Indifferenssikäyrät

Indifferenssikäyrät, also known as indifference curves, are graphical representations used in microeconomics to depict combinations of goods or services that provide a consumer with the same level of utility or satisfaction. Each point on a single indifference curve represents a bundle of two goods that the consumer considers equally preferable.

The shape of an indifference curve is typically convex to the origin. This convexity reflects the principle of diminishing marginal rate of substitution. As a consumer has more of one good, they are willing to give up less of another good to obtain an additional unit of the first good, while maintaining the same level of satisfaction. The slope of the indifference curve at any point represents the marginal rate of substitution (MRS) between the two goods.

A map of indifference curves, known as an indifference map, illustrates a consumer's preferences for various bundles of goods. Curves further from the origin represent higher levels of utility, indicating greater satisfaction. Consumers are assumed to prefer bundles on higher indifference curves to those on lower ones.

Indifference curves cannot intersect each other. If they did, it would imply that a consumer is indifferent between two bundles that also yield different levels of utility, which is a contradiction. Indifference curves are also downward-sloping, meaning that to increase the quantity of one good, the consumer must decrease the quantity of the other good to remain at the same utility level.