It is common for supermarkets to carry both generic (store-label) and brand-name (producer-label) varieties of sugar and other products. Many consumers view these products as perfect substitutes, meaning that consumers are always willing to substitute a constant proportion of the store brand for the producer brand. Consider a consumer who is always willing to substitute 4 pounds of a generic store brand for 2 pounds of a brand-name sugar. Do these preferences exhibit a diminishing marginal rate of substitution? Assume that this consumer has $24 of income to spend on sugar, and the price of store-brand sugar is $1 per pound and the price of producer-brand sugar is $3 per pound. How much of each type of sugar will be purchased? How would your answer change if the price of store-brand sugar was $2 per pound and the price of producer-brand sugar was $3 per pound?

Microeconomic Theory
12th Edition
ISBN:9781337517942
Author:NICHOLSON
Publisher:NICHOLSON
Chapter6: Demand Relationships Among Goods
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 6.9P
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It is common for supermarkets to carry both generic (store-label) and brand-name (producer-label) varieties of sugar and other products. Many consumers view these products as perfect substitutes, meaning that consumers are always willing to substitute a constant proportion of the store brand for the producer brand. Consider a consumer who is always willing to substitute 4 pounds of a generic store brand for 2 pounds of a brand-name sugar. Do these preferences exhibit a diminishing marginal rate of substitution? Assume that this consumer has $24 of income to spend on sugar, and the price of store-brand sugar is $1 per pound and the price of producer-brand sugar is $3 per pound. How much of each type of sugar will be purchased? How would your answer change if the price of store-brand sugar was $2 per pound and the price of producer-brand sugar was $3 per pound?

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