The Visual Decoding of the Wheel of Duality in Consumer Theory in Modern Microeconomics

TL;DR

This paper aims to visually decode the complex relationships among dual functions in consumer theory, transforming the challenging 'wheel of pain' into an understandable 'wheel of joy' through graphical representation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel graphical method to clarify the logical relationships among dual functions in consumer theory, enhancing understanding of microeconomic duality.

Findings

Graphical decoding of dual functions enhances comprehension.

Visual representation clarifies complex microeconomic relationships.

Transforms the 'wheel of pain' into a 'wheel of joy' for learners.

Abstract

Duality is the heart of advanced microeconomics. It exists everywhere throughout advanced microeconomics, from the beginning of consumer theory to the end of production theory. The complex, circular relationships among various theoretical microeconomic concepts involved in the setting of duality theory have led it to be called the "wheel of pain" by many graduate economics students . Put simply, the main aim of this paper is to turn this "wheel of pain" into a "wheel of joy". To be more specific, the primary purpose of this paper is to graphically decode the logical, complex relationships among a quartet of dual functions which present preferences as well as a quartet of demand-related functions in a visual manner.