資源描述：
《microeconomic theory preferences and utility》由會員上傳分享，免費在線閱讀，更多相關(guān)內(nèi)容在工程資料-天天文庫。
1、CHAPTERTHREEPreferencesandUtilityInthischapterwelookatthewayinwhicheconomistscharacterizeindividuals’prefer-ences.Webeginwithafairlyabstractdiscussionofthe‘‘preferencerelation,’’butquicklyturntotheeconomists’primarytoolforstudyingindividualchoices—theutilityf
2、unction.Welookatsomegeneralcharacteristicsofthatfunctionandafewsimpleexamplesofspeci?cutilityfunctionswewillencounterthroughoutthisbook.AxiomsofRationalChoiceOnewaytobeginananalysisofindividuals’choicesistostateabasicsetofpostulates,oraxioms,thatcharacterize‘
3、‘rational’’behavior.Thesebeginwiththeconceptof‘‘prefer-ence’’:Anindividualwhoreportsthat‘‘AispreferredtoB’’istakentomeanthatallthingsconsidered,heorshefeelsbetteroffundersituationAthanundersituationB.Thepreferencerelationisassumedtohavethreebasicpropertiesasf
4、ollows.I.Completeness.IfAandBareanytwosituations,theindividualcanalwaysspecifyexactlyoneofthefollowingthreepossibilities:1.‘‘AispreferredtoB,’’2.‘‘BispreferredtoA,’’or3.‘‘AandBareequallyattractive.’’Consequently,peopleareassumednottobeparalyzedbyindecision:Th
5、eycom-pletelyunderstandandcanalwaysmakeuptheirmindsaboutthedesirabilityofanytwoalternatives.TheassumptionalsorulesoutthepossibilitythatanindividualcanreportboththatAispreferredtoBandthatBispreferredtoA.II.Transitivity.Ifanindividualreportsthat‘‘Aispreferredto
6、B’’and‘‘BispreferredtoC,’’thenheorshemustalsoreportthat‘‘AispreferredtoC.’’Thisassumptionstatesthattheindividual’schoicesareinternallyconsistent.Suchanassumptioncanbesubjectedtoempiricalstudy.Generally,suchstudiesconcludethataperson’schoicesareindeedtransitiv
7、e,butthisconclusionmustbemodi?edincaseswheretheindividualmaynotfullyunderstandtheconsequencesofthechoicesheorsheismaking.Because,forthemostpart,wewillassumechoicesarefullyinformed(butseethediscussionofuncertaintyinChapter7andelsewhere),thetran-sitivitypropert
8、yseemstobeanappropriateassumptiontomakeaboutpreferences.III.Continuity.Ifanindividualreports‘‘AispreferredtoB,’’thensituationssuitably‘‘closeto’’AmustalsobepreferredtoB.Thisrathertechnica
