William Baumol writes in "Economics: Principles and Policy" that the total monetary utility of a collection of goods to a consumer is equal to the largest amount of money the consumer will pay in ...

Discover the Diamond-Water Paradox—why diamonds cost more than water. Learn about subjective value and marginal utility in economic valuation.

Andrew Bloomenthal has 20+ years of editorial experience as a financial journalist and as a financial services marketing writer. Erika Rasure is globally-recognized as a leading consumer economics ...

Marginal utility helps set product pricing; high initial satisfaction decreases with more units. Some stores use bulk pricing when consumers value additional items less. Progressive taxes assume each ...