PowerPoint Lecture Notes for Chapter 21: The Theory of Consumer Choice Principles of Microeconomics 4th edition, by N.

Gregory Mankiw PowerPoint Slides by Ron Cronovich

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The Theory of Consumer Choice

This chapter covers topics considered advanced for the typical principles course: budget constraints, indifference curves, household optimization, and the income and substitution effects of price changes. Most students find it more difficult than average. The first half of the chapter is pure theory. The second half applies the theory to three consumer choice problems: 1) Giffen goods and positively-sloped demand curves 2) the labor-leisure choice 3) the effects of interest rates on household saving This is a tough chapter for PowerPoint. It is loaded with complex graphs of household optimization. For the initial batch of PowerPoints released in Spring 2006, most of these graphs are not animated. I will be animating more of them when I prepare the annual update to be released in 2007.

PRINCIPLES OF

MICROECONOMICS
F OURT H E DITIO N

N. G R E G O R Y M A N K I W
PowerPoint Slides by Ron Cronovich
2007 Thomson South-Western, all rights reserved

In this chapter, look for the answers to these questions: How does the budget constraint represent the
choices a consumer can afford?

How do indifference curves represent the

consumers preferences?

What determines how a consumer divides her

resources between two goods?

How does the theory of consumer choice explain

decisions such as how much a consumer saves, or how much labor she supplies?
CHAPTER 21 THE THEORY OF CONSUMER CHOICE 1

Introduction
Recall one of the Ten Principles:
People face tradeoffs . Buying more of one good leaves less income to buy other goods. Working more hours means more income and more consumption, but less leisure time. Reducing saving allows more consumption today but reduces future consumption.

This chapter explores how consumers make

choices like these.
CHAPTER 21 THE THEORY OF CONSUMER CHOICE 2

The Budget Constraint: What the Consumer Can Afford

Two goods: pizza and Pepsi A consumption bundle is a particular combination

of the goods, e.g., 40 pizzas & 300 pints of Pepsi.

The two-good assumption greatly simplifies the analysis without altering the basic insights about consumer choice. If your students remember the Production Possibilities Frontier, you might tell them that a budget constraint is, in essence, a consumption possibilities frontier for the consumer: it shows all combinations (bundles) of the two goods that the consumer can afford to buy.

Budget constraint: the limit on the consumption

bundles that a consumer can afford

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ACTIVE LEARNING

Budget constraint

1:

The consumers income: $1000 Prices: $10 per pizza, $2 per pint of Pepsi A. If the consumer spends all his income on pizza, how many pizzas does he buy? B. If the consumer spends all his income on Pepsi, how many pints of Pepsi does he buy? C. If the consumer spends $400 on pizza, how many pizzas and Pepsis does he buy? D. Plot each of the bundles from parts A-C on a diagram that measures the quantity of pizza on the horizontal axis and quantity of Pepsi on the vertical axis, then connect the dots.
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ACTIVE LEARNING

Answers
A. $1000/$10 = 100 pizzas B. $1000/$2 = 500 Pepsis C. $400/$10 = 40 pizzas $600/$2 = 300 Pepsis

1:
B D. The The consumers consumers budget budget constraint constraint shows shows the bundles bundles that that the the consumer consumer can can afford. C

Pepsis 500 400 300 200 100 0 0

A
20 40 60 80 100 Pizzas
5

The Slope of the Budget Constraint

From C to D, rise = 100 Pepsis run = +20 pizzas Slope = 5 Consumer must give up 5 Pepsis to get another pizza.
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Pepsis 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 Pizzas

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C D

THE THEORY OF CONSUMER CHOICE

The Slope of the Budget Constraint

The slope of the budget constraint equals the rate at which the consumer
can trade Pepsi for pizza

the opportunity cost of pizza in terms of Pepsi the relative price of pizza:

price of pizza $10 = = 5 Pepsis per pizza $2 price of Pepsi

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ACTIVE LEARNING

Exercise
Show what happens to the budget constraint if:

2:

Pepsis 500 400

300 A. Income falls to $800 200 B. The price of Pepsi rises to 100

$4/pint.

0 0 20 40 60 80 100 Pizzas
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ACTIVE LEARNING

Answers
Consumer can buy $800/$10 = 80 pizzas or $800/$2 = 400 Pepsis or any combination in between.

2A:
A A fall fall in in income income shifts shifts the the budget budget constraint constraint inward. inward.

Pepsis 500 400 300 200 100 0 0

20 40 60 80 100 Pizzas
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Answers
Consumer can still buy 100 pizzas. But now, can only buy $1000/$4 = 250 Pepsis.

2B:
An An increase increase in in the the price price of of one one good good pivots pivots the the budget budget constraint constraint inward. inward.

Pepsis 500 400 300 200

Notice: slope is 100 smaller, relative 0 price of pizza 0 now only 4 Pepsis.

20 40 60 80 100 Pizzas
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Preferences: What the Consumer Wants

Indifference curve: shows consumption bundles that give the consumer the same level of satisfaction

Point out the following: The consumer is indifferent between bundles A, B, and C, because they are all on the same indifference curve. Bundle D is on a higher indifference curve, so it is preferred to A, B, and C. (MRS will be introduced on the following slide.)

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Preferences: What the Consumer Wants

Marginal rate of substitution (MRS): the rate at which a consumer is willing to trade one good for another Also, the slope of the indifference curve

In this case, the MRS is the amount of Pepsi a consumer would be willing to give up to get one more pizza. In effect, the MRS is the marginal value of pizza in terms of Pepsi.

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Four Properties of Indifference Curves

1. Higher indifference curves are preferred to lower ones. 2. Indifference curves are downward sloping.

1. Any point on the indifference curve labeled I2, such as D, is preferred to any point on indifference curve I1, such as A, B, or C. 2. Understanding the negative slope: If the quantity of one good is reduced, the quantity of the other must be raised in order for the consumer to be equally happy.

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Four Properties of Indifference Curves

3. Indifference curves do not cross. If they did, like here, then the consumer would be indifferent between A and C.

Proving that indifference curves cannot cross: The consumer should be indifferent between A and B, because they are on the same indifference curve. The consumer should be indifferent between B and C, because they are on the same indifference curve.

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Therefore, the consumer should be indifferent between A and C. But this doesnt make sense, because C has more of both goods than A!

Four Properties of Indifference Curves

4. Indifference curves are bowed inward. The less pizza the consumer has, the more Pepsi he is willing to trade for another pizza.

The MRS measures the marginal value of the good on the horizontal axis, in terms of the good on the vertical axis. At point A, the consumer has 3 pizzas and 8 pints of Pepsi. The consumer is willing to give up a pizza to get 6 more pints of Pepsi. Thus, MRS = value of a pizza in terms of Pepsi = 6. At point B, the consumer has 7 pizzas and only 3 pints of Pepsi. The consumer only requires one more pint of Pepsi to make her willing to give up a pizza. Thus, MRS = value of a pizza in terms of Pepsi = 1. Why the difference? At point B, she has lots of pizza and not much Pepsi. At point A, she has lots of Pepsi and not much pizza. Thus, at the margin, pizza is more valuable relative to Pepsi at point B (when she has little pizza) than at point A (when she has lots of pizza). In general, as you move down along an indifference curve, you get more and more of the good on the horizontal axis, causing a fall in the marginal value of additional units of this good (in terms of the other good, which is getting scarcer).

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One Extreme Case: Perfect Substitutes

Perfect substitutes: two goods with straight-line indifference curves, constant MRS Example: nickels & dimes Consumer is always willing to trade two nickels for one dime.

It is hard to think of examples of perfect substitutes. But its easy to think of examples that are close substitutes, and therefore are likely to have indifference curves that are not very bowed: 1) Movies (at the movie theater) and videos at home. A consumer might be willing to trade two videos for one night at the movies. 2) Coke and Pepsi (for consumers that do not perceive much difference between them).

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3) Vacations in Hawaii and vacations in the Bahamas

Another Extreme Case: Perfect Complements

Perfect substitutes: two goods with right-angle indifference curves Example: left shoes, right shoes {7 left shoes, 5 right shoes} is just as good as {5 left shoes, 5 right shoes}

Again, It is hard to think of examples of perfect complements. But its easy to think of examples that are good though not perfect complements, and therefore are likely to have indifference curves that are very bowed: 1) tickets to rock concerts and parking at the arena in which the concert takes place 2) hot dogs and hot-dog buns

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3) brewed Starbucks coffee and 20 spoons of sugar (Anyone whos tried brewed Starbucks coffee, except the heartiest souls, will be able to relate to this example!)

Optimization: What the Consumer Chooses

The optimal bundle is at the point where the budget constraint touches the highest indifference curve. MRS = relative price at the optimum: The indiff curve and budget constraint have the same slope.

The optimal bundle must satisfy this condition: MRS = relative price Intuition: The relative price is the price of an additional pizza in terms of Pepsi. The MRS is the marginal value of pizza in terms of Pepsi.

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At the margin, these must be equal; otherwise, a different bundle would make the consumer happier. Suppose, for example, that MRS > relative price. The value of an additional pizza is higher than the price of an additional pizza (in terms of Pepsi). Hence, the consumer would be better off buying more pizza and less Pepsi. Or, if MRS < relative price, then the value of the marginal pizza is smaller than its relative price. The consumer would be happier if she bought one fewer pizza and used the savings to buy more Pepsi.

The Effects of an Increase in Income

In an earlier Active Learning exercise, students found that a decrease in income shifts the budget constraint inward. It should now be easy for them to understand that an increase in income shifts the budget line outward, as depicted here. With more income, the budget constraint is higher, and the consumer can reach a higher indifference curve.

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As depicted on this slide, the new optimal bundle has more of both goods, implying that both goods are normal goods. What if one of the goods is inferior? See the next slide.

ACTIVE LEARNING

3: Inferior vs. normal goods

An increase in income increases the quantity

demanded of normal goods and reduces the quantity demanded of inferior goods.

Instead of merely showing students the diagram for the case where one of the goods is inferior, lets just remind them of the definition and see if they can figure out how to draw the diagram.

Suppose pizza is a normal good

but Pepsi is an inferior good.

Use a diagram to show the effects of

an increase in income on the consumers optimal bundle of pizza and Pepsi.

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ACTIVE LEARNING

Answers

3:

The Effects of a Price Change

In an earlier Active Learning exercise, students found that an increase in the price of Pepsi causes the budget line to pivot inward. So it should now be easy for them to understand why a decrease in the price of Pepsi causes the budget line to pivot outward. In this example, the new optimal bundle has more Pepsi. This is what one would expect, since Pepsi is less expensive relative to pizza.
22

The new optimal bundle also has less pizza. Its a little less clear that this should be so, because the price change has two opposing effects on the demand for pizza, as discussed on the next slide.

The Income and Substitution Effects

A fall in the price of Pepsi has two effects on the optimal consumption of both goods.

Income effect A fall in the price of Pepsi boosts the purchasing power of the consumers income, allowing him to reach a higher indifference curve. Substitution effect A fall in the price of Pepsi makes pizza more expensive relative to Pepsi, causes consumer to buy less pizza & more Pepsi.

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Income and Substitution Effects

This diagram decomposes the movement from the old optimum (A) to the new one (C) into two parts. The first part, from A to B, represents the substitution effect. It shows the change in the optimal bundle due to the relative price change, holding constant the consumers level of well-being. The second part, from B to C, represents the income effect. It shows the change in the optimal bundle due to the increase in the purchasing power of the consumers income. The dashed line through point B is parallel to the new budget line through point C, indicating that we are holding relative prices constant to see how the increase in income affects the optimal bundle.

24

ACTIVE LEARNING

4: Income & substitution effects

The two goods are skis and ski bindings. Suppose the price of skis falls.
Determine the effects on the consumers demand for both goods if

To answer the last question, students will need to recognize that skis and ski bindings are complements, so the substitution effect is not likely to be very strong. Even if they do not recognize this, they should still be able to answer the rest of the questions on this slide.

income effect > substitution effect income effect < substitution effect

Which case do you think is more likely?

25

ACTIVE LEARNING

Answers
A fall in the price of skis

4:

Income effect:
demand for skis rises demand for ski bindings rises

Substitution effect:
demand for skis rises demand for ski bindings falls

The substitution effect is likely to be small,

because skis and ski bindings are complements.
26

The Substitution Effect for Substitutes and Complements

The substitution effect is huge when the goods are

very close substitutes.

If Pepsi goes on sale, people who are nearly indifferent between Coke and Pepsi will buy mostly Pepsi.

The substitution effect is tiny when goods are

nearly perfect complements. If software becomes more expensive relative to computers, people are not likely to buy less software and use the savings to buy more computers.
CHAPTER 21 THE THEORY OF CONSUMER CHOICE 27

Deriving the Demand Curve for Pepsi

Left graph: price of Pepsi falls from $2 to $1 Right graph: Pepsi demand curve

The left graph shows that the consumer will demand 250 pints of Pepsi when the price is $2, and 750 pints when the price is $1. The right graph plots these quantity-price combinations and draws the demand curve for Pepsi.

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Application 1: Giffen Goods

Do all goods obey the Law of Demand? Suppose the goods are potatoes and meat,
and potatoes are an inferior good.

If price of potatoes rises,

substitution effect: buy less potatoes income effect: buy more potatoes

If income effect > substitution effect,

then potatoes are a Giffen good, a good for which an increase in price raises the quantity demanded.
CHAPTER 21 THE THEORY OF CONSUMER CHOICE 29

Application 1: Giffen Goods

An increase in the price of potatoes rotates the budget line inward. The substitution effect would cause the consumer to buy fewer potatoes. Imagine moving down along indifference curve I1 until reaching the point where its slope just equals the slope of the new budget line. At that point, demand for potatoes is lower, because consumers are substituting meat for potatoes.

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But if potatoes are an inferior good, the income effect causes demand for potatoes to rise: the price increase makes the consumer generally worse off. The consumer responds by buying less meat (the normal good) and more potatoes (the inferior good). If potatoes are a Giffen good, the income effect exceeds the substitution effect, so the net effect of a price increase on demand for potatoes is positive!!! As the book notes, Giffen goods are extremely rare if they exist at all!

Application 2: Wages and Labor Supply

Budget constraint Shows a persons tradeoff between consumption and leisure. Depends on how much time she has to divide between leisure and working. The relative price of an hour of leisure is the amount of consumption she could buy with an hours wages. Indifference curve Shows bundles of consumption and leisure that give her the same level of satisfaction.
CHAPTER 21 THE THEORY OF CONSUMER CHOICE 31

Application 2: Wages and Labor Supply

At At the the optimum, optimum, the the MRS MRS between between leisure leisure and and consumption consumption equals equals the the wage. wage.

Here, the marginal rate of substitution measures the marginal value of an hour of leisure, in terms of (dollars worth of) consumption. The slope of the budget line simply equals the wage: each additional hour of leisure requires working one fewer hour, which causes consumption to fall by an hours wages. At the optimum, the marginal value of leisure (in terms of consumption) must equal the relative price of leisure (in terms of consumption), or the wage. If MRS > wage, then the value of leisure is greater than its price, so take more leisure (and work fewer hours) to raise happiness. If MRS < wage, then the value of leisure is less than its price, so take less leisure (and work more hours) to raise happiness.

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Application 2: Wages and Labor Supply

An increase in the wage has two effects on the optimal quantity of labor supplied.

The relative magnitude of the substitution and income effects determine the slope of the labor supply curve, as the following slides show.

Substitution effect (SE): A higher wage makes leisure more expensive relative to consumption. The person chooses less leisure, i.e., increases quantity of labor supplied. Income effect (IE): With a higher wage, she can afford more of both goods. She chooses more leisure, i.e., reduces quantity of labor supplied.
THE THEORY OF CONSUMER CHOICE 33

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Application 2: Wages and Labor Supply

For For this this person, person, SE SE > > IE IE So So her her labor labor supply supply increases increases with with the the wage wage

A person with the preferences depicted in the left graph will have a positively-sloped labor supply curve, as shown in the right graph.

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Application 2: Wages and Labor Supply

For For this this person, person, SE SE < < IE IE So So his his labor labor supply supply falls falls when when the the wage wage rises rises

A person with the preferences depicted in the left graph will have a negatively-sloped labor supply curve, as shown in the right graph.

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Could This Happen in the Real World???

Cases where the income effect on labor supply is very strong:

Typically, we assume the substitution effect is at least as big as the income effect, and we draw labor supply curves as upward-sloping or perhaps vertical. This slide notes examples from a case study in this chapter in which the income effect is very strong. I would add an additional possibility (not mentioned in the book): A persons labor supply curve may slope upward for low wages, become steeper, and bend backward at high wages. Heres why: The size of the substitution effect depends on a comparison of the wage to the marginal rate of substitution between leisure and consumption. The higher the wage relative to the MRS, the stronger the incentive to substitute away from leisure and toward consumption. As a person works more hours, consumption becomes more plentiful while leisure becomes dearer. The marginal value of leisure rises relative to consumption. I.e., the MRS rises as the person moves up an indifference curve. As this occurs, it takes increasingly large wage increases to make the person willing to sacrifice another hour of leisure. I.e., the substitution effect from a given increase in the wage gets weaker. Meanwhile, the income effect is as strong as ever a person with very high wages can afford to take more time off than a person with lower wages.

Over last 100 years, technological progress has increased labor demand and real wages. The average workweek fell from 6 to 5 days. When a person wins the lottery or receives an inheritance, his wage is unchanged hence no substitution effect. But such persons are more likely to work fewer hours, indicating a strong income effect.

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Application 3: Interest Rates and Saving

A person lives for two periods.

Why the interest rate determines the relative price of current in terms of future consumption: If you reduce current consumption by $1, and save this $1, then your future consumption will rise by $(1 + r), where r denotes the interest rate. Similarly, if you wish to increase current consumption by $1, then you must sacrifice the $(1 + r) that you would have been able to consume in the future. Notice that the slide does not say the interest rate equals the relative price. In fact, the relative price of current in terms of future consumption (and also the slope of the budget constraint) equals (1 + r), not r.

Period 1: young, works, earns $100,000 consumption = $100,000 minus amount saved Period 2: old, retired consumption = saving from Period 1 plus interest earned on saving

The interest rate determines

the relative price of consumption when young in terms of consumption when old.

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Application 3: Interest Rates and Saving

Budget constraint shown is for 10% interest rate.

At At the the optimum, optimum, the the MRS MRS between between current current and and future future consumption consumption equals equals the interest rate. the interest rate.

The marginal rate of substitution is the marginal value of current consumption in terms of future consumption; it tells you how much future consumption the person is willing to give up for a unit of current consumption. If the consumer is optimizing, then the MRS must equal (1 + r): the marginal value of current consumption must equal the relative price of current consumption (both in terms of future consumption).
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If MRS were not equal to (1 + r), then the consumer could increase his satisfaction by changing his level of saving (and hence, his bundle of current and future consumption). This exercise gives students practice identifying and interpreting the income and substitution effects in a new context.

ACTIVE LEARNING

5: Effects of an interest rate increase

Suppose the interest rate rises. Determine the income and substitution effects on
current and future consumption, and on saving.

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ACTIVE LEARNING

Answers
The interest rate rises.

5:

Substitution effect Current consumption becomes more expensive relative to future consumption.

After you display the full contents of the slide, point out that future consumption unambiguously rises. However, the effects on current consumption and saving depend on which of the income and substitution effects is bigger. The following slides show the two cases.

Current consumption falls, saving rises, future consumption rises. Can afford more consumption in both the present and the future. Saving falls.
40

Income effect

Application 3: Interest Rates and Saving

In In this this case, case, SE SE > > IE IE and and saving saving rises rises

The macro chapters of Mankiws Principles of Economics typically assume that saving is positively related to the interest rate, as depicted here.

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Application 3: Interest Rates and Saving

In In this this case, case, SE SE < < IE IE and and saving saving falls falls

If the income effect is bigger than the substitution effect, than an increase in the interest rate would reduce saving, not increase it.

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Do People Really Think This Way?

CONCLUSION:

Most people do not make spending decisions

by writing down their budget constraints and indifference curves.

Yet, they try to make the choices that maximize

their satisfaction given their limited resources.

The theory in this chapter is only intended as a

metaphor for how consumers make decisions.

It does fairly well at explaining consumer behavior

in many situations, and provides the basis for more advanced economic analysis.
CHAPTER 21 THE THEORY OF CONSUMER CHOICE 43

CHAPTER SUMMARY A consumers budget constraint shows the

possible combinations of different goods she can buy given her income and the prices of the goods. The slope of the budget constraint equals the relative price of the goods.

An increase in income shifts the budget constraint

outward. A change in the price of one of the goods pivots the budget constraint.

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CHAPTER SUMMARY A consumers indifference curves represent her

preferences. An indifference curve shows all the bundles that give the consumer a certain level of happiness. The consumer prefers points on higher indifference curves to points on lower ones.

The slope of an indifference curve at any point is

the marginal rate of substitution the rate at which the consumer is willing to trade one good for the other.

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CHAPTER SUMMARY The consumer optimizes by choosing the point on

her budget constraint that lies on the highest indifference curve. At this point, the marginal rate of substitution equals the relative price of the two goods.

When the price of a good falls, the impact on the

consumers choices can be broken down into two effects, an income effect and a substitution effect.

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CHAPTER SUMMARY The income effect is the change in consumption

that arises because a lower price makes the consumer better off. It is represented by a movement from a lower indifference curve to a higher one.

The substitution effect is the change that arises

because a price change encourages greater consumption of the good that has become relatively cheaper. It is represented by a movement along an indifference curve.
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CHAPTER SUMMARY The theory of consumer choice can be applied in

many situations. It can explain why demand curves can potentially slope upward, why higher wages could either increase or decrease labor supply, and why higher interest rates could either increase or decrease saving.

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