interisotherms

Interisotherms are a concept in economics used to represent the trade-offs between two different goods or services. They are similar to indifference curves, which are widely used in microeconomics, but interisotherms specifically focus on the concept of "isotherms" from physics. An isotherm is a line drawn on a diagram connecting points of equal temperature. In the economic context, an interisotherm connects points of equal utility or satisfaction for a consumer, given a specific level of consumption of two goods.

The term "interisotherm" is not a standard or widely recognized term in mainstream economic literature. It appears to be a less common or perhaps a more specialized terminology. However, the underlying idea of mapping combinations of goods that yield equal satisfaction is fundamental to the theory of consumer choice. These curves help visualize how a consumer would reallocate their consumption between two goods while maintaining the same overall level of happiness. For example, if a consumer is on a specific interisotherm, they might be willing to give up some quantity of good A to gain a larger quantity of good B, as long as the overall utility remains constant along that curve. The shape of these curves typically reflects diminishing marginal rate of substitution, meaning that as a consumer has more of one good, they are willing to give up less of the other good to obtain an additional unit of the first.