UGBA 101A Lecture 4: Confessions of a Non-Utilitarian Shopper

• School: Berkeley
• Department: Business Administration Undergraduate Program
• Course: UGBA 101A
• Professor: Todd Fitch

Document Summary

Pinkerton talks about the flaws of marginal utility. In the article, pinkerton believes that utility does not exist. There are a lot of variables that affected utility and makes it not fixed. He does not think that satisfaction is the only variable for marginal utility. Pinkerton believes that marginal utility is related with the subjectivity of the consumer where it is affected by several factors like taste, environment, occasion, etc. In the article, pinkerton says that he promised to cook a pancake for his friend (and he is going to proof that he can cook pancake). Of course he needs milk to cook it. No matter how expensive the milk is, he will buy it. So, the utility of milk on that day is very high. However, on the other day, the utility can be change. For example, the day before, he still has milk. The utility of the milk on that day is not that high.