- Quasilinear utility
In
economics andconsumer theory , quasilinearutility functions are linear in one argument, generally thenumeraire . Formally, for example, such a utility function could be written U(x,y) = u(x) + by, where b is a positive constant. Then if u'(x)>0 and u"(x)<0, theindifference curve s areparallel . Because in standard consumer theory utility functions areordinal , one may assume without loss of generality that b = 1.
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