Essay

Designing a Consumer Preference Model

An economist is developing a model for a person's satisfaction (utility) derived from two goods: hours of free time (t) and units of consumption (c). The proposed model is a function of the form U(t,c)=tαcβU(t, c) = t^\alpha c^\beta. For this model to be economically sensible, it must adhere to the principle that 'more is better,' meaning satisfaction should never decrease when the amount of either free time or consumption increases. What mathematical restrictions must be placed on the parameters α\alpha and β\beta to ensure this principle holds? Justify your reasoning by explaining how the values of these parameters influence the change in total satisfaction when t or c increases.

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Updated 2025-07-30

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Economy

Introduction to Microeconomics Course

The Economy 2.0 Microeconomics @ CORE Econ

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