Chapter Three

Preferences
 Objective of this Chapter
 Tovisualize and analyse “what the
consumer wants to consume”.
 Note this is different from Chapter 2
where we discussed what the
consumer can consume.
 Rationality in Economics
 Behavioral Postulate:
A decisionmaker always chooses its
most preferred alternative from its
set of available alternatives.
 So to model choice we must model
decisionmakers’ preferences.
 Preference Relations
 Comparing two different consumption
bundles, x and y:
– strict preference: x is more preferred
than is y.
– weak preference: x is as at least as
preferred as is y.
– indifference: x is exactly as preferred
as is y.
 Preference Relations
 Strict preference, weak preference
and indifference are all preference
relations.
 Particularly, they are ordinal
relations; i.e. they state only the
order in which bundles are
preferred.
 Preference Relations
p
 denotes strict preference;
p
x y means that bundle x is preferred
strictly to bundle y.
 Preference Relations
p
 denotes strict preference;
p
x y means bundle x is preferred
strictly to bundle y.
 ~ denotes indifference; x ~ y means x
and y are equally preferred.
 Preference Relations
p
 denotes strict preference so
p
x y means that bundle x is preferred
strictly to bundle y.
 ~ denotes indifference; x ~ y means x
and y are equally preferred.
 f denotes weak preference;
~
x f y means x is preferred at least as
~
much as is y.
 Preference Relations
x f y and y f x imply x ~ y.
~ ~
 Preference Relations
x f y and y f x imply x ~ y.
~ ~
 x f y and (not y f x) imply x
p y.
~ ~
 Assumptions about Preference
Relations
 Completeness: For any two bundles
x and y it is always possible to make
the statement that either
x f y
or
~
y f x.
~
 Assumptions about Preference
Relations
 Reflexivity:Any bundle x is always
at least as preferred as itself; i.e.

x f x.
~
(An implication of completeness)
 Assumptions about Preference
Relations
 Transitivity: If
x is at least as preferred as y, and
y is at least as preferred as z, then
x is at least as preferred as z; i.e.

x f y and y f z x f z.
~ ~ ~
 Indifference Curves
 Take a reference bundle x’. The set
of all bundles equally preferred to x’
is the indifference curve containing
x’; the set of all bundles y ~ x’.
 Indifference Curves
x2 x’ ~ x” ~ x”’
x’

x”

x”’

x1
 Indifference Curves
x2 z
p x
p y
x

x1
 Indifference Curves
I1 All bundles in I1 are
x2
x strictly preferred to
all in I2.
z
I2

All bundles in I2 are

I(x) I(x’)

x1
 Indifference Curves
x2
WP(x), the set of
x bundles weakly
preferred to x.
WP(x)
includes
I(x) I(x).

x1
 Indifference Curves
x2
SP(x), the set of
x bundles strictly
preferred to x,
does not
include
I(x) I(x).

x1
 Indifference Curves Cannot
Intersect
x2 I2 From I1, x ~ y. From I2, x ~ z.
I1 Therefore y ~ z.

x
y
z

x1
 Indifference Curves Cannot
Intersect
x2 I2 From I1, x ~ y. From I2, x ~ z.
I1 Therefore y ~ z. But from I1
p
and I2 we see y z, a
contradiction.
x
y
z

x1
 Slopes of Indifference Curves
 When more of a commodity is always
preferred, the commodity is a good.
 If every commodity is a good then
indifference curves are negatively
sloped.
 Slopes of Indifference Curves
Good 2
Two goods
a negatively sloped
indifference curve.

Good 1
 Slopes of Indifference Curves
 Ifless of a commodity is always
preferred then the commodity is a
bad.
 Slopes of Indifference Curves
Good 2
One good and one
bad a
positively sloped
indifference curve.

Bad 1
 Extreme Cases of Indifference
Curves; Perfect Substitutes
 Ifa consumer always regards units
of commodities 1 and 2 as
equivalent, then the commodities are
perfect substitutes and only the total
amount of the two commodities in
bundles determines their preference
rank-order.
 Example: Red and blue pencils (don’t
care about colour)
 Extreme Cases of Indifference
Curves; Perfect Substitutes
x2
Slopes are constant at - 1.
15 I2
Bundles in I2 all have a total
8 of 15 units and are strictly
preferred to all bundles in
I1 I1, which have a total of
only 8 units in them.
8 15 x1
 Extreme Cases of Indifference
Curves; Perfect Complements
 Ifa consumer always consumes
commodities 1 and 2 in fixed
proportion (e.g. one-to-one), then the
commodities are perfect
complements and only the number of
pairs of units of the two commodities
determines the preference rank-order
of bundles.
 Left and Right shoes
 Extreme Cases of Indifference
Curves; Perfect Complements
x2
45o Each of (5,5), (5,9)
and (9,5) contains
5 pairs so each is
equally preferred.
9
5 I1

5 9 x1
 Extreme Cases of Indifference
Curves; Perfect Complements
x2
45o Since each of (5,5),
(5,9) and (9,5)
contains 5 pairs,
each is less
9 I2 preferred than the
bundle (9,9) which
5 I1 contains 9 pairs.

5 9 x1
Preferences Exhibiting Satiation
A bundle strictly preferred to any
other is a satiation point or a bliss
point.
 What do indifference curves look like
for preferences exhibiting satiation?
 Indifference Curves Exhibiting
Satiation
x2
Satiation
(bliss)
point

x1
 Indifference Curves Exhibiting
Satiation
x2
Satiation
(bliss)
Better point

x1
 Indifference Curves Exhibiting
Satiation
x2
Satiation
(bliss)
Better point

x1
 Well-Behaved Preferences
A preference relation is “well-
behaved” if it is
– monotonic and convex.
 Monotonicity: More of any
commodity is always preferred (i.e.
every commodity is a good).
 Well-Behaved Preferences
 Convexity: Mixtures of bundles are
(at least weakly) preferred to the
bundles themselves. E.g., the 50-50
mixture of the bundles x and y is
z = (0.5)x + (0.5)y.
z is at least as preferred as x or y.
 Well-Behaved Preferences --
Convexity.

x2 x
z =(tx1+(1-t)y1, tx2+(1-t)y2)
is preferred to x and y
for all 0 < t < 1.
y
y2
x1 y1
 Well-Behaved Preferences --
Convexity.
Preferences are strictly convex
x when all mixtures z
x2
are strictly
z preferred to their
component
bundles x and y.
y
y2
x1 y1
Well-Behaved Preferences --
Weak Convexity.
x’ Preferences are
z’ weakly convex if at
least one mixture z
is equally preferred
x to a component
z
y bundle.
y’
 Non-Convex Preferences

x2
The mixture z
z is less preferred
than x or y.
y2
x1 y1
 More Non-Convex Preferences

x2
The mixture z
z is less preferred
than x or y.
y2
x1 y1
 Slopes of Indifference Curves
 The slope of an indifference curve is
its marginal rate-of-substitution
(MRS).
 How can a MRS be calculated?
 Marginal Rate of Substitution
x2
MRS at x’ is the slope of the
indifference curve at x’

x’

x1
 Marginal Rate of Substitution
dx2 = MRS  dx1 so, at x’,
x2 MRS is the rate at which
the consumer is only just
willing to exchange
commodity 2 for a small
dx2 x’ amount of commodity 1.
dx1

x1
 MRS & Ind. Curve Properties
Good 2
Two goods
a negatively sloped
indifference curve
MRS < 0.

Good 1
 Diminishing MRS
Good 2
MRS = - 5
MRS always decreases with x1
(in absolute value) if and only
if preferences are strictly
convex.

MRS = - 0.5 Good 1