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A Level · Economics · Chapter 14
Ch 14 Utility, Indifference Curves and Budget Lines: complete notes
Neat, exam-ready notebook-style notes for Ch 14 Utility, Indifference Curves and Budget Lines, following the Cambridge A Level 9708 syllabus, AS and A Level. This chapter is part of the complete A Level Economics 9708 Complete Notes: All 25 Chapters, AS and A Level (Cambridge 2026–2028).
Free preview: Ch 14 Utility, Indifference Curves and Budget Lines notes
A quick look at the chapter from our A Level Economics notes. The full chapter notes have the detailed explanations, diagrams and practice questions with answers.
Topics in this chapter
- 7.1.1 Total utility and marginal utility
- 7.1.2 Diminishing marginal utility
- 7.1.3 The equi-marginal principle
- 7.1.4 Deriving an individual demand curve
- 7.1.5 Limitations of marginal utility theory
- 7.2.1 Indifference curves and the budget line
- 7.2.2 Causes of a shift in the budget line
- 7.2.3 Income, substitution and price effects
- 7.2.4 Limitations of the indifference curve model
“I can” checklist: what you must be able to do
- calculate TU and MU
- explain diminishing marginal utility
- apply the equi-marginal principle
- derive a demand curve from MU
- evaluate MU theory and rationality
- draw ICs and budget lines; shift a BL
- split a price effect for normal, inferior, Giffen goods
- explain the limitations of the IC model
What is inside the full chapter notes
- Concept notes, diagrams and 8 worked examples (calculations and model answers)
- Exam skills for Paper 4; common mistakes from the examiner report
- 20 Paper 3 style multiple-choice questions, explained
- One Section A data-response question and one Section B essay (Paper 4 style), with full mark schemes
- Quick-reference table, "I can" checklist
What you get in the pack
- All 25 chapters of the Cambridge International AS & A Level Economics 9708 syllabus (exams 2026–2028): scarcity and choice, demand and supply, elasticities, government intervention, national income, AD/AS, growth, unemployment and inflation, fiscal, monetary and supply-side policy, trade and the balance of payments, exchange rates, utility and indifference curves, market failure, costs and market structures, labour markets, the multiplier, money and banking, macro policy, development and globalisation
- Every syllabus statement covered in order, each marked AS or A Level, with clear notes, tables and diagrams drawn for these notes
- 8 worked examples in every chapter: calculations and model answers that show how to earn the marks
- Exam skills for every paper (command words, diagrams, how AO1–AO3 marks are earned) and common mistakes taken from Cambridge examiner reports
- 20 multiple-choice questions per chapter with answers and explanations
- Original exam-style data-response questions and essays in the style of Papers 2 and 4, with full levels-based mark schemes (no past-paper reprints)
- Quick-reference sheet and an "I can" checklist at the end of every chapter
- Colour PDF and a black and white copy of every chapter for printing
- Independent notes; not endorsed by or affiliated with Cambridge University Press & Assessment
All chapters in this pack
- Ch 1 Scarcity, Choice, Methodology and Factors of Production
- Ch 2 Economic Systems, Production Possibility Curves and Classification of Goods
- Ch 3 Demand and Supply Curves
- Ch 4 Price, Income and Cross Elasticity of Demand and Price Elasticity of Supply
- Ch 5 Market Equilibrium and Consumer and Producer Surplus
- Ch 6 Government Microeconomic Intervention
- Ch 7 National Income Statistics and the Circular Flow of Income
- Ch 8 Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
- Ch 9 Economic Growth, Unemployment and Price Stability
- Ch 10 Macroeconomic Objectives and Fiscal Policy
- Ch 11 Monetary Policy and Supply-side Policy
- Ch 12 International Trade and Protectionism
- Ch 13 Balance of Payments, Exchange Rates and Current Account Policies
- Ch 14 Utility, Indifference Curves and Budget Lines
- Ch 15 Efficiency, Market Failure and Externalities
- Ch 16 Costs, Revenue, Profit and Production
- Ch 17 Market Structures
- Ch 18 Growth, Survival and Objectives of Firms
- Ch 19 Government Policies for Efficiency, Equity and Redistribution
- Ch 20 Labour Markets and Government Intervention
- Ch 21 The Circular Flow, the Multiplier and Economic Growth and Sustainability
- Ch 22 Employment, Unemployment, Money and Banking
- Ch 23 Macroeconomic Policy: Objectives, Links and Effectiveness
- Ch 24 Balance of Payments Policies and Exchange Rates
- Ch 25 Economic Development and Globalisation