Saturday, May 1, 2010

Development of concept of idifference curve

Development of concept of indifference  curve
Indifference curve is one of the important concepts of utility analysis.This concept has given shape to the theories of utility analysis.The evaluation of the concept of indifference curve cam be explained as follows:
First stage :In the first the credit for explaining the theories of utility analysis goes to Gossen (1854),Jevons (1871) and Walras (1874).The utility theories of these economists were fully developed by Alfred Marshall.
These economists regarded utility as a measurable quality of any commodity.Utility further assumed to be an additive quality and utility derived from one good is not affected by the rate of the consumption of another commodity.
Second stage :In the second stage,the theories of utility analysis was developed by Edgeworth (1881),Antonelli (1886) and Irving Fisher (1892).These writers also assumed that utility is a measured quality.
Final stage :Vilfredo Pareto (1906) developed indifference curve as an alternative approach.But his basic approach was same as that of second phase economists "These is only a change in interpretation,but is very important because it enable later writers to develop the theory of consumer behavior without resort to the assumption that utility is cardinally measurable."He did not assume cardinal measurement of utility.W.E.Johnson like Pareto expressed the view that the theory of consumer behavior need not be explained on the basis of cardinal measurement of utility.

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