optimal choice of one T-shirt and six movies, point S, the ratio of marginal utility to price for T-shirts (22:14)

matches the ratio of marginal utility to price for movies (of 11:7).

Access for free at openstax.org
6.2 • How Changes in Income and Prices Affect Consumption Choices 145

Measuring Utility with Numbers

This discussion of utility began with an assumption that it is possible to place numerical values on utility, an

assumption that may seem questionable. You can buy a thermometer for measuring temperature at the

hardware store, but what store sells a “utilimometer” for measuring utility? While measuring utility with

numbers is a convenient assumption to clarify the explanation, the key assumption is not that an outside party

can measure utility but only that individuals can decide which of two alternatives they prefer.

To understand this point, think back to the step-by-step process of finding the choice with highest total utility
{"creationdate": "2022-12-07T14:15:44-06:00", "moddate": "2022-12-07T14:23:05-06:00", "title": "Principles of Microeconomics 3e", "source_file": "downloads\\business\\economics\\Microeconomics3e.pdf", "uploaded_via": "batch_uploader", "total_pages": 597, "file_name": "Microeconomics3e.pdf", "file_type": ".pdf", "producer": "Prince 14.2 (www.princexml.com)", "creator": "PDFMiner", "file_size_mb": 26.99, "file_hash": "830b81f41611ac67a490444dbb5d6aed292224606965b06965b914443c93331a", "batch_upload": true, "source": "downloads\\business\\economics\\Microeconomics3e.pdf", "upload_timestamp": "2026-02-07T15:24:38.309401"}