What is the concept of “marginal utility” in economics?
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Marginal utility refers to the additional satisfaction or benefit gained from consuming one more unit of a good or service. In economics, it is assumed that as an individual consumes more of a product, the marginal utility of each additional unit decreases, which is known as the law of diminishing marginal utility. For example, the first slice of pizza may provide high satisfaction, but by the fourth or fifth slice, the additional enjoyment may be much lower. Understanding marginal utility helps explain consumer behavior and is a key concept in determining demand, as consumers allocate their resources to maximize total utility from their purchases.