility of Y

will fall.

𝑀𝑈𝑥 𝑀𝑈𝑦
• This will go on until becomes equal to
𝑃𝑥 𝑃𝑦
• (ii) Second Condition:

Marginal Utility keeps on falling as consumption

increases.

It is due to the operation of the Law of Diminishing

Marginal Utility
• NUMERICALS

1. A consumer consumes only two goods X and Y. If

marginal utility of X and Y are 4 and 5 respectively and
price of X is Rs. 5 per unit and that of Y is Rs. 4 per
unit , is the consumer in equilibrium. What will be the
further reaction of the consumer
 SOLUTION
• The condition of consumer’s equilibrium:
𝑀𝑈𝑥 𝑀𝑈𝑦
=
𝑃𝑥 𝑃𝑦
In the given problem, MUx = 4, MUy = 5
Px = 5 and Py = 4
Substituting the values:
4 5
<
5 4
The Consumer is not in equilibrium because
𝑀𝑈𝑥 𝑀𝑈𝑦
<
𝑃𝑥 𝑃𝑦
He will increase the consumption of Y and reduce the
consumption of X
2. A consumer consumes only two goods X and Y. If

marginal utility of each is 2 and price of X is Rs. 1 per

unit and that of Y is Rs. 4 per unit , is the consumer in

equilibrium. What will be the further reaction of the

consumer.
 SOLUTION
• The condition of consumer’s equilibrium:
𝑀𝑈𝑥 𝑀𝑈𝑦
=
𝑃𝑥 𝑃𝑦
In the given problem, MUx = 2, MUy = 2
Px = 1 and Py = 4
Substituting the values:
2 2
>
1 4
The Consumer is not in equilibrium because
𝑀𝑈𝑥 𝑀𝑈𝑦
>
𝑃𝑥 𝑃𝑦
He will increase the consumption of X and reduce the
consumption of Y
 • INDIFFERENCE CURVE

• An Indifference Curve is a diagram that shows different

combinations of two goods that will give equal

satisfaction to the consumer.

• It shows the preferences of a consumer.

• If the consumer selects one combination, he is

indifferent to the other combinations.

 INDIFFERENCE SCHEDULE
• Indifference schedule is a table that shows different
combinations of two goods that will give equal
satisfaction to the consumer.
COMBINATIONS UNITS OF X UNITS OF Y MARGINAL RATE OF
𝜟𝒀
SUBSTITUTION(𝜟 𝑿 )

A 1 12

B 2 8 4
=4
1
C 3 5 3
=3
1
D 4 3 2
=2
 MARGINAL RATE OF SUBSTITUTION(MRS)
• MRS is the rate at which one good is substituted by
the other.
• MRS decides the slope of the Indifference Curve.
• Usually MRS keep on falling due to the operation of
the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility.
• So, indifference curve is convex to origin.
𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑆𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑑
• MRS =
𝑀𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑.
OR
𝛥𝑌
MRSxy =
𝛥𝑋
DIAGRAM
• Assumptions of Indifference Curve

• The consumer is rational. He aims at maximum

satisfaction.

• The consumer spends his entire income on two

commodities.

• The consumer can rank different combinations

according to the satisfaction derived.
 Properties of Indifference Curve
• It slopes downward from left to right. It shows that
the consumer can increase the consumption of one
good only by reducing the consumption of the
other.
• It is convex to origin. It is due to the decreasing the
Marginal Rate of Substitution. MRS falls due to the
operation of the Law of Diminishing Marginal
Utility.
• Higher Indifference shows higher level of
satisfaction. When the indifference curve shifts
rightward, the consumer is able to get more of both
the goods or at least more of one good without
reducing the other.
 INDIFFERENCE MAP
• An Indifference Map refers to a set of Indifference
Curves placed together in a diagram.
• Each curve represents a certain level of satisfaction.
 Budget Set
• It refers to different combinations of two goods that
a consumer can afford to buy with his given income
and prices in the market.
COMBINATIONS GOOD X GOOD Y
A 0 10
B 1 8
C 2 6
D 3 4
E 4 2
F 5 0
• EQUATION OF BUDGET SET

Px Qx + Py Qy ⪯ M

Px – Price of X

Qx – Quantity of X

Py – Price of Y

Qy – Quantity of Y

M – Money Income
 BUDGET LINE
• Budget Line is a diagram which shows different
combinations of two goods that a consumer can
afford to buy with his given income and prices in
the market.
• EQUATION OF LINE

Px Qx + Py Qy = M

Px – Price of X

Qx – Quantity of X

Py – Price of Y

Qy – Quantity of Y

M – Money Income
 SLOPE OF THE BUDGET LINE
• Budget Line slopes downward from left to right.
• It shows that we can increase the consumption of
one good only by reducing the consumption of the
other.
𝑃𝑥
Slope of the budget line =
𝑃𝑦
Px – Price of X
Py – Price of Y
SHIFT IN BUDGET LINE
 ROTATION OF BUDGET LINE

Fall in the price of Good X leads to rightward rotation of the

Budget Line along the X axis.

Rise in the price of Good X leads to leftward rotation of the

Budget Line along the X axis.
Fall in the price of Good B leads to rightward rotation of the
Budget Line along the Y axis.

Rise in the price of Good B leads to leftward rotation of the

Budget Line along the Y axis.
 CONSUMER’S EQUILIBRIUM UNDER INDIFFERENCE
CURVE ANALYSIS(ORDINAL UTILITY ANALYSIS)
• First Condition:
Indifference curve should be tangent to Budget Line.
Px
MRSxy =
𝑃𝑦
MRSxy – Slope of the Indifference Curve.
Px
- Slope of the Budget Line
𝑃𝑦
Px
When MRSxy is equal to , Indifference Curve will
𝑃𝑦
be tangent to Budget Line
DIAGRAM
At point E, Consumer
is in equilibrium
 Px
• If MRSxy > , the consumer will increase the
𝑃𝑦

consumption of X and reduce the consumption of Y.

Px
MRSxy will fall and will become equal to
𝑃𝑦

Px
• If MRSxy< , the consumer will reduce the
𝑃𝑦

consumption of X and increase the consumption of

Px
Y. MRSxy will increase and will become equal to
𝑃𝑦
 Second Condition
• At the point of tangency Indifference curve should
be convex to origin.
• It means that the MRS should be falling.
• It shows that the Law of Marginal Utility is in
operation.
NIRBHAY BHADR JHA, WPS