Utility in Economics Explained: Types and Measurement

What Is Utility?

In economics, utility is the worth or value of a good or service. It represents the satisfaction or benefit derived from consuming it. Consumers strive to maximize utility based on rational choice theories.

The economic utility of a good or service influences its demand and price. Some economists can indirectly estimate utility using models.

Key Takeaways

• Utility refers to the usefulness or enjoyment a consumer gets from a good or service.
• Utility helps explain consumer decision-making.
• "Ordinal" utility relates to the relative usefulness of goods.
• "Cardinal" utility measures value through imaginary units called "utils."
• Marginal utility measures the utility gained from consuming an additional unit.

Understanding Utility

Utility in economics derives from usefulness. An economic good yields utility by satisfying a consumer’s want or need. Different schools of thought model and measure economic utility in various ways.

Ordinal Utility

Early economists viewed economic value as stemming directly from usefulness and relied on prices and exchanges. The Austrian School developed the concept into an ordinal theory of utility, which orders or ranks the usefulness of economic goods.

This theory explains the law of diminishing marginal utility and fundamental economic laws of supply and demand.

Cardinal Utility

Some economists, like Bernoulli, model utility as a measurable property. They use units called "utils" to represent psychological satisfaction. However, utils cannot be observed, measured, or compared directly.

The concept of marginal utility helps consumers allocate their money between goods and services and companies structure tiered pricing.

Estimating economic utility involves observing consumer choices, but becomes more challenging with variables or differences.

Total Utility

If utility is measurable, total utility is the sum of satisfaction from consuming all units of a product or service. For example, if three slices of pizza yield 10, 8, and 2 utils respectively, the total utility of pizza would be 20 utils.

Marginal Utility

Marginal utility is the additional utility gained from consuming one more unit. Using the previous example, the second and third slices of pizza have marginal utilities of 8 and 2 utils respectively.

In ordinal terms, a person might eat the first slice, share the second, save the third, and use the fourth as a doorstop.

How Do You Measure Economic Utility?

Directly measuring individual utility is not possible, but it can be estimated through indirect observation. For example, preferential spending indicates relative utility. However, variables in consumer choices make measurement difficult.

What Are the 4 Types of Economic Utility?

In behavioral economics, the four types of economic utility are form, time, place, and possession utility. These refer to the psychological importance of different utility forms such as product design and service availability.

How Do You Invest in Utilities?

Utilities operate in the electric, water, oil, or gas sectors. Targeted funds invest in a basket of utility companies. Utilities play a significant role in industrial economies with a total market capitalization of nearly $1.6 trillion.

The Bottom Line

Utility measures the usefulness of goods and services to consumers. Despite limitations, the examination of different economic utility types helps structure pricing and enhance consumer purchases.