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DIAMOND-WATER PARADOX: The perplexing observation that water, which is more useful than diamonds, has a lower price. If price is related to utility, how can this occur? This paradox was first proposed by classical economists in the 19th century and was subsequently used as a stepping stone for developing the notion of marginal utility and the role it plays in the demand price of a good. The paradox is magically cleared up with an understanding of marginal utility and total utility. People are willing to pay a higher price for goods with greater marginal utility. As such, water which is plentiful has enormous total utility, but a low price because of a low marginal utility. Diamonds, however, have less total utility because they are less plentiful, but a high price because of a high marginal utility.
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COLLUSION, EFFICIENCY Colluding oligopolistic firms generally produce less output and charge a higher price than would be the case for a perfectly competitive industry. The efficiency of colluding oligopolistic firms is essentially the same as that for monopoly. In essence, colluding oligopolistic firms function just as if the market is a monopoly. The price charged by the colluding firms is higher than the marginal cost of production and the quantity is less. Most notably, price is greater than marginal, a violation of the key condition for efficiency.
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Three-forths of the gold mined each year is used to manufacture jewelry.
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"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it." -- Rene Descartes
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CFTC Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (US)
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