consumer preferences – Sound Economics

$70 for Cardboard

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Madeleine Elliott — No Comments ↓

Recently, Nintendo announced the upcoming release of an add-on for its most recent gaming device, the Switch. The accessory pack is known as Nintendo Labo, and it’s… made of cardboard. Yes, that’s right. Cardboard. The idea is that users will be able to build physical objects that change the way they interact with the Switch. For example, the informational page on Nintendo’s website advertises the ability to create a piano, a fishing pole, or a motorbike, among other things. Each of these new “Toy-Cons,” as Nintendo calls them (a modification of the term Joy-Con, the name given to the Switch’s Continue reading $70 for Cardboard→

Accounting for Taste: Ice Cream Preferences

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Max Coleman — 2 Comments ↓

As a social scientist, I would just like to come right out and acknowledge my bias. Between chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream, chocolate is my favorite, followed by vanilla, then strawberry.This article is intended to explain a fundamental concept in microeconomics, consumer preferences, using a sweet example. To model consumer behavior, economists look at how consumers make comparisons between goods. Briefly, some notes on notation. If I said, “I like chocolate better than vanilla ice cream,” it would be written as Chocolate ≻ Vanilla. (Note, ≻ is not the same as >, which is used for ordering preferences) If I Continue reading Accounting for Taste: Ice Cream Preferences→