Question

If Jane is not maximizing her utility with the original purchase, remembering the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, would she be better off buying one less fries and one more chicken sandwich? Explain your reasoning and show any calculations.

Answer 1

Answer:

Since Jane's marginal utility per dollar spent is much greater for chicken sandwiches, that means that she is not maximizing her utility by purchasing fries. Instead of buying the third order of fries she should buy another chicken sandwich. The third order of fries only yields 3 utils per dollar. We are not given the exact utils per dollar of the fourth chicken sandwich, but the third one yielded 15 utils per dollar and the marginal decline is not that steep. The important number is the utils per dollar, not the price of the goods.