the budget constraint and choice the problem of limited resources and its effect on choice
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The budget constraint and choice
The problem of limited resources and its effect on choice
The budget constraint and choice
Last week: We saw that preferences can be represented
by utility functions ... That indifference curves can be used to map a
utility function into “consumption space” But we still don’t know how consumers choose
amongst the different bundles... This week:
We introduce the concept of a budget, This is the 2nd half of consumer theory
The budget constraint and choice
The budget constraint
The optimal consumer choice
Income and substitution effects
The budget constraint
The basic concept is really straightforward:
The consumer has a limited income (I) to purchase different goods
Each type of good has a defined price (p) per unit
We assume that the consumer does not save and spends all his income This possibility will be examined later
The budget constraint
The general budget constraint for n goods is:
If we only look at 2 goods (Same simplification as last week), it can be expressed as:
n
i ii 1
I p x
1 1 2 2I p x p x
The budget constraint
Imagine the following “student entertainment budget” You have 50 € The price of a meal is 10 € The price of a cinema ticket is 5 €
Your budget constraint is:
50 5 tickets 10 meals 1 1 2 2I p x p x
The budget constraint
Meals
Cinema
maxmealx
maxmeal
meal
Ix
p Maximum amount of
meals you can buy
Diagram in “consumption space”
The budget constraint
maxcin.
cin.
Ix
p
Maximum amount of cinema tickets you can buy
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
The budget constraint
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
Budget constraint
The budget constraint
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
1 1 2 2I p x p x
21 2
1 1
pIx x
p p
The budget constraint is
Dividing by p1 and rearranging:
cin.meal cin.
meal meal
pIx x
p p
slope
intercept
The budget constraint
Any bundle within the budget constraint is affordable , but not all the budget is spent (C,D).
Any bundle beyond the budget constraint cannot be afforded (H,G).
C
H
D
GAny bundle on the budget constraint is affordable and ensures all the budget is spent (E,F).
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
F
E
The budget constraint
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
Budget constraint
Budget set
The budget constraint
The position of the budget constraint depends on
The income of the agent (I)
The price of the two goods (p1 and p2)
21 2
1 1
pIx x
p p
The budget constraint
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
Effect of a fall in income (I)
The budget constraint
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
Increase in the price of cinema tickets
The budget constraint and choice
The budget constraint
The optimal consumer choice
Income and substitution effects
The optimal consumer choice
This requires bringing in the two elements of the theory The indifference curves, which show how
agents rank the different bundles The budget constraint, which shows which
bundles are affordable, and which are not
Both of these are defined over the “consumption space”, so they can be superposed easily
The optimal consumer choice
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
Which is the best bundle ?
F
Optimal bundleC
D
E
B
A
The optimal consumer choice
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
The budget constraint is tangent to the
indifference curve at F
F
Definition of the MRS at F !!!
The optimal consumer choice
The optimal bundle is on the tangency between the budget constraint and the indifference curve.
This means that for the optimal bundle the slope of the IC is equal to the slope of the budget constraint
MRS = ratio of prices
The optimal consumer choice
This condition gives a central result of consumer theory:
The optimal bundle is the one which equalises the marginal utility per € spent If you were to receive an extra € of income,
your marginal utility will be the same regardless of where you spend it
2 2
1
2
1 21
1mU pMRS
mU p
mU mU
p p
The optimal consumer choice
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
Example of optimal choice with concave preferences
F
G
The optimal solution is a “corner solution”
The budget constraint and choice
The budget constraint
The optimal consumer choice
Income and substitution effects
Income and substitution effects
Consumer theory is used to understand how choice is affected by changes in the environment
These can be complex, and the theory helps to isolate these different effects
The separation of income and substitution effects is a good illustration of the concept of “ceteris paribus” Each variable is isolated and analysed
separately from the others
Income and substitution effects
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
An increase in the price of cinema tickets has 2 effects :
A
1: A change in real income A previously affordable bundle
(A) is no longer affordable
2: A relative price change The slope of the budget
constraint changes, and meals become relatively cheaper
Income and substitution effects
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
A
B
Effect of an increase in the price of cinema tickets on consumer choice
Fall in the consumption of cinema
Increase in the consumption of meals
Question: How can we separate the effect of the change in real income from the effect of the change in relative prices ?
Income and substitution effects
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
A
B
In order to separate the 2 effects, we add an imaginary budget constraint
Parallel to the new budget constraint
Tangent to the original IC
There is only a single curve that satisfies these two requirements
This gives an imaginary optimal bundle (Im)
Im
Income and substitution effects
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
A
B
The substitution effect From A to Im, real income is
held constant We are still on the same
indifference curve, so utility is the same
The change of bundle is due entirely to the change in relative price
This is the substitution effect
Im
Income and substitution effects
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
A
B
The income effect From Im, to B, relative prices
are held constant The two budget constraints are
parallel, so the slope is the same The change of bundle is due
entirely to the fall in income. This is the income effect
Im
Income and substitution effects
maxcin.x Cinema
Meals
maxmealx
A
B
The overall effect By combining the two, one gets
the overall effect One can see that the interaction
is different for the two goods The 2 effects can work against
each other, or add up Depending on the relative
strength of the effects, this can lead to increases or falls in consumption
Im
Income and substitution effects
This type of approach is fundamental to micro-economic analysis Any price change is always accompanied by
income and substitution effects. So this helps understand the effects of
taxation, shocks to prices, taste changes, etc. Look at the complex effects of oil price
increases on consumption Price change ⇒ Complex change in bundle
Clearly, this will also help understand how demand curves are built (next week)
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