The main provisions of the theory of consumer behavior. Fundamentals of the theory of consumer behavior Fundamentals of the theory of consumer behavior

Page 1 - 21 of 21
Home | Prev | 1 | Track. | The end | By p.

The ultimate goal of all production is to satisfy the needs of people. In market conditions, the needs of people appear in the form of effective demand - needs, provided with monetary resources. Market demand is the sum of the demands made by individual consumers. The process of forming demand on the part of an individual buyer for various goods is called consumer behavior or consumer choice.

Topic 7 involves consideration of the process of consumer choice and analysis of the main factors that determine this choice.

The main questions of the topic:

Quantitative (cardinal) theory of consumer behavior
Ordinal (ordinal) theory of consumer behavior

Starting to study this topic, you need to remember some concepts and terms:

economic good;
utility;
price;
product;
need;
interchangeable goods.

Utility: general and marginal

The main factor determining consumer choice is the usefulness of a particular good.

The usefulness of a good () is its ability to satisfy any need, to bring satisfaction to a person. Utility expresses not so much the physical properties of the good as the attitude of the consumer towards it, the consumer's judgment about the good, i.e. subjective perception. For example, cigarettes are useful for a smoker, while for a non-smoker, cigarettes are useless.

The usefulness of an economic good depends on the intensity of the need and the quantitative limitation of the good, i.e. utility is considered as a function of the quantity of goods consumed.

Where is the usefulness of the product;

Quantity of goods.

Depending on the number of benefits considered, marginal and total utility are distinguished.

Marginal utility (MU) is an additional utility derived from the consumption of an additional unit of goods. The relationship between the amount of goods and the marginal utility of the good describes law of diminishing marginal utility, according to which, as the amount of consumed goods increases, their marginal utility tends to decrease (Fig. 7.1).

Rice. 7.1. Marginal utility curve

The second indicator of utility is aggregate (total, total) utility (AU) - the utility brought by the entire mass of consumed goods. The total utility is the sum of the marginal utilities:

The law of diminishing marginal utility also determines the dynamics of the total utility brought by the entire mass of consumed goods. Since the total utility is the sum of the marginal utilities, it is obvious that with an increase in the number of goods of a given type, an increase in the total utility occurs, but this growth occurs at an ever-slowing pace (Fig. 7.2).

Rice. 7.2. Aggregate utility curve

The distinction between the concepts of general and marginal utility allows us to explain the famous paradox of A. Smith: why water, which is so necessary for people, is cheap, and diamonds, which are not essential items, are so expensive.

The point is that water is abundant (usually) and diamonds are rare. Consequently, the need for water can be easily satisfied, and its marginal usefulness is low, the quantity of diamonds is limited and their marginal usefulness is high, therefore the price of water is low, and of diamonds is high.

Every consumer seeks to obtain maximum utility from the consumption of goods. However, if the good is useful for the consumer, then there are factors that limit the possibility of acquiring the good. This is the price of the product and the consumer's income. (budget constraint).

Since the values ​​of income and prices are set, the consumer cannot buy all the goods that he would like. The budgetary constraint and, consequently, the impossibility of satisfying all needs force the consumer to distribute his income in accordance with his ideas about the usefulness and profitability (preference) of the selected goods.

A consumer who seeks to maximize total utility in the context of a budget constraint determined by his income level and existing prices is rational consumer.

Thus, the theory of consumer behavior involves the analysis of three problems: utility, income and price, while the theory proceeds from the fact that the consumer behaves rationally, that is, he seeks to obtain maximum results with minimum costs (to achieve the greatest total utility by spending a minimum funds).

Consumer choice- the optimal choice that ensures that the consumer achieves the greatest utility in conditions of limited resources (monetary income).

There are two versions of the theory of consumer behavior:

Quantitative, or cardinalistic (from a mathematical concept - a cardinal (quantitative) number: one, two, three, etc.);
ordinal, or ordinal (from a mathematical concept - ordinal (ordinal) number - first, second, third, etc.).

Quantitative (cardinal) theory
consumer behavior

Quantitative (cardinal) theory consumer behavior is based directly on the concept of utility and proceeds from the fact that utility is measurable. For theoretical measurements of utility, even a unit of utility was introduced - "junk" (from English - utility - utility).

According to this theory, a rational consumer maximizes total utility if the ratio of the marginal utility of a good to the price of a good is equal for all goods purchased by the consumer ( utility maximization rule). In this case, a state of equilibrium is achieved.

Consumer balance- this is a situation in which the consumer cannot increase the total utility obtained under a given budget constraint by increasing or decreasing the purchase of one or the other product.

Algebraically, the utility maximization rule, or the consumer equilibrium condition, can be expressed as follows:

Where is the marginal utility of goods a, b, c;
- the price of goods a, b, c.

Suppose a consumer purchases three goods A, V and WITH(Table 7.1). The prices of these goods and the marginal utility of each of them are shown on the left side of the table.

Table 7.1

From the given data it follows that initially the income is distributed irrationally, since per monetary unit the greatest marginal utility is brought by the commodity V(20 scraps), and the smallest is the product A(10 scraps). The combined utility of acquiring three goods is 225 scraps (100 + 80 + 45).

If the consumer refuses a unit of goods A, it will save 10 currency units, which can be used to purchase 2.5 units of goods V... Then, as the quantity of goods decreases A, its marginal utility will grow, and an increase in the quantity of goods V will lead to a decrease in its marginal utility (the law of diminishing marginal utility).

By redistributing income in this way, the consumer will gradually create conditions under which the marginal utility of all goods in relation to their prices will be equal. Let's say this ratio is 15. With this distribution of income, the total utility will increase and reach 255 utilities (150 + 60 + 45).

If no redistribution of income will increase the total utility, this means that a state of equilibrium has been reached.

Let us assume that a consumer consumes a certain amount of goods (clothing) and goods (food) every month. The consumer can satisfy his needs through different sets consisting of different quantities of goods and.

Having designated the product on the vertical axis and the product on the horizontal axis and finding the coordinates of the above different sets of two products, we can build a curve called the indifference curve.

Indifference curve (U) is a collection of consumer sets, each of which has the same utility for the consumer (Figure 7.3).

Rice. 7.3. Indifference curve

Any point on the indifference curve ( A, B, C, D) characterizes the set of goods and, having the same value (bringing the same total utility), and therefore the consumer does not care which set to buy. Since none of the sets has a preference, the goods included in the set are interchangeable.

The indifference curve is convex to the origin. This means that an increase in the consumption of one product () is accompanied by a decrease in the consumption of another product (), i.e. the item is replaced by the item. The degree of interchangeability of two goods for the consumer is measured by the marginal rate of substitution.

Marginal rate of substitution() shows how much the good can be reduced Have with an increase in the consumption of goods by one unit, without changing the degree of satisfaction of needs.

As you move along the indifference curve, the absolute value decreases.

In our example, when moving from the set A to the set V

= (40-25): (4-2) = 15:2 = 7,5;
when moving from a set V to the set C

= (25-20): (5-4) = 5:1 = 5;
when moving from a set C to the set D

= (20-15): (8-5) = 5:3 = 1,7.
You can describe preferences for all sets of different goods (s) using an indifference curve map (see Figure 7.4). Indifference Curve Map is a set of indifference curves, each of which represents a different level of utility.

Rice. 7.4. Indifference Curve Map

Each indifference curve included in the indifference curve map characterizes a set of goods to which the consumer treats the same, but the indifference curves themselves are ranked according to the level of satisfaction of needs. The further the indifference curve is from the origin, the higher the degree of satisfaction of needs and, consequently, the utility of the set of goods. The indifference curve U 3 characterizes the greatest degree of satisfaction of needs, the curves U 1 and U 2 correspond to a lower level of satisfaction of needs and, therefore, the sets described by these curves are less useful for the consumer.

Thus, the indifference curve map reveals consumer preferences, but it does not answer the question of which set the consumer will choose. To answer this question, it is necessary to analyze the purchasing power of the consumer - his budget constraint, i.e. take into account the consumer's income and the prices of goods.

Algebraically, the budget constraint can be represented as follows:

Where and - the price of goods and goods; and - the quantity of goods and that can be bought with the consumer's income; - consumer income.

The set of choices that open up to the consumer, based on his budget constraint, can be presented in the form of a budget line graph.

Budget line (BL) is a line that graphically displays the sets of goods that a consumer can purchase at a given income and given prices, or these are combinations of goods, the acquisition of which requires the same costs.

Suppose that the consumer's income is 4000 rubles, and he needs two goods - and. Product price = RUB 100, product price = RUB 200 Under these conditions, the consumer can purchase the following sets of goods.

Marking the goods on the vertical axis Have, and on the horizontal - the product NS and having found the coordinates of each of the sets, we will build a budget line (Fig. 7.5).

Rice. 7.5. Budget line

Any point lying on the budget line, denotes the availability of a set of goods for the consumer, i.e. his income allows him to purchase any set of goods and. The buyer cannot afford to purchase a set of goods indicated by points located above and to the right of the budget line (point F), since such a set would require more income. The point located inside the budget line (point G) also means the availability of a set of goods for the consumer, but by purchasing such a set, the consumer does not fully use his income, i.e. he has access to sets containing more of both the product and the product.

Fig 7.6. Consumer equilibrium position

In fig. 7.6 the consumer is in a state of equilibrium at the point e, i.e. he maximizes the total utility for a given budget constraint by purchasing a set of goods corresponding to the coordinates of the point e.

Points a and b on the indifference curve are achievable for the consumer, but the consumer with the same income can increase the degree of satisfaction of his needs by moving to a higher indifference curve -.

Point with on the indifference curve provides an even higher level of satisfaction, which, however, cannot be achieved with the existing income.

The behavior of people in the sphere of distribution of their own income and the acquisition of consumer goods is individual and subjective. But the aggregate market demand for individual goods is formed from the individual demand of consumers, signaling the supply (production) about how much of the goods is required in the markets.

Rational consumer utility maximization rule indifference curve marginal replacement rate map of indifference curves consumer choice consumer equilibrium

conclusions

1. The usefulness of a product is its ability to satisfy any need. Usefulness depends on the intensity of the need for the product and its quantity. The utility brought by the entire mass of consumed goods is called total utility, the utility brought by an additional unit of good is called marginal utility. According to the law of diminishing marginal utility, as the amount of goods consumed increases, marginal utility decreases. The aggregate utility increases with the increase in the amount of consumed goods, but at an ever-slowing pace.

2. According to the quantitative theory of consumer behavior, a rational consumer (buyer), given his budget constraint, will maximize total utility by distributing his income so that the ratios of the marginal utilities of the goods consumed by him, based on the price of these goods, are equal.

3. The ordinal theory of consumer behavior is based on the analysis of indifference curves reflecting the totality of consumer sets, each of which has the same utility for the consumer, and budget lines (lines graphically displaying a set of goods, the acquisition of which requires the same costs). According to the ordinal theory, the consumer is in equilibrium, purchasing a set of goods corresponding to the coordinates of the point where the budget line touches the highest of all indifference curves available to him. The equilibrium position of the consumer is a state in which he, within the framework of his budget constraint, maximizes the total utility.

The size, structure and dynamics of consumer demand is investigated by the theory of consumer behavior based on marginalism. Its initial principles are the recognition, firstly, of the economic sovereignty of the consumer (that is, the ability to influence the supply of goods through demand) and, secondly, the rationality of the consumer's behavior if he gets maximum utility with limited income.

Usefulness is the degree of pleasure (satisfaction) from the consumption of a product. The usefulness of a product is a purely individual concept that depends on many factors. The main factors influencing consumer behavior are shown in the diagram presented in the following figure:

Fig. 2. Factors influencing consumer behavior

If the tastes of the consumer are constant, and the consumption function is continuous, then any infinitesimal increase in the quantity of goods corresponds to an increase in the total utility. However, it grows at an ever slower pace due to the fact that the marginal utility of a given commodity (or added value) brought by the last unit tends to decline. This is the law of diminishing marginal utility. (The 57th portion of ice cream at one time, for example, will be less tasty for you than the 1st).

Thus, the theory of consumer behavior distinguishes between the concepts of general and marginal utility. Total utility is the aggregate of benefits or satisfaction that is obtained from the consumption of a particular good or a set of goods and services. And the marginal utility is additional benefit or satisfaction received from each additional unit of goods or services. That is, marginal utility can be defined as the increment in total utility from the consumption of an additional unit of goods. As you saw, as each additional unit of goods is consumed, the total increases and, on the contrary, the marginal utility decreases, which is reflected in the theory of consumer behavior as the law of diminishing marginal utility.

Although the category of utility is subjective, economists use it to identify patterns in individual demand. In this case, there are two ways to assess utility: cardinal and ordinal. The cardinalistic approach is associated with an attempt to calculate the value of utility based on the use of a conventional unit - utile. Proponents of the ordinal approach argue that utility cannot be quantified, but based on preferences, ordinal utility can be identified, that is, to describe consumer behavior by ranking.

According to the theory of consumer behavior, each consumer, using subjective utility, estimates his need for a corresponding product. That is, he will present demand for commodity A until the marginal utility per one monetary unit spent on commodity A equals the marginal utility per one monetary unit spent on another commodity - B. This is called the rule of maximizing the utility of an individual consumer. , and algebraically it is expressed as an equilibrium equation for the demand of an individual consumer.

This equation shows how the consumer makes a purchase choice. For example, if the marginal utility of good A is 35 and its price is 15, and the marginal utility of good B is 40, and its price is 20, then the consumer will prefer good A over B. Why? Since here the quotient from dividing the marginal utility by the price turns out to be greater for commodity A than for commodity B. But if the consumer continues to prefer commodity A and purchase it, then, according to the law of diminishing marginal utility, the marginal utility of commodity A will decrease. In this case, the benefit from the consumption of goods A and B will become the same, since the ratios of marginal utility to price for both goods become equal. (This is the situation of Buridan's donkey: in ancient mythology there was such an intelligent donkey who loved to philosophize, “think rationally”, for which the poor little one paid with his life - when he was offered a choice of two absolutely identical quantitatively and qualitatively heaps of hay, but located from him in opposite directions at exactly the same distance, then the donkey, despite all its intelligence, found it difficult to make a choice. side, and there is the same amount of hay, and the quality of this hay is identical. The outcome, unfortunately, is tragic: the clever donkey died of hunger, since the period of choice dragged on in time).

It is not so tragic, even outwardly almost imperceptible in everyday practice, the situation of Buridan's donkey for an ordinary buyer, when some retired grandmother, almost intuitively and, of course, very quickly “changes” product A in favor of product B. the consumer would continue to consume good A, then, according to the law of diminishing marginal utility, it will decrease, for example, for good A, to 25. In this case, the utility for the consumer from each monetary unit spent on good A will be less than from spent on commodity B. Since the ratio of marginal utility to price will be less for commodity A than for commodity B. Hence, a rational consumer will refuse to consume A, replace it in consumption with commodity B. After all, the rationality of the consumer is precisely about maximizing utility.

An important element of the theory of consumer behavior is the analysis of indifference curves and budget lines, the implementation method of which was developed by the Italian economist Pareto and the English economist Hicks.

The graphical representation of different combinations of two economic goods that have the same utility for the consumer is called the indifference curve. Many indifference curves of one consumer form an indifference map. At the same time, the more to the right and higher the indifference curve is located, the more satisfaction the combinations of the two benefits presented by it bring. In turn, the line of the budgetary limit informs about the most advantageous set of products for the consumer, the equation expressed by such a line can be written as follows: I = P1 Q1 + P2 Q2, where I is the consumer's income; P1; P2 - the price of goods A and B; Q1; Q2 - the number of goods A and B.

The point of contact of the indifference curve with the line of the budgetary limit shows the equilibrium position of the consumer (consumer's optimum) (See in the figure below). It is achieved when the ratios of the marginal utilities of individual goods to their prices are equal: MU1: P1 = MU2: P2.

Fig. 3. Consumer balance

The impact on consumer choice of prices and income is described using income and substitution effects. The income effect is an increase in the consumption of a normal good as a result of a fall in its price due to an increase in real income caused by a decrease in prices, and vice versa, a decrease in the consumption of a normal good as a result of an increase in its price due to a decrease in real income caused by a rise in prices. The substitution effect is a consumer's reaction to an increase in the price of a normal good included in the consumer basket, leading to a reduction in the purchase of a more expensive good and to an increase in the purchase of goods that can replace those that have risen in price. For most normal goods, the substitution and income effects work in the same direction: they increase the quantity of the required good. But inferior goods are an exception: here the income effect is much greater than the substitution effect, which leads to a decrease in demand, despite the reduction in the price of goods.

Along with the general principles for choosing a rational consumer choice, there are features that are determined by the influence of market demand on it, as well as tastes and preferences. These factors determine the functional or non-functional nature of the demand.

Functional demand is the demand for a product due to the quality of the product. Non-functional demand - demand due to factors not related to the product itself. Of particular importance for non-functional demand are cases of mutual influence of market and individual demand, which the American economist H. Leibenstein called the effect of joining the majority (the consumer buys the same as other consumers), the snob effect (the desire to stand out from the crowd) and the Veblen effect (prestigious or conspicuous consumption).

Functional and non-functional demand in economics is often correlated with normal and abnormal consumer behavior. Normal consumer behavior is described by the law of demand. In other words, with a growing price for a certain product, its consumption, as a rule, will decrease. When the price falls, the consumer will buy more goods. Abnormal consumer behavior means that consumer behavior is unpredictable, he reacts to market processes in a completely different way than most of its subjects.

Consumer behavior is influenced by the presence of uncertainty and risk. Uncertainty is a situation characterized by a lack of information about probable future events. Risk is a situation, the outcomes of which are known, but it is not known which of them will come exactly.

And now, taking into account the considerations just cited, let us ask the question: how is the “behavior” of demand, its elasticity, modified in the context of the global economic catastrophe? First of all, it should be noted that the volume of demand is, of course, shrinking, because household incomes are shrinking and unemployment is growing. This, of course, is typical of both Western countries and Russia. However, according to many parameters related to the operation of the law of demand and the dynamics of its elasticity, the situation in the Russian Federation turns out to be specific and, as a rule, not in our favor. Remember the outcome of interviews with marketing specialists from Yaroslavl enterprises? In the West, there was still a little market, but in Russia there is none at all. So what features could there be in the modification of the phenomena under consideration?

It should be noted that the trend of many anti-crisis measures of governments in the West was aimed at strengthening state regulation of the economy, and thus at narrowing the market area. In our country, non-interference of the state in the market sphere was declared to a greater extent. But you and I have already noted that, contrary to the declarations, we simply did not have this sphere: what is usually declared market-based in the legal sense, according to the real economic state, acts as a zone of sovereign influence of a monopolist. As a result, if we take, for example, the price elasticity coefficient, then its practical significance in the West in the conditions of an economic catastrophe has significantly decreased. And in the Russian Federation it had no practical significance before.

The situation with the attitude of the state to stimulating demand in the new conditions looks differently, in comparison with the textbook recommendations designed for an ordinary, non-catastrophic situation. Thus, the mass protest action of hired workers, which engulfed the whole of France on March 19, 2009, was caused, in the opinion of the participants, by just insufficient "injections" of the state for the purpose of such stimulation. At the same time, both the President and the Prime Minister of the country did not speak about the illegality of such claims of the protesters, but justified themselves only by the impossibility of satisfying them due to the complication of the financial situation in connection with the crisis.

In this regard, I consider the remarks of Academician, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences A. Nekipelov, made five years ago and still, in my opinion, relevant today, to be fair (See: Arguments and Facts. April 1-7, 2009. No. 14) that with the onset of a global economic catastrophe, China found itself in a much more serious situation than Russia. After all, if our country depends practically only on the export of raw materials, then China depends on the export of a very wide range of goods. Therefore, the sharp decline in the demand of American and European buyers for Chinese goods has undoubtedly created a serious problem for the exporting country. But China tried to fill the “hole” in external demand as much as possible by stimulating the growth of domestic demand. The fact that the anti-crisis program of the PRC government spelled out a large-scale construction of housing and roads (although there, unlike our country, special routes have already been built, allowing, for example, transporting vegetables from one end of the country to another in just a day) makes a fantastic impression. At the same time, Chinese manufacturers received a number of preferences from the government aimed at boosting demand. So, since January 1, 2009, the list of options has been expanded, with the help of which the company can return part of the tax payments. This allowed the business to renew capacity and stimulated domestic demand for products. In addition, the preferential VAT rate for small businesses was reduced from 4-6% (for other businesses - 17%) to 3%. Inhabitants of Chinese cities began to distribute coupons for goods (primarily for household appliances), which can be purchased in certain supermarkets. And the villagers began to receive benefits in the amount of 10-13% of the cost of goods of their own production.

In the Russian Federation, A. Nekipelov admits, the government paid some attention to the real sector, focusing on the support of strategic enterprises. But these measures, by definition, could not become comprehensive. They also failed to become effective if support was provided to enterprises located in the middle of the production chain. Indeed, in this case, the enterprises with the money received purchased the necessary means of production, manufactured products, but then it turned out that there was no demand for these products. This means that the state either itself had to buy this product, or admit that it wasted money on a deliberately ineffective business.

Indicative in this respect, according to A. Nekipelov, is the statement by the then Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation A. Kudrin about the expectation of a second wave of the banking crisis. What is the reason for this expectation? It turns out that the government of the Russian Federation gave money that Russian banks, instead of lending to the real sector, were exported abroad, but not in full (it turns out that this is unfortunately!), Since some of this money was still distributed to enterprises in the form of loans. But then it turned out that these loans would not be returned, because there is no demand for the products of these enterprises. And A. Nekipelov reasonably, in my opinion, suggests that the government launch a wave of demand along the entire production chain. For example, initiate road construction.

As for the drop in external demand, the state, according to A. Nekipelov, could compensate for this drop. How? By reducing the withdrawal of funds from exporting industries, preserving them the opportunity to fully implement the started production and investment programs, and finance the gap in the budget at the expense of the state's foreign exchange funds. Then, the academician believes, the economy would simply “not notice” the fallen external demand. That is, there would be no decline in production, non-payments would not increase, taxes would go to the budget. This means there would be no need to spend huge sums of money on unemployment benefits. At the same time, A. Nekipelov rightly notes, the $ 200 billion that the government had already spent on the ruble exchange rate correction by March 2009 would have been enough until the very end of the year.

These problems, which have emerged with the deployment of the crisis-catastrophe since the fall of 2008, have exacerbated many times with the announcement of economic sanctions by the West of Russia in 2014. True, the new situation has created objective prerequisites for stimulating domestic production, and therefore for optimizing the situation in terms of supply and demand, consumer behavior of the population of the Russian Federation.

These are the beginnings of microeconomic theory, associated, as you have seen, with questions of supply and demand, consumer behavior. These questions precede the consideration in microeconomics of the problem of the firm's activities, its costs and revenues.

A number of typical common features can be noted in the behavior of the average consumer: n consumer demand depends on the level of his income, which affects the size of the consumer's personal budget; n each consumer seeks to get “everything that is possible” for his money, that is, to maximize the total utility;

n the average consumer has a distinct system of preferences, his own taste and attitude to fashion; n consumer demand is influenced by the presence or absence of interchangeable or complementary goods on the markets

Modern science defines consumer behavior using the theory of marginal utility and the method of indifference curves

Proponents of this concept determine the value based on the subjective assessments of buyers. And the subjective value of a product depends on two factors: n on the available stock of this good; n the degree of saturation of the need for it

Marginal utility is the additional utility that a consumer extracts from one unit of a good or service.

Utility, or utility, is subjective satisfaction, or pleasure, received by the consumer from the consumption of a set of goods and services.

Total utility is the total utility from the consumption of all available units of the good. Marginal utility - additional utility from the consumption of one additional unit of a good or service

Total utility is determined by summing marginal utility indicators. For example, a consumer buys 10 apples; their total utility is 10 yutils, and the marginal is determined by the formula U 11 - U 10 MU = _____ = U 11 - U 10 11 -10 1

The rule of consumer behavior is that the marginal utility obtained per ruble spent on one good should be equal to the marginal utility received per ruble spent on another good (utility maximization rule)

Income effect: if the price of a product falls, then the real income (purchasing power) of the consumer of the product increases. He can buy more of this product for the same income.

Substitution Effect: A decrease in the price of a product means that it is now cheaper in relation to all other goods. A decrease in the price of this product will stimulate the consumer to substitute this product for other goods. It becomes a more attractive product in relation to others.

But there are such goods that are not replaced by anything, and will be purchased at any price - "Giffen's goods"

An indifference curve is an image on a plane of many sets of goods that have the same utility. When choosing a set from such a set, the consumer does not care which of the sets to take

The properties of indifference curves are based on the assumptions of the ordinal concept. 1 The indifference curve that lies above and to the right of the other curve represents the bundles of goods that are more preferable for a given consumer. 2 Indifference curves have a negative slope (X, Y products).

3 Indifference curves never intersect. 4 An indifference curve can be drawn through every point in quadrant space and we will have an indifference map

Indifference map - a set of indifference curves, where each indifference curve that is higher than the original is preferred

5 The marginal rate of substitution decreases as it moves down the indifference curve. The marginal rate of substitution of goods X for goods Y (MRSX, Y) is the quantity of goods Y that the consumer agrees to cede in exchange for an increase in the quantity of goods X by one unit so that the overall level of satisfaction remains unchanged:

Indifference curves only show the possibility of replacing one product with another, but do not determine which set of products the consumer considers most beneficial for himself. This information is provided by a budget cap showing which consumer packs can be purchased for a given amount of money.

The choice of a set of goods depends on the prices of goods and the consumer's budget. Let the consumer spend his budget (I) on the purchase of two goods: product X at the price Px, product Y at the price P, then the equation of the budget line will have the form.

Consumer behavior theory explains how buyers spend their income in order to maximize their needs. It shows how choice is influenced by product prices, income, preferences, and how buyers maximize their “net” gains from purchasing goods and services. This theory has a wide range of applications not only in making choices in market activities. She can explain, for example, how economic considerations influence decisions to marry, have children, and allocate time between work and play.

Consumer behavior in the marketplace is difficult to understand and explain. A lot of reasons affect the tastes and preferences of a person when he buys a product or service.

There are methods for predicting possible consumer behavior.

1. Marketing study of consumer behavior is guided by the needs and requirements of consumers. Marketing study draws on economic theory, scientific psychology and sociology.

2. System analysis. General principles and research methods are based on economic theory, explain the behavior and demand of the consumer.

Within the framework of systems analysis, the study of consumer behavior begins with the study of his consumer choice, the reasons why he prefers one product to another.

Typically, three versions of consumer choice are analyzed. These versions are associated, firstly, with the study of the concept of marginal utility, secondly, with the calculation of the income effect and the substitution effect, and thirdly, with the analysis of consumer preferences.

Consumer choice in the third version is the combination of consumer preferences with budget constraints, on the basis of which it is determined which combinations of goods consumers will choose to buy in order to maximize the satisfaction of their needs. The consumer cannot buy whatever he wants if each purchase depletes his limited monetary income. When faced with an economic factor of scarcity, the consumer must make compromises. He must choose between alternative values ​​in order to get the most desirable set of products at his disposal with limited financial resources.

The choice that people make, after they have correlated their desires with the available options for purchasing certain goods, determines how much of the goods will be in demand. The dependence of demand on consumer choice is obvious. Demand is a concept that connects purchased goods with those sacrifices that have to be made to acquire these goods. That is, from the point of view of the behavior of buyers, demand is the desire and ability of people to buy goods or a certain ratio of the quantities of goods that are bought, and the costs of buyers - carriers of demand for the acquisition of this amount of goods.

Costs are usually divided into two groups:

1) monetary costs associated with the price;

2) non-monetary costs due to non-price determinants - subjective tastes and preferences, the number of buyers in the market, the average income of consumers, the price of related goods.

For the normal operation of the market, for the development of the production of goods and services that people need, it is of no small importance consumer behavior... Its analysis allows business entities (primarily entrepreneurs) to trace the motives of the choice of buyers who are consumers of certain goods, to identify patterns of changes in consumer demand and, on this basis, to carry out business projects, to build a strategy for their market behavior.

A huge contribution to the study of consumer behavior patterns was made by marginalists... As well as marginal utility concept they put forward consumer theorywhom behavior(or consumer choice). Omitting the discussion and mathematical details, let us trace its key points. We will begin our acquaintance with this theory by defining the most important concepts on which it is based.

Consumer behavior – it is the process of creating consumer demand for a variety of goods and services. The actions of people are subjective, but the behavior of the average consumer easily shows the same characteristics.

By presenting a demand for certain goods, the consumer seeks to derive the greatest benefit for himself from their acquisition - the maximum utility, or the satisfaction that he receives when using the purchased goods and services.

However, the consumer comes across certain restrictions related to the amount of income that he has, as well as the level of market prices. These restrictions force the consumer to do choice between certain goods. In addition to the named restrictions, the consumer's choice is influenced by the existing system of preferences, taste, and attitude to fashion. Consumer demand is also influenced by the presence or absence of interchangeable and complementary goods on the market.

The main factor in consumer choice is utility this or that product. Let us dwell on its characteristics in more detail.

By consuming certain goods, people thereby, as it were, evaluate their usefulness for themselves. Hence comes the theory of utility, with which economists try to justify the process of price formation. Each buyer solves a problem for himself: how much of his product (money) he is ready to give in exchange for the benefit he needs, what to give preference to.

Consumer preferences capricious, changeable, due to many subjective factors. Let's consider some of them in more detail.

1. Factorimitations: the product is bought because it was bought by others (neighbors, colleagues, idols, friends). The product becomes fashionable, the herd feeling encourages people to buy it, although some independent consumers resist fashion trends.

2. The factor "conspicuous consumption ": some consumers buy in expensive places and sometimes acquire unnecessary expensive goods in order to designate their belonging to the high stratum of society through prestigious waste. An envious comparison of each other's "money successes" prompts them to waste money at a "befitting cost rate."

3. Factorurgency in the acquisition of goods: the same product may be more important at the moment than in the future, therefore, it has different marginal utility and price in time. Let's compare, say, the usefulness of a sheepskin coat in winter and summer, urgent and routine repairs. It is often said about consumers who are under the influence of this factor: “the one who gives soon gives doubly”.

4. The factor of rational consumption. Acting in accordance with the principles of rational consumption, the consumer seeks to obtain maximum utility from the acquired goods in the conditions of his existing budgetary constraints. Why, say, blueberries and apples are often in relatively high demand? Among other things, because they occupy the top lines in the rating of the usefulness of fruits and berries. In addition, many people know the English proverb, which says: "One apple a day - and you can do without a doctor."

The main factor of consumer choice, as we have already noted, is utility this or that product. She means the ability of a product (product, service) to meet specific needs of people.

Usefulness is a purely concept individual... What is good for one person may be completely useless for another. In economic theory, utility means everything that satisfies established needs and habits. The needs themselves can be generated by both biological needs and spiritual, social needs. People have been discovering the beneficial properties of things for centuries. Any material benefit has, as a rule, many properties that people need, but people evaluate these properties in different ways. Quite often, they look at goods in terms of personal tastes and preferences.

Subjective assessment of usefulness largely depends on the rarity of the products themselves and the volume of their consumption. It is known that as the needs are saturated, a person can feel the diminishing usefulness of each additional portion of the product. The additional utility that the consumer extracts from one additional unit of goods or services is called NS rare usefulness ... Let's analyze its essence with a specific example.

The property of saturation is inherent in people's needs. A hungry person, for example, can eat a lot of bread, but when he satisfies his hunger, each additional piece will be of less value to him. The utility of the last unit (in our example, bread) is called the marginal (or least).

Thus, the marginal utility is the increment of the total consumer effect from a certain good (goods, services), achieved through the consumption of each additional unit of this good. It is easy to establish that the total utility is the sum of the marginal utilities of all goods of a given type used by the consumer. Indeed, each new unit of commodity consumed brings a value of utility equal to its marginal utility.

Marginal utility is a fundamental concept of economic theory on which numerous theories and concepts of economic behavior and the choice of individuals and firms are built.

By examining consumer behavior, scientists have discovered laws of diminishing marginal utility . They explain the relationship between the values ​​of a thing and its usefulness.

There is a difference between the usefulness of things and their value. If useful things are available in unlimited quantities, they have no value, and vice versa. In other words, only those useful things, the supply of which is limited, have value. A man dying of thirst in the desert is ready to give all his things for a glass of water, and a miller (water mill) using a river will allow you to get water for free.

The foundations of the theory of marginal utility were first substantiated by the German economist Hermann Gossen and formed in the form of two laws of consumption.

The marginal utility is the higher, the less the available quantity of goods in comparison with the need. If the marginal utility is zero, then the given good exists in an amount that can fully satisfy the given need.

The fall in marginal utility as the consumer purchases additional units of a particular commodity is known as the law of diminishing marginal utility. This is Gossen's first law. Its essence is what prethe useful utility of each next unit of the good received at the moment is less than the utility of the previous unit.

Utility is assessed by the subject. By purchasing one product, consumers sacrifice the consumption of others; therefore, the choice of a consumer in a market economy is always associated not only with assessing the usefulness of the goods consumed, but also with comparing the prices of alternative choices. A change in price also changes consumer choice, as the real income of the consumer and the opportunity cost of this good change.

Consumer choice - it is a choice that maximizesthe utility function of rational consumption under ogre conditionslack of resources (cash income).

Recall that rational consumption is usually called the rational consumption of goods and services by a market entity that seeks to maximize the satisfaction of needs through the consumption of useful properties of economic goods, taking into account the existing restrictions on income and prices.

Thus, the next rule of consumer behavior is that every last unit of money spent on purchasing a product brings the same marginal utility. In other words, the buyer will demand until the marginal utility per unit of money spent on a given good is equal to the marginal utility per unit of money spent on another good.

The maximum utility lies in the fact that a consumer with certain restrictions (income, price) chooses a set of goods and services that most satisfies his needs, i.e. there is no need satisfied more or less than others.

At the given prices and budget, the consumer achievesmaximum utility when the ratio of marginal utilityto the price (weighted marginal utility) in the sameall consumed goods. This rule is called the second Gossen's law.

And yet, the criterion for the correctness of the decision to buy or not to buy a product is not general, and not even marginal utility, but marginal utility per ruble spent.

The additional satisfaction received for the spent ruble is the best criterion, since it combines both the satisfaction factor and the cost factor, and both of these factors are necessary for a reasonable comparison of goods with each other.

In other words, each subsequent consumed unit of the good adds less to the total utility than the previous unit. The law of diminishing marginal utility reflects the relationship between the amount of goods consumed and the degree of satisfaction from the consumption of each additional unit.

Although the total utility gradually increases with the increase in the number of goods, the marginal utility of the marginal unit in the series of goods consumed is steadily decreasing. The maximum satisfaction of the general utility is achieved at the point at which the marginal utility is zero. This means that the good fully satisfies the need, since the utility of the good is the ability to satisfy one or more human needs. If further consumption is harmful (the marginal utility of the goods is negative), then the overall utility is negative. Consequently, the more good we have, the less value each additional unit of this good has for us.

To explain consumer behavior, economists use a method of constructing budget lines and indifference curves.

Budget line(see Fig. 1) shows various combinations of two products that can be purchased by a consumer for a fixed amount of money income. The main factor influencing the location of the budget line will be the value of the consumer's monetary income and the price of products.

Any point on the budget line is available to the consumer, i.e. his income and existing prices allow him to buy any set of goods X and Y: see presentation

Indifference curve- a graph showing different combinations of two products that have the same utility for the consumer (see Fig. 2). This graph is often referred to as a curve of equal utility - all sets of two products will be equally useful to the consumer. The usefulness that he loses by giving up some amount of one product is compensated by the benefit from the additional amount of another product.

As we go down the indifference curve, we substitute one product for another. Moreover, each successive portion of the substituted product attributable to each additional unit of the substituting product is called the marginal rate of substitution.

It is easy to see that in the calculation for each next unit of growth of one product, the second decreases less and less. The replacement rate is falling because our products are still different and do not completely replace each other. The consumer wants them combinations, and not a complete displacement of one by the other. The fall in the marginal rate of substitution leads to a convex shape of the indifference curve with respect to the origin. See presentation.

In trying to understand consumer behavior and predict their next actions, economists compose whole indifference curve maps(see fig. 3): See presentation

It is no longer one, but a whole set of indifference curves located in the same coordinate system. They also reflect different combinations of the two products, but also at different levels of satisfaction. Different curves differ from each other in the level of utility - the further from the origin of coordinates the curve is, the higher the total utility of the combinations reflected by it.

To show the picture consumer balance or the equilibrium position of the consumer (see Fig. 4), the budget line is combined with the map of indifference curves. This is how the points of greatest consumer preference are found ( points of optimal consumer choice).See presentation

Where the budget line concerns the most distant indifference curve, a consumer with a certain income and at given prices will buy a specific amount of two products, receiving for himself the maximum total utility. All other points on the graph field reflect either combinations with less utility, or combinations that our consumer simply cannot afford.

The knowledge gained during the analysis of consumer behavior helps the entrepreneur to build the optimal line of behavior for his company for specific conditions. In particular, this knowledge allows him to determine how much to increase prices for goods of higher quality and set a limit for this increase, and vice versa: it allows him to understand how much the price should be reduced without risking trade revenue if demand for this product decreases.