Factores que influyen en la disposición al pago desde la perspectiva de la utilidad marginal decreciente: un enfoque de consumo inmediato y futuro

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the main factors that influence the willingness to pay for five products included in the basic food basket: bread, milk, bananas, eggs, and soft drinks, with a focus on immediate and future consumption. Taking into consideration the theory of the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, we sought to answer the question: Is Diminishing Marginal Utility the main determinant of willingness to pay? A mixed methodology was applied, using focus groups on the qualitative side and the contingent value method, through the double-bounded dichotomous choice survey model, on the quantitative side. Both the interviews and the surveys made it possible to gather information on the consumption habits and the factors that influence the willingness to pay of families living in the urban area of Cuenca. Although the theory proposes as basic assumptions that consumption should be continuous and in the same proportions, and considers that the willingness to pay for the next unit is a function of the utility perceived in the last unit consumed, the evidence presented allowed falsifying the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility for these products and in this context, since it was concluded that the willingness to pay for the acquisition of this type of products is a function of what people expect to need and desire in the future