Consumer preferences and utility: previous year questions
Asked 93 times in 7 exams across 19 years. Newest first.
Practise Consumer preferences and utility, easy to hard →
Preference axioms and rationality
The assumptions that make preferences well behaved: completeness, transitivity, monotonicity, continuity and convexity.
- CUET-PG 2026 Q1Which among the following is not an assumption of Indifference Curve?
- GATE 2026 Q28Madhu's utility function is given by U=max (2C,3F), where C represents the amount of cloth and F represents the amount of food. Her preferences DO…
- UGC-NET 2025 Q9Which of the following axioms of utility theory do lexicographic preferences violate? (Originally set in Hindi.)
- IIT JAM 2024 Q2Let x and y be two consumption bundles, assumed to be non-negative and perfectly divisible. Further, the assumptions of completeness, transitivity…
- UGC-NET 2023 Q63Consider the following statements about a consumer's preferences over two commodities (X in R^2_+). (A) Monotonicity of preference implies strong…
- UoH 2021 Q46Preferences of an individual are represented by the utility function: u(x,y) = 1000(10+(x-15)² + (y-20)²)⁻¹, x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0. Then this utility function,
- UoH 2019 Q11Assumption of 'Non-satiation property' in consumer's utility analysis states that consumers
- DSE 2018 Q36A consumer weakly prefers a basket (a₁, a₂, a₃) to a basket (b₁, b₂, b₃) if a₁ ≥ b₁, a₁ + a₂ ≥ b₁ + b₂, and a₁ + a₂ + a₃ ≥ b₁ + b₂ + b₃. Which of…
- DSE 2017 Q2Person A has lexicographic preferences (strictly prefers more x; ties in x broken in favour of more y). Consider the bundle (2,1) and a sequence of…
- UoH 2017 Q4Which of the following assumption is violated if consumer preferences exhibit cyclicality?
- JNU 2016 Q11Let a consumer's preference relation satisfy (i) local nonsatiation (ii) strict monotonicity Which of the following is true?
- DSE 2010 Q16Consider a binary relation ⪰ on A={x,y,z}. Define ≻ and ~ by: a≻ b iff a⪰ b and not b⪰ a; a~ b iff a⪰ b and b⪰ a. Suppose x≻ y, y~ z and x~ z. Then
- DSE 2009 Q48Let R, I, P denote the weak preference, indifference and strict preference relations over X={x,y,z}. R satisfies Quasitransitivity iff for all…
Indifference curves and their properties
What indifference curves look like for goods, bads and neutrals, and why they slope down and never cross.
- UGC-NET 2026 Q62Application of Indifference Curves are generally NOT used in which of the following?
- IIT JAM 2025 Q29You are measuring level of consumption of a good commodity on the X-axis and that of a bad commodity on the Y-axis. The indifference curve is.
- CUET-PG 2023 Q40Match List-I with List-II: List-I: (A) The shape of an indifference curve for two bads; (B) The shape of an indifference curve for one good and one…
- CUET-PG 2023 Q62With good X on the horizontal axis and good Y on the vertical axis, a U shaped indifference curve indicates:
- CUET-PG 2021 Q59The indifference curve means
- UoH 2019 Q13Which of the following is true when two indifference curves intersect each other?
- JNU 2016 Q30A typical indifference curve is negatively sloped in a two-commodity world because
- JNU 2015 Q36An employee's utility is increasing in wages received and decreasing in the effort exerted. What is the shape of the indifference curve in the wage…
- UoH 2015 Q95Ali likes classical music (C) but is irritated by western music (W). Which of the following utility functions would best represent Ali's utility…
- JNU 2013 Q15A worker's utility is increasing in wages received and decreasing in the effort exerted. What is the shape of the indifference curve in the…
- UoH 2013 Q1Rosy likes Banana but is neutral about Papaya, so the indifference curves in this case are:
Marginal rate of substitution and convexity
The rate at which a consumer trades one good for another, and why it diminishes along a convex indifference curve.
- CUET-PG 2026 Q4The term convex means that the slope of the indifference curve _ as consumer move _ along the curve.
- CUET-PG 2024 Q10Suppose an individual has a utility function given by U(x,y) = 2x + 3y. We can say that this function displays
- CUET-PG 2023 Q87Match List-I with List-II: List-I [Utility functions U(x₁, x₂) ]: (A) C x₁^a x₂^b; (B) (x₁+2)(x₂+1); (C) ax₁ + b√(x₂); (D) (x₁^a + x₂^a)^b List-II…
- UoH 2021 Q82If the utility function U(x, y) = √(x² + y²), for x and y ≥ 0, then the indifference curves are
- CUET-PG 2019 Q74The convexity of the indifference curve is because of
- JNU 2019 Q16The tables below show various combinations of goods X and Y which give a consumer the indicated levels of cardinal utility. | 1 UTIL | 4 UTILS | 16…
- UoH 2018 Q24At any given point on an indifference curve, the absolute value of the slope equals
- UoH 2012 Q96Indifference curves in demand analysis are convex to origin, which implies that
- DSE 2010 Q17The utility function u(x,y)=(x+y)^(1/2), for (x,y)≥ (0,0), exhibits
- UoH 2010 Q34"I would rather spend all my time in the country or all in the town, rather than divide myself between the two". Does the above remark represent…
- UoH 2010 Q47If a consumer's marginal rate of substitution equals 2 eggs for 1sandwich,
Perfect substitutes, complements and lexicographic preferences
Preferences that give straight-line, L-shaped or dictionary-ordered indifference sets, and how they differ from standard ones.
- CUET-PG 2024 Q17Mr Tokai is very particular in how he makes his coffee. He is completely inflexible in that he can only take 1 teaspoon of coffee with 2 teaspoons…
- UGC-NET 2023 Q30In case of two perfect complement goods, which of the following statements is not true?
- JNU 2021 Q88In which of the following cases do we get L-shaped indifference curves?
- UoH 2020 Q3If the utility function is given by U(x₁, x₂) = x₁ + x₂, which is true about the marginal rate of substitution (MRS) between two commodities x₁ and…
- UoH 2019 Q12When two commodities (X and Y) are perfect substitutes of each other, consumer's indifference curve will be
- DSE 2017 Q1Person A lexicographically prefers good x to good y: comparing two bundles she strictly prefers the one with more x, and if two bundles have equal x…
- JNU 2016 Q46In a two-good world (say goods are x and y) where any amount of goods x, y can be consumed if an individual's preference ordering is lexicographic…
- JNU 2016 Q48In a two-good world, if the goods are perfect substitutes, then the indifference curves are
- UoH 2016 Q18Pencils and pens: Example of
- DSE 2015 Q5Suppose an economic agent lexicographically prefers x to y. Then her indifference curves are
- JNU 2011 Q9Suppose a person's utility function is given by u(x, y). If good x and good y are perfect substitutes, then the indifference curves are
- DSE 2010 Q18Suppose there are just two goods, x₁ and x₂. A consumer chooses x₂=0 for all income levels w>0 and all prices p₁>0,p₂>0. These choices are…
- JNU 2010 Q17If good x and good y are perfect substitutes, then the indifference curves will be
Homothetic and quasilinear preferences
Preferences whose expansion paths are straight lines (homothetic), or whose demand for one good ignores income (quasilinear).
- GATE 2025 Q38A Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) utility function is given as: U_(CES)(z₁,z₂) = 1/δ(z₁^δ + z₂^δ) where z₁ and z₂ are two goods, and δ ≤…
- JNU 2021 Q50Suppose the utility function has the form U(x₁, x₂) = G(f(x₁, x₂)) where G is an increasing function, i.e., G'>0, and function f is increasing and…
- UoH 2020 Q88The Utility Function: U(x, y) = √(x² + y²) is
- JNU 2018 Q13Jai only consumes 2 goods, X and Y. Both goods have equal prices, which remain constant throughout. However, Jai's income keeps increasing. As his…
- JNU 2018 Q30Which of the following is true for a utility function of the form U(x₁, x₂) = x₂ + u(x₁) where u is an increasing function of x₁?
Utility functions and monotonic transformations
How ordinal utility represents preferences, and why any monotonic transformation of a utility function represents the same ones.
- UGC-NET 2024 Q34Read the example given below and find out the correct choice compatible from among the alternatives: If a professor assigns only letter grades to an…
- UGC-NET 2024 Q51Arrange the following items in order of their construction, starting from the first stage to the last stage: (A) Budget (B) Utility analysis (C)…
- IIT JAM 2023 Q31Suppose u:ℝⁿ₊→ℝ₊ represents a complete, transitive, continuous preference relation. Which functions also represent the same preference relation?
- UGC-NET 2023 Q64Consider the following statements: (A) If u(x) = V(b(x)) with V'(.) > 0, then V(x) is a utility function representing the same preference as b(x).…
- DSE 2021 Q16Which of the following statements is true?
- DSE 2020 Q13A consumer lives for periods 1 and 2 with lifetime utility U(c₁,c₂)=(c₁^γ+c₂^γ)/γ, where 0<γ<1 and cᵢ is consumption in period i. The elasticity of…
- JNU 2019 Q2Consider utility functions u and v of the form: u(x,y) = 2x + 3y; v(x,y) = √((x+y)). Which of the following statements is true?
- JNU 2012 Q62Which of the following represents the same preferences as U(x₁, x₂) = min {x₁, x₂} + max {x₁, x₂} where x₁, x₂ ≥ 0?
- JNU 2011 Q25The utility function U(x) = (x^α - 1)/α; 0 < α ≤ 1; x ∈ R₊ is
- DSE 2008 Q6A consumer has a utility function U(x,y)=10(x²+4xy+4y²)+20. Which one of the following statements must be true?
Marginal utility and the equi-marginal principle
Diminishing marginal utility and the cardinal rule that a consumer equalises marginal utility per rupee across goods.
- IIT JAM 2025 Q30Marginal utility of a good refers to the.
- CUET-PG 2020 Q29The law of marginal utility (consumer equilibrium) states
- CUET-PG 2019 Q53For a consumer, the marginal utilities of commodities X and Y are 50 and 100, and the price of Y is Rs.20. If the consumer is in equilibrium, the…
- JNU 2019 Q3Sally has two art projects due tomorrow. She has 5 hours to complete both projects. She plans to spend 3 hours working on the first project and 2…
- UoH 2018 Q49If the marginal utilities of A and B are 300 and 450, and the price of B is Rs 60, what will be the price of A if the consumer equilibrium is…
- UoH 2014 Q5If the prices of ice-cream and chocolate are Rs. 40 and Rs. 30 respectively, and the marginal utility of chocolate is 150, what is the marginal…
- DSE 2012 Q4Mr. B thinks cheese is addictive, the more you eat, the more you want. Suppose x denotes the quantity of cheese. Mr. B's utility function can be…
- UoH 2010 Q75In spending all his or her income, the consumer chooses the market basket that maximizes his or her utility. Which of the following statements will…
Revealed preference
Inferring preferences from observed choices: the weak and strong axioms of revealed preference and consistency checks.
- UGC-NET 2026 Q55Which of the following is NOT the assumption of the Revealed Preference Hypothesis?
- IIT JAM 2025 Q23Theory of revealed preference is used to derive.
- CUET-PG 2024 Q6Keeping a consumer's income constant, if bundle X is chosen by a consumer when bundle Y is available, then when bundle Y is chosen, X must not be a…
- CUET-PG 2023 Q52Given below are two statements: Statement I: Let (x₁, x₂) be the chosen bundle when prices are (p₁, p₂) and let (y₁, y₂) is some other bundle such…
- JNU 2021 Q55Suppose p and y denote the vector of prices and income, respectively. Suppose consumption bundle x⁰ is chosen in a budget scenario (p⁰, y⁰) and x¹…
- CUET-PG 2019 Q80Revealed preference theory was proposed by
- UoH 2018 Q26When prices are (p₁, p₂) = (1,2) a consumer demands (x₁,x₂) = (1,2), and when prices are (p₁, p₂) = (2,1) the consumer demands (x₁,x₂) = (2,1). Is…
- UoH 2016 Q53Which of the following is not an assumption of the theory of revealed preference?
- UoH 2016 Q86A household can buy X₁ and X₂ only. P₂ = 1. In situation A and B behave as follows: | Situation | Income | P₁ | X₁ purchased | A | 40 | 1 | 20 | B |…
- UoH 2014 Q21Which of the following is not an assumption of the theory of revealed preference?
- DSE 2008 Q36There are 3 items of choice, x,y,z, and Ms. A has 4 choice situations: in 3 of them she is asked to choose one or more items from the pairs {x,y}…
- DSE 2007 Q5In the figure, the original budget line was 5F+10C=200, and Anita purchased 30 units of F and 5 units of C. At two later dates, budget lines (1) and… · diagram
Consumer surplus and reservation prices
The gap between what a consumer is willing to pay and what is paid, measured from a demand curve.
- CUET-PG 2026 Q52Consider the following statements: A. Consumer surplus equals area under demand curve above price line. B. Marshall's measure assume constant…
- CUET-PG 2025 Q1If the demand function is given as P = 110 - Q² and market equilibrium is attained at P₀ = 29 and Q₀ = 9, calculate the consumer surplus.
- UGC-NET 2025 Q32If the demand law is P = sqrt(9 - x) and the demand is fixed at x0 = 5, find the consumer's surplus.
- UGC-NET 2024 Q19The basis of consumer surplus in Marshallian utility analysis is -
- CUET-PG 2023 Q80A consumer has a demand function for good X given by D(P) = 100 - P. Where P is the price of good X. If the price of good X is Rs.50, the value of…
- UoH 2021 Q7Reservation Price is
- JNU 2020 Q15For the demand function given by q = 30/p², where q is quantity and p is the price. Find the consumer surplus at p = 2.
- CUET-PG 2019 Q100The difference between what a consumer is willing to pay and what the consumer actually pays to buy a commodity is called
- CUET-PG 2018 Q51Find the consumer surplus at Q=5 for the demand function P=30-4Q.
- UoH 2015 Q20In a society of two persons, person A wants to sell a book for which his reservation price is Rs. 400; person B wants to buy this book for which his…