CARDINAL UTILITY: A measure of utility, or satisfaction derived from the consumption of goods and services, that can be measured using an absolute scale. Cardinal utility exists if the utility derived from consumption is measurable in the same way that other physical characteristics--height and weight--are measured using a scale that is comparable between people. There is little or no evidence to suggest that such measurement is possible and is not even needed for modern consumer demand theory and indifference curve analysis. Cardinal utility, however, is often employed as a convenient teaching device for discussing such concepts as marginal utility and utility maximization.

     See also | utility | satisfaction | cardinal | second rule of subjectivity | indifference curve | consumer demand theory | ordinal | ordinal utility | quality of life | util | marginal utility | utility maximization |

CARDINAL UTILITY, AmosWEB GLOSS*arama, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2021. [Accessed: September 22, 2021].

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A curve that graphically represents the relation between average factor cost incurred by a perfectly competitive firm for employing an input and the quantity of input used. Because average factor cost is essentially the price of the input, the average factor cost curve is also the supply curve for the input. The average factor cost curve for a perfectly competitive firm with no market control is horizontal. The average revenue curve for a firm with market control is positively sloped.

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