#consumertheory

[growth2233]

CONSUMER THEORY

[fahmeenaodetta]

Utils And Usability

Just today, I thought of the utils (utility) concept in economics. I believe it is the satisfaction derived from consuming a good or service. People enjoy (derive satisfaction) from consuming goods such as a burger or shoes. Consumers often consider the relative satisfaction/utility of goods when making purchasing decisions.

I thought of utils because of my recent review of research/studies on usability. In information technology (IT), researchers measure satisfaction/preference, ease of use, and so on for websites and products. For example, in one article, the researchers tested how consumers would respond to a new idea for banking websites. Would the consumer prefer the new idea, find if more useful? This is all related to the utils concept in economics. The IT approach to measuring user satisfaction may be useful for measuring utils.

[armature57]

How to draw indifference curves of quasi-linear utility functions Part 1: Case when the parameter of the exponent is greater than 1. For a cool application of this utility function on real world problems, check: Robinson, James A, and Daron Acemoglu. 2000. “Political Losers as Barriers to Economic Development.” American Economic Review 90 (2): 126-130.