文档介绍：Chapter Three
Preferences
消费者偏好
Where Are We in the Course?
We are studying the 1st of the three blocks of microeconomics: Consumer behavior, production theory, and market equilibrium
Within the 1st block, we are working on the 2nd of the ponents: choice set, preference, and consumer demand
What Do We Mean by Preference? (偏好)
It refers to the ordered relationship among alternative choices given by an economic agent.
In most economic literature, consumer preference is treated as the ultimate exogenous element.
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.
Notations
denotes strict preference;
~ denotes indifference;
denotes weak preference;
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Preference Relations
x y and y x imply x ~ y.
x y and (not y x) imply x y.
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Assumptions about Preference Relations
Completeness: For any two bundles x and y it is always possible to make the statement that either x y or y x.
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Assumptions about Preference Relations
Reflexivity: Any bundle x is always at least as preferred as itself; . x x.
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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; . x y and y z x z.
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Indifference Curves 无差异曲线(或,无差异集)
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’.
Since an indifference “curve” is not always a curve a better name might be an indifference “set”.