Guide to the Web for Economics

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CHAPTER 11

Consumer Choice, Utility Theory, and Elasticity

• Consumer Choice and Utility Theory
• Elasticity
• Alphabetical(11)
• Global Index

• Jeremy Bentham
  • Type: writing Level: basic Length: long Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • Page University College London contains information about Bentham, the philosopher and political economist who first introduced the notion of utility.
  • http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/jb.htm
• Utility Theory
  • Type: writing/list Level: basic Length: medium Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • A synopsis of Jeremy Bentham's views on the concepts of utility, rights, sanctions, and intellectual property. Page also links to portions of the text from Bentham's Principles of Morals and Legislation.
  • http://www.dartmouth.edu/~alko/utility.html
• InterWatch
  • Type: writing Level: basic Length: short Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • A subscription based tracking service designed to monitor brand advertising within Internet media vehicles as well as consumer expenditures and profiles. Subscribers can navigate the database to determine the most advertised brands and the media most used for reaching consumers.
  • http://www.usadata.com/usadata/demo/
• Demand and Marginal Utility
  • Type: publication Level: basic Length: long Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • Text from a book with an explanation of how the law of diminishing marginal utility supports the law of demand and downward sloping demand curves. Page also links to other parts of the book.
  • http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/barclay/212/knowent/mi-9b.htm
• Consumer Choice and Budget Constraints on econweb
  • Type: publication Level: basic Length: short Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • A sample page from subscription based econweb, providing notes and graphics to illustrate the impact on budget constraints when prices and income change.
  • http://econweb.com/Sample/ConsumerChoice/BudgetConstraint1.html
• Choosing the Best Option
  • Type: writing Level: intermediate Length: short Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • Teaching notes providing a numerical illustration of a utility function with links to more notes on utility maximization, the equal-marginal principle, and more.
  • http://ingrimayne.saintjoe.edu/econ/LogicOfChoice/UtilityFun.html
• Price Theory: An Intermediate Text
  • Type: publication Level: intermediate Length: long Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • Chapter 3 from David Friedman's 1990 book, Price Theory: An Intermediate Text, with tables and graphics of budget lines and indifference curves. Also includes end of chapter problems and links to other chapters.
  • http://www.best.com/~ddfr/Academic/Price_Theory/PThy_Chapter_3/PThy_Chapter_3.html
• Utility Functions, Comparative Statistics
  • Type: writing Level: intermediate Length: short Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • Teaching notes with equations and graphics of utility functions and budget constraints to show changes in consumer equilibrium when changes in prices and income occur.
  • http://ampere.scale.uiuc.edu/econ300/Lect4/lect4.1.html
• St. Petersburg Paradox
  • Type: paper Level: intermediate Length: long Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • A long paper discussing the paradox first discovered by mathematician Daniel Bernoulli. Topics covered include diminishing marginal for money, risk aversion, and reformulation of the game.
  • http://setis.library.usyd.edu.au/stanford/entries/paradox-stpetersburg/
• Diminishing Marginal Utility of Wine
  • Type: writing Level: basic Length: short Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • A brief description of wine tasting research that supported the law of diminishing marginal utility.
  • http://www.finfacts.ie/Private/win_rst/w_mar24.htm

Go to Top

Alphabetical(11)

Global Index

Go to Contents

Elasticity

• Elasticity and Market Adjustment on econweb
  • Type: writing Level: intermediate Length: short Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • A sample of pages from subscription based econweb, providing notes and graphics to illustrate the impact demand and supply shifts have on markets when the elasticity of demand and supply varies.
  • http://econweb.com/Sample/Elasticity/MarketAdjust1.html
• Elasticity Notes
  • Type: writing Level: intermediate Length: short Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • Teaching notes with equations and graphs explaining the difference between elasticity and slope and how to calculate and interpret the price elasticity of demand, cross price elasticity, and income elasticity.
  • http://ampere.scale.uiuc.edu/econ300/Lect5/lect5.1.html
• Elasticity Defined
  • Type: writing Level: intermediate Length: short Links: yes Graphics: yes
  • Teaching notes explaining and illustrating the concept of elasticity, the calculation and interpretation of the price elasticity of demand and its relationship to revenue, and much more.
  • http://ingrimayne.saintjoe.edu/econ/elasticity/Elastic1.html
• Effects of Taxation Increases on Consumption
  • Type: publication Level: intermediate Length: medium Links: yes Graphics: yes Other: search
  • Page contains empirical estimates of the price elasticity of demand for cigarettes. Page contains part of chapter 7 from a book, Tobacco in Australia: Facts and Issues.
  • http://www.peg.apc.org/~vshp/fandi/c07s6.htm
• Elasticity and Electricity
  • Type: publication Level: intermediate Length: long Links: yes Graphics: yes Other: search
  • Page from Citizens for a Sound Economy contains empirical estimates of price and income elasticities for electricity (see table 2). Information comes from a 1996 paper, Customer Choice: An Analysis of Retail Competition in America's Electric Industry.
  • http://www.cse.org/cse/ia46-csef-elec.htm
• Elasticity and Milk
  • Type: publication Level: intermediate Length: long Links: yes Graphics: yes Other: search
  • Text and tables from a 1993 paper giving empirical estimates of own-price and cross-price elasticities for milk, cows, hay, labor, capital, and more. See tables 1a and 1b for elasticity coefficients.
  • http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/AgrEnv/ndd/marketin/EFFECTS_ON_AGGREGATE_MILK_SUPPLY.html
• Elasticity and Education
  • Type: writing Level: intermediate Length: long Links: no Graphics: yes
  • Page contains a paper with empirical estimates of the effect of public sector tuition and state student aid on private college enrollment. See table 1 at end of article for coefficients.
  • http://www.willamette.edu/~fthompso/EER98.html