
How do you find the duality of a utility function?
Duality in Consumer Theory Definition 4.1. For any utility function U(x),the corresponding indirect utility function is given by: V(p,w) ≡max x {U(x)|x ≥0, px ≤w} ≡max
What is duality in economics?
The term duality is habitually used to denote a dissimilarity between two correlated concepts, such as duel characteristics of developing economies. It means duality is related to looking for a particular thing in different two alternative ways.
What is the proposition on utility duality?
Because x(p,w) solves the UMP and h(p,u) solves the EMP, the proposition on utility duality tells us: Proposition 4.5.
What is consumer theory and why is it important?
What Is Consumer Theory? Consumer theory is the study of how people decide to spend their money based on their individual preferences and budget constraints. A branch of microeconomics, consumer theory shows how individuals make choices, subject to how much income they have available to spend and the prices of goods and services.

What is duality theory in economics?
The duality Theory of microeconomics states that There are two perspectives by which optimization problems can be viewed. These are dual problems and primal problems. Here, Dual problems solution provides lower bound to primal problem solutions. Here B stands for optimum household point. utility U (B) = V (p,m).
What is duality in consumption and how people make them?
There are two ways to solve a consumer's choice problem. That is, we can either fix a budget and obtain the maximum utility from it (primal demand) or set a level of utility we want to achieve and minimise cost (dual demand).
What is duality in production?
Duality theory turns out to be a useful tool for two reasons: (i) it leads to relatively easy characterizations of the properties of systems of producer derived demand functions for inputs and producer supply functions for outputs and (ii) it facilitates the generation of flexible functional forms for producer demand ...
What is meant by dual problem in context of the utility?
The dual problem in context of the context of the utility and expenditure optimization is to increase the utility of the goods depending on the primal demand along with minimization of the costs involved during the period of dual demand.
What is duality of cost?
Duality of Production and Cost Functions Using the Implicit Function Theorem. The theory of duality links the production function models to the cost function models by way of a minimization or maximization framework.
What is Roy's identity in economics?
Roy's identity: -xi* = (∂u*/∂pi) / (∂u*/∂M)
What is the relationship between production and cost?
Production and Costs. We've explained that a firm's total costs depend on the quantities of inputs the firm uses to produce its output and the cost of those inputs to the firm. The firm's production function tells us how much output the firm will produce with given amounts of inputs.
What is cost and cost function?
Cost function refers to the functional relationship between cost and output. It studies the behaviour of cost at different levels of output when technology is assumed to be constant. It can be expressed as below: C= f(Q) (Here, C= Cost of production; and Q= Quantum of output).
What is the difference between production function and cost function?
A production function shows the outputs that can be produced with various combinations of inputs. A cost function show how much it costs to produce various output levels given input prices.
What is the purpose of duality?
Duality teaches us that every aspect of life is created from a balanced interaction of opposite and competing forces. Yet these forces are not just opposites; they are complementary. They do not cancel out each other, they merely balance each other like the dual wings of a bird.
Why do we need duality?
The duality principle provides that optimization problems may be viewed from either of two perspectives, the primal problem or the dual problem. The solution to the dual problem provides a lower bound to the solution of the primal (minimization) problem.
What do you mean by dual problems?
The dual problem is an LP defined directly and systematically from the primal (or original) LP model. The two problems are so closely related that the optimal solution of one problem automatically provides the optimal solution to the other.
What is utility expenditure duality?
The duality of utility and expenditure functions is that each can be derived from the other; they are alternative characterizations of preference. Since the concave indicator function φu(x) is closed and convex, e( · , u)∗ = φu(x).
What are the main properties of revealed preference theory?
The theory entails that if a consumer purchases a specific bundle of goods, then that bundle is “revealed preferred,” given constant income and prices, to any other bundle that the consumer could afford. By varying income or prices or both, an observer can infer a representative model of the consumer's preferences.
What is expenditure minimization economics?
In microeconomics, the expenditure minimization problem is the dual of the utility maximization problem: "how much money do I need to reach a certain level of happiness?". This question comes in two parts. Given a consumer's utility function, prices, and a utility target, how much money would the consumer need?
What is expenditure function in economics?
In microeconomics, the expenditure function gives the minimum amount of money an individual needs to spend to achieve some level of utility, given a utility function and the prices of the available goods.
Summary
In this paper we will show that upper semicontinuity of the indirect utility function implies the upper semicontinuity of the direct utility function. By strengthening the assumptions, one can also deduce the continuity of the utility function. Based on indirect utility functions a model of consumer behavior will be established.
Author information
Institut für Wirtschaftstheorie und Operations Research, Universität Karlsruhe, Kollegium am Schloß, Kaiserstraße 12, D-76128 Karlsruhe, GERMANY (e-mail: [email protected]), DE
What is consumer theory?
Consumer theory is the study of how people decide to spend their money based on their individual preferences and budget constraints. Building a better understanding of individuals' tastes and incomes is important because these factors impact the shape of the overall economy. Consumer theory is not flawless, though, ...
Why is consumer theory important?
Building a better understanding of individuals' tastes and incomes is important because it has a big bearing on the demand curve, the relationship between the price of a good or service and the quantity demanded for a given period of time, and the shape of the overall economy .
What is utility maximization?
Utility maximization: Individuals are said to make calculated decisions when shopping, purchasing products that bring them the greatest benefit, otherwise known as maximum utility in economic terms. Nonsatiation: People are seldom satisfied with one trip to the shops and always want to consume more.
What happens to the economy when consumers cut down on purchases?
If people cut down on purchases, demand for goods and services will fall, squeezing company profits, the labor market, investment, and many other things that make the economy tick.
Why is it so difficult to make decisions in economics?
Some decisions are particularly difficult to make because consumers are not familiar with the products. There could also be an emotional component involved in the decision-making process that isn't able to be captured in an economic function.
Is consumer theory a perfect world?
The many assumptions that consumer theory makes means it has come under heavy criticism. While its observations may be valid in a perfect world, in reality there are numerous variables that can expose the process of simplifying spending habits as flawed.
