Marginal utility

In economics, the marginal utility of a good or service is the gain from an increase, or loss from a decrease, in the consumption of that good or service. Economists sometimes speak of a law of diminishing marginal utility, meaning that the first unit of consumption of a good or service yields more utility than the second and subsequent units, with a continuing reduction for greater amounts. The marginal decision rule states that a good or service should be consumed at a quantity at which the marginal utility is equal to the marginal cost.

Marginality

The term marginal refers to a small change, starting from some baseline level. As Philip Wicksteed explained the term,

Frequently the marginal change is assumed to start from the endowment, meaning the total resources available for consumption (see Budget constraint). This endowment is determined by many things including physical laws (which constrain how forms of energy and matter may be transformed), accidents of nature (which determine the presence of natural resources), and the outcomes of past decisions made by the individual himself or herself and by others.

Marginal

Marginal may refer to:

Utility

In economics, utility is a measure of preferences over some set of goods and services. The concept is an important underpinning of rational choice theory in economics and game theory, because it represents satisfaction experienced by the consumer of a good. A good is something that satisfies human wants. Since one cannot directly measure benefit, satisfaction or happiness from a good or service, economists instead have devised ways of representing and measuring utility in terms of economic choices that can be measured. Economists have attempted to perfect highly abstract methods of comparing utilities by observing and calculating economic choices. In the simplest sense, economists consider utility to be revealed in people's willingness to pay different amounts for different goods.

Applications

Utility is usually applied by economists in such constructs as the indifference curve, which plot the combination of commodities that an individual or a society would accept to maintain a given level of satisfaction. Utility and indifference curves are used by economists to understand the underpinnings of demand curves, which are half of the supply and demand analysis that is used to analyze the workings of goods markets.

60 Seconds

60seconds is a news programme which runs between shows on BBC Three. It broadcasts under the BBC News format and branding. The main presenter is Sam Naz. Previous presenters include Tasmin Lucia-Khan, Andy May, Matt Cooke, James Dagwell and Claudia-Liza Armah.

Format

The programme lasts for 60 seconds as the name suggests, during which time the presenter condenses some of the day's news, sport and entertainment stories into a 60-second bulletin. It only runs from 7pm–12:15am with a bulletin at the top of the hour or after a programme has ended, if more than an hour. Throughout the bulletin, a line gradually crosses the screen which effectively counts down the seconds. There are two sets of pictures running simultaneously for each story. Five stories are featured in every bulletin. 60 Seconds is presented in a style in keeping with the channel. Humour is a feature and some of the scripting often raises a smile. During the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2014 commonwealth games bulletins ran from 7am–12:15am with a round-up of the day's other news stories.