Something sweet came from the International School. When you hear someone telling you about the law of diminishing marginal utility, would you think of something tasty? No, right?! However, our Year 13 students would beg to differ.

On Wednesday, 23 September, Economics teacher Marija Milić and Year 13 students investigated consumer behaviour and the law of diminishing marginal utility. Ms Marija divided the students into two groups with different roles for each team member. The consumer was asked to test the satisfaction gained from consuming the additional unit of cookie. They were offered 12 pieces, but one consumer stopped at 6 units and other at the 10th unit to prevent dissatisfaction from consumption.

The combined results of the two groups were shown on the board, illustrating the law of diminishing marginal utility. The students understood that the additional utility from the consumption of the product will fall if consumers consume more units of cookies, thus confirming the principle behind the law.

By eating cookies, the students learnt about the importance of the marginal utility concept, which economists effectively use to evaluate and determine the selling rate for a particular product. Fun, tasty AND useful.