C H A P T E R

5
Different Types of Tastes

While Chapter 4 introduced us to a general way of thinking about tastes, Chapter

5 gets much more specific and introduces particular dimensions along which we
might differentiate between tastes. In particular, we differentiate tastes based on

1. The curvature of individual indifference curves — or how quickly the MRS

changes along an indifference curve;

2. The relationships between indifference curves — or how the MRS changes

across indifference curves within an indifference map; and

3. Whether or not indifference curves cross horizontal or vertical axes or whether

they converge to the axes.

The first of these in turn determines the degree to which consumers are will-
ing to substitute between goods (and will lead to what we call the "substitution
effect" in Chapter 7) while the second of these determines how consumer behavior
responds to changes in income (and will lead to what we call the "income effect"
in Chapter 7). Finally, the third category of taste differences becomes important
in Chapter 6 where we will see how corner versus interior optimal solutions for a
consumer emerge.

Chapter Highlights
The main points of the chapter are:

1. The degree of substitutability or, in part B language, the elasticity of sub-

stitution for a consumer at a particular consumption bundle arises from the
curvature of the indifference curve at that bundle. There may be no sub-
stitutability (as in perfect complements) or perfect substitutability (perfect
substitutes) or an infinite number of cases in between these extremes.
 Different Types of Tastes 60

2. Quasilinearity and Homotheticity of tastes represent special cases that de-

scribe how indifference curves from the same map relate to one another.
These properties have no direct relationship to the concept of substitutabil-
ity. Tastes are quasilinear in a good x if the MRS only depends on the level
of x consumption (and not the level of other goods’ consumption. Tastes are
homothetic when the MRS depends only on the relative levels of the goods
in a bundle.

3. Sometimes it is reasonable to assume that indifference curves only converge

to the axes without ever crossing them; other times we assume that they cross
the axes. When an indifference curve crosses an axis, it means that we can
gain utility beyond what we have by not consuming even if we consume none
of one of the goods. When indifference curves only converge to the axes,
then some consumption of all goods is necessary in order for a consumer to
experience utility above what she would experience by not consuming at all.

4. If you are reading part B of the chapter, you should begin to understand the
family of constant elasticity of substitution utility functions — with perfect
complements, perfect substitutes and Cobb-Douglas tastes as special cases.
You should also be able to demonstrate whether a utility function is homoth-
etic or quasilinear. (Most utility functions we use in this text tend to be one
or the other.)

Using the LiveGraphs

For an overview of what is contained on the LiveGraphs site for each of the chapters
(from Chapter 2 through 29) and how you might utilize this resource, see pages 2-3
of Chapter 1 of this Study Guide. To access the LiveGraphs for Chapter 5, click the
Chapter 5 tab on the left side of the LiveGraphs web site.

In addition to the Animated Graphics, Static Graphics and Downloads portions

of the LiveGraphs site, this Chapter has several Exploring Relationships modules
that illustrate the diversity of tastes that can emerge even from what appear to be
very restrictive assumptions. The modules were designed for students who are cov-
ering part B of the Microeconomics: An Intuitive Approach with Calculus text — but
I think you might find them engaging even if you are not formally doing the math.
The three modules give you a chance to explore:

1. Cobb-Douglas tastes (which could be thought of as lying “halfway between”

the extremes of perfect substitutes and perfect complements;

2. Constant Elasticity of Substitution tastes which allow for all degrees of sub-
stitutability that lie between the extremes ; and

3. Quasilinear tastes.
 61 5A. Solutions to Within-Chapter-Exercises for Part A

In addition, there are some “games” that require you to determine the relation-
ship between mathematical and graphical concepts. (We are still experimenting
with the idea of such games and whether they are useful — and thus looking for
feedback on those.)

5A Solutions to Within-Chapter-Exercises for

Part A

Exercise 5A.1 How would the graph of indifference curves change if Coke came in 8 ounce
cans and Pepsi came in 4 ounce cans?

Answer: The indifference curves would then have slope of −2 instead of −1 be-
cause you would be willing to trade 2 four ounce cans of Pepsi for 1 eight ounce
can of Coke. For instance, the indifference curve that contains 1 can of Coke on the
horizontal axis would also contain 2 cans of Pepsi on the vertical as well as half a
can of Coke and 1 can of Pepsi. All those combinations contain 16 ounces of soft
drink.

Exercise 5A.2 On a graph with quarters on the horizontal axis and dimes on the vertical, what
might your indifference curves look like? Use the same method we just employed to graph my
indifference curves for Coke and Pepsi — by beginning with one arbitrary bundle of quarters
and dimes (say 4 quarters and 5 dimes) and then asking which other bundles might be just as
good.

Graph 5.1: Tastes over Dimes and Quarters

 Different Types of Tastes 62

Answer: Dimes are worth 10 cents while quarters are worth 25 cents. Thus, you
are willing to trade 2.5 dimes for 1 quarter. At 4 quarters and 5 dimes, you have
$1.50. Any other combination of dimes and quarters should be equally desirable.
For instance, 15 dimes also make $1.50, as do 6 quarters. Thus, the indifference
curve through the bundle (4,5) has intercept 6 on the horizontal (quarters) axis and
15 on the vertical (dimes) axis. This gives it a slope of −2.5 which is in fact the rate at
which we are willing to trade dimes for quarters. This (and two other) indifference
curves are depicted in Graph 5.1.

Exercise 5A.3 What would my wife’s indifference curves for packs of sugar and glasses of iced
tea look like if she required 2 instead of one packs of sugar for each glass of iced tea?

Answer: The corners of the indifference curves would now occur at bundles
with twice as much sugar as iced tea. For instance, 1 glass of iced tea and 2 pack-
ets of sugar make a complete beverage, and no additional sugar and no additional
iced tea will make her better off unless she gets more of both. This gives us the
indifference curve labeled “1” in Graph 5.2. Similarly, 2 glasses of iced tea and 4
packets of sugar make 2 complete beverages, giving the corner of the indifference
curve labeled “2”.

Graph 5.2: 2 sugars for each iced tea

Exercise 5A.4 Suppose I told you that each of the indifference maps graphed in Graph 5.3
corresponded to my tastes for one of the following sets of goods, which pair would you think
corresponds to which map? Pair 1: Levi Jeans and Wrangler Jeans; Pair 2: Pants and Shirts;
Pair 3: Jeans and Dockers pants.

Answer: To answer this, we should ask which of the pairs represents goods that
seem most substitutable for one another. I would think that would be Pair 1 since
that includes two different types of jeans (which many of us probably can’t even tell
apart easily). Thus, I would think that panel (a) represents Pair 1. We could then
63 5A. Solutions to Within-Chapter-Exercises for Part A

ask which of the three pairs represent goods that are most complementary (or least
substitutable). Of the remaining pairs, pants and shirts seems less substitutable
than Jeans and Dockers pants. Thus Pair 2 — pants and shirts — would correspond
to panel (c) where there is the least substitutability between the goods. This leaves
panel (b) for Pair 3 — Jeans and Dockers pants.

Exercise 5A.5 Are my tastes over Coke and Pepsi as described in Section 5A.1 homothetic? Are
my wife’s tastes over iced tea and sugar homothetic? Why or why not?

Answer: Yes, both are homothetic. Homothetic tastes are tastes such that the
MRS is the same along any ray from the origin. For perfect substitutes like Coke
and Pepsi, the MRS is the same everywhere — which means it is certainly the same
along any ray from the origin. For perfect complements like sugar and iced tea, it is
easy to also see that the slope of the indifference curves does not change along any
ray from the origin. Below the 45 degree line (when one pack of sugar goes with one
iced tea), the indifference curve is flat along any ray from the origin; above the 45
degree line, the indifference curve is vertical along any ray from the origin. On the
45 degree line, there is no slope since this is where all the corners of the indifference
curve lie. (Since the slope is technically undefined for parts of the indifference map
for perfect complements, you can think of this instead as the limit of a sequence
of indifference maps that graphs increasingly complementary goods — with each
of the maps in the sequence having the characteristic that the MRS is unchanged
along any ray from the origin.)

Exercise 5A.6 Are my tastes over Coke and Pepsi as described in Section 5A.1 quasilinear? Are
my wife’s tastes over iced tea and sugar quasilinear? Why or why not?

Answer: Tastes are quasilinear in the good on the horizontal axis if the MRS
is unchanged along any vertical line emanating from the horizontal axis. (Alterna-
tively, tastes are quasilinear in the good on the vertical axis if the MRS is unchanged
along any horizontal line emanating from the vertical axis.) For perfect substitutes
like Coke and Pepsi, the MRS is the same everywhere — which means it is certainly
the same along any vertical or horizontal line. Thus, perfect substitutes are quasi-
linear in both goods. Perfect complements like tea and sugar, on the other hand,
are not quasilinear in either good. Along any vertical line emanating from the hor-
izontal axis, the indifference curve at some point changes from being horizontal
to vertical. (The reverse is true for any horizontal line emanating from the verti-
cal axis). You can also again think of the indifference maps that come closer and
closer to those of perfect complements and treat perfect complements as the lim-
iting case. For all maps that approach those of perfect complements, the slopes of
indifference curves change along vertical and horizontal lines. Thus neither of the
goods is quasilinear.

Exercise 5A.7 Can you explain why tastes for perfect substitutes are the only tastes that are
both quasilinear and homothetic?
 Different Types of Tastes 64

Answer: Quasilinearity implies that the M RS does not change along any vertical
line emanating from the horizontal axis (or along any horizontal line emanating
from the vertical axis). Homotheticity implies that the MRS is constant along any
ray from the origin. Consider any vertical line emanating from the horizontal axis.
All rays emanating from the origin pass through that line at some point. So if the
MRS has to be the same along the vertical line and it has to he the same along rays
from the origin, it must be that the MRS is the same everywhere. (The same is true
if we instead considered a horizontal line emanating from the vertical axis when
the good on the vertical axis is quasilinear). And the only tastes for which the MRS
is the same everywhere are those of perfect substitutes.

Exercise 5A.8 True or False: Quasilinear goods are never essential.

Answer: True — or at least almost true. Indifference curves for quasilinear

goods (almost always) cross the vertical and horizontal axes. You can think of it
this way: if either good was essential — i.e. if the indifference curves did not cross
one of the axes, then it must be that they are converging to that axis. If that axis
is the vertical axis, then we can draw a vertical line close to the axis and, since all
indifference curves are converging, it can’t be that the MRS’s are the same along
the vertical line. Similarly, if that axis is the horizontal axis, then converging indif-
ference curves cannot (at least at some point) have the property that they have the
same MRS on a vertical line in the graph. The only reason for the “almost” caveat
is the following: Suppose the good on the horizontal axis is a “neutral” good in the
sense that you do not care one way or another how much of the good you have —
more simply keeps you just as well off as less. The indifference curves would then
be horizontal lines — lines that cross the vertical axis but not the horizontal axis.
This would make the good on the vertical axis essential (while making the good on
the horizontal axis not essential). And the tastes would be quasilinear in the sense
that the MRS is the same everywhere. But this is an extreme case — if you add
even a slight slope to the indifference curves, they will again cross the horizontal
axis (assuming that good is quasilinear) — which would again make the good on
the vertical axis non-essential.

5B Solutions to Within-Chapter-Exercises for

Part B

Exercise 5B.1 Calculate the same approximate elasticity of substitution for the indifference
curve in Graph 5.7b.

Answer: The ratio (x2 /x1 ) changes from 10/2 = 5 to 8/4 = 2. The percentage
change in this ratio is therefore −3/5 = −0.6. The percentage change in the MRS is
again 0.5. Thus, the elasticity of substitution is (0.6/0.5) = 1.2.
65 5B. Solutions to Within-Chapter-Exercises for Part B

Exercise 5B.2 What numerical labels would be attached to the 3 indifference curves in Graph
5.1 by the utility function in equation (5.2)?

Answer: Each indifference curve would have the label equal to its vertical (or
horizontal) intercept; i.e. 1 for the lowest, 2 for the middle and 3 for the highest
indifference curve in the graph.

Exercise 5B.3 Suppose you measured coke in 8 ounce cans and Pepsi in 4 ounce cans. Draw
indifference curves and find the simplest possible utility function that would give rise to those
indifference curves.

Answer: Such indifference curves are drawn in Graph 5.3 where the consumer
is willing to trade 2 (4 oz) cans of Pepsi for 1 (8 oz) can of Coke — leading to slopes
of −2 when Coke is graphed on the horizontal axis. You therefore get twice as much
happiness from a can of Coke as from a can of Pepsi, which implies one way of
representing these tastes is

u(x1 , x2 ) = 2x1 + x2 . (5.1)

You can check that the MRS in this case is

∂u/∂x1 2
MRS = − = − = −2. (5.2)
∂u/∂x2 1

Graph 5.3: 8 oz Coke and 4 oz Pepsi

Exercise 5B.4 Can you use similar reasoning to determine the elasticity of substitution for the
utility function you derived in exercise 5B.3?

Answer: The exact same reasoning holds for all indifference maps with linear
indifference curves. Again, it is easiest to think of an indifference map that is close
to linear everywhere — and then to think what happens as such an indifference
 Different Types of Tastes 66

map approaches that of perfectly linear indifference curves. For indifference curves
that are close to those with MRS = −2 everywhere, we can start at a bundle A with
little x1 and a lot x2 . Even a small change in the MRS will result in a large move
down that indifference curve. Thus, the percentage change in the ratio of the goods
(which is the numerator in the elasticity of substitution equation) is large for a small
percentage change in the MRS (which is the denominator in the elasticity equa-
tion). In the limit, I can get larger and larger changes in this numerator with smaller
and smaller changes in the denominator as the indifference curve gets closer and
closer to being linear. Thus, in the limit the elasticity of substitution is ∞.

Exercise 5B.5 Plug the bundles (3,1), (2,1), (1,1), (1,2) and (1,3) into this utility function and
verify that each is shown to give the same “utility” — thus lying on the same indifference curve
as plotted in Graph 5.2. What numerical labels does this indifference curve attach to each of
the 3 indifference curves in Graph 5.2?

Answer: In each of these bundles, the utility function u(x1 , x2 ) = min{x1 , x2 }

picks the lower of the two quantities and assigns that number as the utility level of
that bundle. Since the lower of the two values in each of these bundles is 1, each
is assigned a utility value of 1. The values assigned to the three indifference curves
are 1, 2 and 3 — the values of the vertical and horizontal coordinates at the corners
of each indifference curve.

Exercise 5B.6 How would your graph and the corresponding utility function change if we
measured iced tea in “half glasses” instead of glasses.

Answer: In that case, the perfect beverage requires 1 pack of sugar for every 2
units (half glasses) of iced tea. Any more sugar for 2 units of iced tea would add
no further utility unless more tea was added as well, and more tea for 1 pack of
sugar would not add more utility unless more sugar was added as well. Thus, the
indifference curves representing the same tastes as before would look as in Graph
5.4, with the corner points now lying on a ray from the origin that lies below the 45
degree line. A utility function that results in the labeling of the indifference curves
that arises in this graph is u(x1 , x2 ) = min{0.5x1 , x2 }.

Exercise 5B.7 Can you determine intuitively what the elasticity of substitution is for the utility
function you defined in exercise 5B.6?

Answer: It is again easiest to do this for tastes that are very close to those we
graphed in Graph 5.4 but without the sharp kink. Pick A a bit above the ray on
which the corners of the indifference curves lie — with the ratio of x1 /x2 just above
0.5. Then imagine moving to a shallower slope of the indifference curve that con-
tains A. Because of the large curvature of the indifference curve around the the ray
that connects the corners of the indifference curves, even a relatively large change
in the MRS will not cause us to have to slide very far along the indifference curve
— implying a relatively modest change in the ratio x1 /x2 . Thus, for a large percent-
age change in the MRS (which is the denominator in the elasticity equation), we
67 5B. Solutions to Within-Chapter-Exercises for Part B

Graph 5.4: Half Glasses of tea and full packs of sugar

get a relatively small change in the ratio x1 /x2 (which is the denominator in the
elasticity equation.) As the indifference curve gets closer and closer to that of per-
fect complements, the percentage change in the consumption good ratio will fall
for any percentage change in the MRS — and will approach 0 as the indifference
curve approaches that of perfect complements. Thus, the numerator in the elastic-
ity equation approaches zero — leaving us with an elasticity of substitution of zero
in the limit.

Exercise 5B.8 Demonstrate that the functions u and v both give rise to indifference curves that
exhibit the same shape by showing that the MRS for each function is the same.

Answer: The MRS of v = x1α x21−α is

∂v/∂x1 αx1α−1 x21−α αx2

MRS v = − =− α −α = − , (5.3)
∂v/∂x2 (1 − α)x1 x2 (1 − α)x1
and, since α = γ/(γ + δ), this can also be written as

αx2 (γ/(γ + δ))x2 (γ/(γ + δ))x2 γx2

MRS v = − =− =− =− . (5.4)
(1 − α)x1 (1 − γ/(γ + δ))x1 (δ/(γ + δ))x1 δx1
γ
The MRS of the function u(x1 , x2 ) = x1 x2δ is
γ−1
∂u/∂x1 γx xδ γx2
MRS u = − = − 1γ δ−12 = − . (5.5)
∂u/∂x2 δx1 x2 δx1
Thus, MRS v = MRS u , which implies the indifference curves arising from the
two utility functions are identical.

Exercise 5B.9 Derive the MRS for the Cobb-Douglas utility function and use it to show what
happens to the slope of indifference curves along the 45-degree line as α changes.

Answer: The MRS for the Cobb-Douglas function which is

 Different Types of Tastes 68

∂u/∂x1 αx (α−1) x2(1−α) ³ α ´µ x ¶

2
MRS = − =− 1 = − . (5.6)
∂u/∂x2 (1 − α)x1α x2−α 1 − α x1

Along the 45-degree line, x1 = x2 — which implies x2 /x1 = 1 and the MRS along
the 45 degree line is simply −α/(1 − α). Thus, when α = 0.5, the MRS along the 45
degree line is exactly −1. When α > 0.5, the MRS on the 45 degree line is greater
than 1 in absolute value, and when α < 0.5, the MRS is less than 1 in absolute value
along the 45 degree line.

Exercise 5B.10 What is the elasticity of substitution in each panel of Graph 5.10?

Answer: The elasticity of substitution for CES utility functions is σ = 1/(1 + ρ).
Thus, the ρ = −0.8 in panel (a) translates to σ = 5; the ρ = −0.2 in panel (b) trans-
lates to σ = 1.25; and the ρ = 2 in panel (c) translates to σ = 0.33.

Exercise 5B.11 Can you describe what happens to the slopes of the indifference curves on the
45 degree line, above the 45 degree line and below the 45 degee line as ρ becomes large (and as
the elasticity of substitution therefore becomes small)?

Answer: The slopes of the indifference curves are described by the MRS which
is given by

³ α ´ µ x ¶ρ+1
2
MRS = − . (5.7)
1 − α x1

First, consider bundles on the 45-degree line where x1 = x2 and thus x2 /x1 = 1.
In this case, the second term in the equation remains 1 as ρ gets large — and the
MRS therefore stays constant at −α/(1 − α).
Next, consider a bundle above the 45 degree line — i.e. a bundle such that
x1 < x2 . This implies that x2 /x1 > 1 — which means the second term in the MRS
equation increases as ρ gets large. Thus, as ρ gets large, the slope of indifference
curves above the 45-degree line become steeper (approaching vertical lines as ρ
approaches infinity.)
Finally, suppose we consider a bundle below the 45 degree line — i.e. a bundle
such that x1 > x2 . This implies x2 /x1 < 1 — which implies that the second term
in the MRS equation decreases as ρ gets large. Thus, the slopes of indifference
curves get shallower below the 45 degree line (approaching horizontal lines as ρ
approaches infinity).
Thus, as ρ approaches infinity (and as the elasticity of substitution therefore
approaches 0), the slopes of indifference curves along the 45 degree line remain
unchanged while they flatten out below the 45 degree line and straighten up above
the 45 degree line. In other words, as ρ gets large, the shape of the indifference
curves approach those of perfect complements.
69 5B. Solutions to Within-Chapter-Exercises for Part B

Exercise 5B.12 On the “Exploring Relationships” animation associated with Graph 5.10, de-
velop an intuition for the role of the α parameter in CES utility functions and compare those
to what emerges in Graph 5.9.

Answer: No particular answer here — the animated version should illustrate

how changing α alters the shapes of indifference curves in ways that should seem
familiar from our Cobb-Douglas example in the text.

Exercise 5B.13 Show that, when we normalize the exponents of the Cobb-Douglas utility func-
tion to sum to 1, the function is homogeneous of degree 1.

Answer: Using the utility functionu(x1 , x2 ) = x1α x2(1−α) ,

u(t x1 , t x2 ) = (t x1 )α (t x2 )(1−α) = t α x1α t (1−α) x2(1−α) = t x1α x2(1−α) = t u(x1 , x2 ). (5.8)

Exercise 5B.14 Consider the following variant of the CES function that will play an impor-
−ρ −ρ −β/ρ
³ ´
tant role in producer theory: f (x1 , x2 ) = αx1 + (1 − α)x2 . Show that this function is
homogeneous of degree β.

Answer:

¢−β/ρ
f (t x1 , t x2 ) = α(t x1 )−ρ + (1 − α)(t x2 )−ρ
¡
=
−ρ −ρ ¢−β/ρ ¡ −ρ −ρ ¢−β/ρ
= t β αx1 + (1 − α)x2
¡ −ρ
= t (αx1 + (1 − α)x2 ) =
= t β f (x1 , x2 ). (5.9)

Exercise 5B.15 Can you demonstrate, using the definition of a homogeneous function, that
it is generally possible to transform a function that is homogeneous of degree k to one that is
homogeneous of degree 1 in the way suggested above?

Answer: Suppose a function f (x1 , x2 ) is homogeneous of degree k. Then this

implies that f (t x1 , t x2 ) = t k f (x1 , x2 ) for any t > 0. Now consider the function
¡ ¢1/k
v(x1 , x2 ) = f (x1 , x2 ) . (5.10)

Then

¡ ¢1/k ³ k ´1/k
v(t x1 , t x2 ) = f (t x1 , t x2 ) = t f (x1 , x2 )
¡ ¢1/k
= t f (x1 , x2 ) = t v(x1 , x2 ). (5.11)

Thus, v(t x1 , t x2 ) = t v(x1 , x2 ) which is the definition of a function that is homo-

geneous of degree 1.
 Different Types of Tastes 70

Exercise 5B.16 Use the mathematical expression for quasilinear tastes to illustrate that nei-
ther good is essential if tastes are quasilinear in one of the goods.

Answer: If tastes are quasilinear in x1 , then we can represent them by a function

u(x1 , x2 ) = v(x1 ) + x2 . (5.12)

At the bundle (0,0), this would result in utility of u(0, 0) = v(0). If the con-
sumer consumes (x1 , 0) — i.e. if she consumes only x1 but no x2 , he utility is
u(x1 , 0) = v(x1 ) which is greater than v(0) which she gets by consuming nothing.
Thus, the consumer can get more utility by consuming only x1 than she could by
consuming nothing — which implies that x2 is not essential. Similarly, if she con-
sumes a bundle (0,x2 ) — i.e. if she consumes only x2 and no x1 , she gets utility
u(0, x2 ) = v(0)+ x2 which is also greater than u(0, 0) = v(0). Thus, x1 is not essential.

Exercise 5B.17 Show that both goods are essential if tastes can be represented by Cobb-Douglas
utility functions.

Answer: Suppose tastes can be represented by u(x1 , x2 ) = x1α x2(1−α) . Then the
utility from consuming (0,0) is u(0, 0) = 0. Now consider the utility from a bun-
dle (x1 , 0) — i.e. a bundle with no x2 consumption. Utility from such a bundle is
u(x1 , 0) = x1α (0) = 0 — exactly what it is when the consumer doesn’t consume any-
thing at all. Thus, x2 is essential. By similar reasoning, x1 is essential.

Exercise 5B.18 Can you demonstrate similarly that σ = 1 for the Cobb-Douglas utility func-
tion u(x1 , x2 ) = x1α x2(1−α) ?

Answer: We know from our previous work that the MRS of a Cobb-Douglas
utility function of this type is MRS = −(αx2 )/((1 − α)x1 ). Taking absolute values of
both sides and solving for (x2 /x1 ), we get

x2 (1 − α)
= |MRS|, (5.13)
x1 α
and taking logs,

x2 (1 − α)
= ln |MRS| + ln
ln . (5.14)
x1 α
We can then apply the elasticity formula from the appendix to get

d ln(x2 /x1 )
σ= = 1. (5.15)
d ln |MRS|

End of Chapter Exercises

Exercise 5.4
14 Suppose two people want to see if they could benefit from trading with one another in a 2-good world.
 71 5B. Solutions to Within-Chapter-Exercises for Part B

A: In each of the following cases, determine whether trade might benefit the two individuals:
(a) As soon as they start talking with one another, they find that they own exactly the same
amount of each good as the other does.
Answer: This should in general not keep them from being able to gain from trading with
one another as long as their tastes differ at the margin at the bundle that they own. What
matters for gains from trade is whether there are differences in the two individual’s MRS at
the bundle they currently own.
(b) They discover that they are long-lost twins who have identical tastes.
Answer: Again, that should not generally keep them from being able to trade with one an-
other, at least as long as they don’t currently own the same bundle. People with the same
map of indifference curves will typically have different MRS’s when they own different bun-
dles — and it is this difference in tastes at the margin that may arise even if people have the
same map of indifference curves.
(c) The two goods are perfect substitutes for each of them — with the same MRS within and
across their indifference maps.
Answer: In this case, there is no way to gain from trade — because no matter what bundle
each of the individuals currently owns, their MRS is the same across the two individuals.
(d) They have the same tastes, own different bundles of goods but are currently located on the
same indifference curve.
Answer: As long as averages are better than extremes, they will be able to trade toward a
more “average” bundle and thus will both benefit from trade.

B: Suppose that the two individuals have CES utility functions, with individual 1’s utility given by
−ρ −ρ −1/ρ −ρ −ρ −1/ρ
³ ´ ³ ´
u(x 1 , x 2 ) = αx 1 + (1 − α)x 2 and individual 2’s by v(x 1 , x 2 ) = βx 1 + (1 − β)x 2 .
(a) For what values of α, β and ρ is it the case that owning the same bundle will always imply
that there are no gains from trade for the two individuals.
Answer: Owning the same bundle implies identical MRS’s for the two individuals only if
tastes are the same. This implies that α = β (since both utility functions already share the
same ρ.)
(b) Suppose α = β and the two individuals therefore share the same preferences. For what values
of α = β and ρ is it the case that the two individuals are not able to gain from trade regardless
of what current bundles they own?
Answer: When individuals have identical tastes but different current bundles of goods, the
only way we know that they cannot trade for sure is if the two goods are in fact perfect
substitutes for them (because then their MRS is in fact the same regardless of what bundles
they own). This occurs when ρ = −1.
(c) Suppose that person 1 owns twice as much of all goods as person 2. What has to be true about
α, β and ρ for them not to be able to trade?
Answer: The tastes are homothetic — which means that the MRS is the same along any ray
from the origin within a single indifference map. If the two indifference maps are further-
more identical, then the same ray from the origin will be associated with the same MRS
across the two individuals. If person 1 owns twice as much of everything as person 2, then
their current bundles lie on a single ray from the origin — which implies that if the two in-
difference maps are identical, the two individuals will not be able to trade. This is true if
α = β for any ρ between −1 and infinity.

Exercise 5.6
15 Everyday Application: Thinking About Old Age: Consider two individuals who take a very different view
of life — and consider how this shapes their tastes over intertemporal tradeoffs.
A: Jim is a 25 year-old athlete who derives most of his pleasure in life from expensive and physically
intense activities — mountain climbing in the Himalayas, kayaking in the Amazon, bungee jumping
in New Zealand, Lion safaris in Africa and skiing in the Alps. He does not look forward to old age
 Different Types of Tastes 72

when he can no longer do this and plans on getting as much fun in early on as he can. Ken is quite
different — he shuns physical activity but enjoys reading in comfortable surroundings. The more
he reads, the more he wants to read and the more he wants to retreat to luxurious libraries in the
comfort of his home. He looks forward to quiet years of retirement when he can do what he loves
most.
(a) Suppose both Jim and Ken are willing to perfectly substitute current for future consumption
— but at different rates. Given the descriptions of them, draw two different indifference maps
and indicate which is more likely to be Jim’s and which is more likely to be Ken’s.
Answer: Panel (a) of Graph 5.5 illustrates two indifference maps in one graph — with Jim’s
indifference curves in solid lines and Ken’s in dashed lines. Since Jim is more interested in
focusing his consumption now, his MRS is larger in absolute value — i.e. he is willing give
up more future consumption for current consumption.

Graph 5.5: Jim and Ken’s Intertemporal Tastes

(b) Now suppose neither Jim nor Ken are willing to substitute at all across time periods. How
would their indifference maps differ now given the descriptions of them above?
Answer: Panel (b) illustrates the case where they are not willing to substitute across time —
with Jim’s indifference curves again dashed and Ken’s solid. Even though they are not willing
to substitute across time, knowing that Jim wants to consume more now while Ken wants to
postpone tells us where the corners of the indifference curves are relative to one another.
(c) Finally, suppose they both allowed for some substitutability across time periods but not as
extreme as what you considered in part (a). Again, draw two indifference maps and indicate
which refers to Jim and which to Ken.
Answer: These are now illustrated in panel (c) — with indifference curve similar to those
in (b) except that we add some curvature to allow for some (though not complete) substi-
tutability.
(d) Which of the indifference maps you have drawn could be homothetic?
Answer: The indifference maps in (a) are definitely homothetic (since they have the same
MRS within each map. The others can certainly be homothetic. In panel (b), they are in fact
clearly drawn as homothetic since the corners of the indifference curves are drawn along
rays from the origin. The same could be true for panel (c).
(e) Can you say for sure if the indifference maps of Jim and Ken in part (c) satisfy the single cross-
ing property (as defined in end-of-chapter exercise 4.9)?
Answer: You can’t say for sure. The way they are drawn in panel (c), it certainly seems like
the single crossing property might hold. If the indifference maps are close to those of per-
fect complements, the single crossing property will, in fact hold. But you can also imagine
73 5B. Solutions to Within-Chapter-Exercises for Part B

starting with the indifference maps in panel (a) and bending them slightly — thus creating
two points at which indifference curves from the two maps cross one another.
B: Continue with the descriptions of Jim and Ken as given in part A and let c 1 represent consumption
now and let c 2 represent consumption in retirement.
(a) Suppose that Jim’s and Ken’s tastes can be represented by u J (c 1 ,c 2 ) = αc 1 +c 2 and u K (c 1 ,c 2 ) =
βc 1 + c 2 respectively. How does α compare to β — i.e. which is larger?
Answer: The marginal rates of substitution are

∂u J /∂c 1 ∂u K /∂c 1
MRS J = − = −α and MRS K = − = −β. (5.16)
∂u J /∂c 2 ∂u K /∂c 2
Thus, it must be that α > β for us to get indifference maps such as those in panel (a) of
Graph 5.5.
(b) How would you similarly differentiate, using a constant α for Jim and β for Ken, two utility
functions that give rise to tastes as described in A(b)?
Answer: Such tastes can be represented by

u J (c 1 ,c 2 ) = min{αc 1 ,c 2 } and u K (c 1 ,c 2 ) = min{βc 1 ,c 2 }, (5.17)

where α < 1 < β. Consider, u J (c 1 ,c 2 ) = min{αc 1 ,c 2 }. Suppose, for instance, that α = 1/2.
This means that Jim’s utility for the bundle (c 1 ,c 2 ) = (2x, x) would be equal to u J (2x, x) =
min{(1/2)2x, x} = min{x, x}. Thus, (2x, x) for different values of x represent the location of
all the corners of the indifference curves for Jim — or, put differently, those corners lie on a
ray from the origin with slope (1/2). More generally, they will lie on a ray from the origin with
slope α for Jim and with slope β for Ken — and from panel (b) in Graph 5.5, we know that
Ken’s ray has slope greater than 1 (because his corners lie above the 45-degree line) while
Jim’s ray has slope less than 1 (because his corners lie below the 45-degree line.)
(c) Now consider the case described in A(c), with their tastes now described by the Cobb-Douglas
β (1−β)
utility functions u J (c 1 ,c 2 ) = c 1α c 2(1−α) and u J (c 1 ,c 2 ) = c 1 c 2 . How would α and β in those
functions be related to one another?
Answer: The MRS for the two functions is

αc 2 βc 2
MRS J = and MRS K = . (5.18)
(1 − α)c 1 (1 − β)c 1
Recall that the MRS is equal to −1 along the 45 degree line (where c 1 = c 2 ) when α = 0.5.
For Ken, the indifference curves are shallower than this on the 45 degree line — implying a
smaller MRS in absolute value. This can only happen if β < 0.5. The reverse is true for Jim
— implying α > 0.5. Thus, α > β.
(d) Are all the tastes described by the above utility functions homothetic? Are any of them quasi-
linear?
Answer: Yes, they are all homothetic. The only one that is quasilinear is the one for perfect
substitutes in B(a)
(e) Can you show that the tastes in B(c) satisfy the single crossing property (as defined in end-of-
chapter exercise 4.9)?
Answer: Pick any arbitrary bundle (c 1 ,c 2 ). Given that α > 0.5 > β (from (c) above), the
absolute value of the marginal rates of substitution at that bundle satisfy
¯ ¯ αc 2 βc 2 ¯ ¯
¯MRS J ¯ = > = ¯MRS K ¯ . (5.19)
¯ ¯ ¯ ¯
(1 − α)c 1 (1 − β)c 1
Thus, the slope of Jim’s indifference curves at every bundle is steeper than that of Ken’s indif-
ference curve at that bundle — which means that indifference curves can only be crossing
once.
(f) Are all the functions in B(a)-(c) members of the family of CES utility functions?
Answer: Yes. As shown in the text, CES utility functions range from perfect substitutes to
perfect complements and include Cobb-Douglas tastes.
 Different Types of Tastes 74

Exercise 5.11
16 In this exercise, we are working with the concept of an elasticity of substitution. This concept was intro-
duced in part B of the Chapter. Thus, this entire question relates to material from part B, but the A-part
of the question can be done simply by knowing the formula for an elasticity of substitution while the B-
part of the question requires further material from part B of the Chapter. In Section 5B.1, we defined the
elasticity of substitution as ¯ ¯
¯ %∆(x 2 /x 1 ) ¯
σ = ¯¯ ¯. (5.20)
%∆ MRS ¯
A: Suppose you consume only apples and oranges. Last month, you consumed bundle A=(100,25) —
100 apples and 25 oranges, and you were willing to trade at most 4 apples for every orange. Two
months ago, oranges were in season and you consumed B =(25,100) and were willing to trade at
most 4 oranges for 1 apple. Suppose your happiness was unchanged over the past two months.
(a) On a graph with apples on the horizontal axis and oranges on the vertical, illustrate the in-
difference curve on which you have been operating these past two months and label the MRS
where you know it.
Answer: This is illustrated in Graph 5.6.

Graph 5.6: Elasticity of Subsitution

(b) Using the formula for elasticity of substitution, estimate your elasticity of substitution of ap-
ples for oranges.
Answer: This is
¯ ¯ ¯ ¯
¯ ((100/25) − (25/100))/(100/25) ¯ ¯ (15/4)/4 ¯
σ = ¯¯ ¯ ¯ (15/4)/4 ¯ = 1.
¯=¯ ¯ (5.21)
(−4 − (−1/4))/(−4)
(c) Suppose we know that the elasticity of substitution is in fact the same at every bundle for you
and is equal to what you calculated in (b). Suppose the bundle C =(50,50) is another bundle
that makes you just as happy as bundles A and B . What is the MRS at bundle C ?
Answer: Using B and C in the elasticity of substitution formula, setting σ equal to 1 and
letting the MRS at C be denoted by x , we get
¯ ¯ ¯ ¯
¯ ((100/25) − (50/50))/(100/25) ¯ ¯ 3/4 ¯
¯ ¯ (4 − x)/4 ¯ = 1, (5.22)
¯ ¯=¯ ¯
¯ (−4 − (−x))/(−4)
and solving this for x, we get x = 1 — i.e. the MRS at C is equal to −1.
(d) Consider a bundle D = (25,25). If your tastes are homothetic, what is the MRS at bundle D?
Answer: Since it, like bundle C , lies on the 45 degree line, homotheticity implies the MRS is
again −1.
75 5B. Solutions to Within-Chapter-Exercises for Part B

(e) Suppose you are consuming 50 apples, you are willing to trade 4 apples for one orange and
you are just as happy as you were when you consumed at bundle D. How many oranges are
you consuming (assuming the same elasticity of substitution)?
Answer: Let the number of oranges be denoted y . Using the bundle (50, y ) and D = (25,25)
in the elasticity formula and setting it to 1, we get
¯ ¯ ¯ ¯
¯ ((50/y ) − (25/25))/(50/y ) ¯ ¯ ((50/y ) − 1)/(50/y ) ¯
¯ ¯=¯ ¯ = 1. (5.23)
¯ (−4 − (−1))/(−4) ¯ ¯ (3/4) ¯
Solving this for y , we get y = 12.5.
(f) Call the bundle you derived in part (e) E. If the elasticity is as it was before, at what bundle
would you be just as happy as at E but would be willing to trade 4 oranges for 1 apple?
Answer: If the elasticity is 1 from D to E and is again supposed to be 1 from D to this new
bundle, there must be symmetry around the 45 degree line (as there was between A and B ).
At E = (50,12.5), the MRS is −1/4, and the necessary symmetry then means that MRS = −4
at (12.5,50).
−ρ −ρ −1/ρ
³ ´
B: Suppose your tastes can be summarized by the utility function u(x 1, x 2 ) = αx 1 + (1 − α)x 2 .
(a) In order for these tastes to contain an indifference curve such as the one containing bundle A
that you graphed in A(a), what must be the value of ρ? What about α?
Answer: The elasticity of substitution for the CES utility function can be written as σ = 1/(1+
ρ). Above, we determined that the elasticity of substitution in this problem is 1. Thus, 1 =
1/(1 + ρ) which implies ρ = 0. Since our graph is symmetric around the 45 degree line, it
must furthermore be true that α = 0.5 — i.e. x 1 and x 2 enter symmetrically into the utility
function.
γ
(b) Suppose you were told that the same tastes can be represented by u(x 1 , x 2 ) = x 1 x 2δ . In light
of your answer above, is this possible? If so, what has to be true about γ and δ given the
symmetry of the indifference curves on the two sides of the 45 degree line?
Answer: Yes — it is possible because we determined that the elasticity of substitution is 1
γ
everywhere, which is true for Cobb-Douglas utility functions of the form u(x 1 , x 2 ) = x 1 x 2δ .
The symmetry implies γ = δ.
(c) What exact value(s) do the exponents γ and δ take if the label on the indifference curve con-
taining bundle A is 50? What if that label is 2,500? What if the label is 6,250,000?
Answer: If the utility at A is 50, it means 50γ 50δ = 50. Since we just concluded in (a) that
γ = δ, this implies that γ = δ = 0.5. If the utility is 2,500, then γ = δ = 1, and if the utility is
6,250,000, γ = δ = 2.
(d) Verify that bundles A, B and C (as defined in part A) indeed lie on the same indifference curve
when tastes are represented by the three different utility functions you implicitly derived in
B(c). Which of these utility functions is homogeneous of degree 1? Which is homogeneous of
degree 2? Is the third utility function also homogeneous?
Answer: The bundles are A=(100,25), B =(25,100) and C =(50,50). The following equations
hold, verifying that these must be on the same indifference curve for each of the three utility
functions: u(x 1 , x 2 ) = x 10.5 x 20.5 , v(x 1 , x 2 ) = x 1 x 2 and w(x 1 , x 2 ) = x 12 x 22 :

u(100,25) = u(25,100) = u(50,50) = 50

v(100,25) = v(25,100) = v(50,50) = 2,500 (5.24)
w(100,25) = w(25,100) = w(50,50) = 6,250,000.
The following illustrate the homogeneity properties of the three functions:

u(t x 1 , t x 2 ) = (t x 1 )0.5 (t x 2 )0.5 = t x 10.5 x 20.5 = t u(x 1 , x 2 )

v(t x 1 , t x 2 ) = (t x 1 )(t x 2 ) = t 2 x 1 x 2 = t 2 v(x 1 , x 2 ) (5.25)
w(t x 1 , t x 2 ) = (t x 1 )2 (t x 2 )2 = t 4 x 12 x 22 = t 4 w(x 1 , x 2 ).
Thus, u is homogeneous of degree 1, v is homogeneous of degree 2 and w is homogeneous
of degree 4.
 Different Types of Tastes 76

(e) What values do each of these utility functions assign to the indifference curve that contains
bundle D?
Answer: Recall that D = (25,25). Thus, the three utility functions assign values of u(25,25) =
250.5 250.5 = 25; v(25,25) = 25(25) = 625; and w(25,25) = 252 (252 ) = 390,625.
(f) True or False: Homogeneity of degree 1 implies that a doubling of goods in a consumption
basket leads to “twice” the utility as measured by the homogeneous function, whereas homo-
geneity greater than 1 implies that a doubling of goods in a consumption bundle leads to
more than “twice” the utility.
Answer: This is true. Above, we showed an example of this. More generally, you can see
this from the definition of a function that is homogeneous of degree k; i.e. u(t x 1 , t x 2 ) =
t k u(x 1 , x 2 ). Substituting k = 2, u(2x 1 ,2x 2 ) = 2k u(x 1 , x 2 ). When k = 1 — i.e. when the utility
function is homogeneous of degree 1, this implies u(2x 1 ,2x 2 ) = 2u(x 1 , x 2 ) — a doubling of
goods leads to a doubling of utility assigned to the bundle. More generally, a doubling of
goods leads to 2k times as much utility assigned to the new bundle — and 2k is greater than
2 when k > 1 (and less than 2 when k < 1.)
(g) Demonstrate that the MRS is unchanged regardless of which of the three utility functions
derived in B(c) is used.
γ
Answer: The MRS of a Cobb-Douglas utility function u(x 1 , x 2 ) = x 1 x 2δ is MRS = −(γx 2 )/(δx 1 )
which reduces to −x 2 /x 1 when γ = δ which is the case for all three of the utility functions
above. Thus, the MRS is the same for the three functions.
(h) Can you think of representing these tastes with a utiliy function that assigns the value of 100
to the indifference curve containing bundle A and 75 to the indifference curve containing
bundle D? Is the utility function you derived homogeneous?
Answer: The function u(x 1 , x 2 ) = x 10.5 x 20.5 + 50 would work. This function is not homoge-
neous (but it is homothetic).
(i) True or False: Homothetic tastes can always be represented by functions that are homoge-
neous of degree k (where k is greater than zero), but even functions that are not homogeneous
can represent tastes that are homothetic.
Answer: This is true. We showed in the text that MRS(t x 1 , t x 2 ) = MRS(x 1 , x 2 ) for homo-
geneous functions — thus, for homogeneous functions, the MRS is constant along any ray
from the origin, the definition of homothetic tastes. At the same time, we just saw in the an-
swer to the previous part an example of a non-homogeneous function that still represents
homothetic tastes.
(j) True or False: The marginal rate of substitution is homogeneous of degree 0 if and only if the
underlying tastes are homothetic.
Answer: For any set of homothetic tastes, the MRS is constant along rays from the origin;
i.e. MRS(t x 1 , t x 2 ) = MRS(x 1 , x 2 ). Thus, for homothetic tastes, the MRS is indeed homo-
geneous of degree 0. But MRS(t x 1 , t x 2 ) = MRS(x 1 , x 2 ) defines homotheticity — so non-
homothetic tastes will not have this property, which implies their MRS is not homogeneous
of degree zero. The statement is therefore true.

Conclusion: Potentially Helpful Reminders

1. Keep in mind the distinction between how the MRS changes along an in-
difference curve (which tells us about substitutability) and how the MRS
changes across the indifference map (which leads to ideas like homotheticity
and quasilinearity).

2. The idea of substitutability will become critical in Chapter 7 when we intro-

duce substitution effects (which will depend only on the shape of an indif-
ference curve). The ideas of homotheticity and quasiliearity become impor-
77 5B. Solutions to Within-Chapter-Exercises for Part B

tant as we introduce income effects (in Chapter 7) — which will be measured

across an indifference map (rather than along an indifference curve).

3. Extremes like perfect substitutes and perfect complements are useful to keep
in mind because they make it easy to remember which way an indifference
map looks if the goods are relatively more substitutable as opposed to rela-
tively more complementary and vice versa.

4. Special cases like homothetic and quasilinear tastes will become useful bor-
derline cases in Chapter 7 — with homothetic tastes being the borderline
case between luxury goods and necessities, and with quasilinear tastes be-
ing the borderline case between normal and inferior goods. (These terms are
defined in Chapter 7.)

5. The Chapter 5 Exploring Relationship LiveGraphs — in particular those high-

lighted at the beginning of this chapter — are very helpful in developing intu-
ition about the connection between math and graphs. They also give a good
sense of just how many different types of tastes we can model with the tools
we have developed.