Example
If x
1
denotes a physical quantity then it is often appropriate to assume
x
1
0.
Inequalities like these define the familiar shape of the budget set.
x
1
x
2
Figure 2.13: The region constrained by I p
1
x
1
p
2
x
2
0, x
1
0 and x
2
0
The set of points that satisfies an inequality constraint generally lies on one side of the level set
g(x) = 0. Graphically, it is the subset of the domain over which the graph y = g(x) is above the plane
y = 0. We therefore adopt the following terminology.
Definition 2.13
Given a multivariate function f(x) a upper level set of f is the set of points that, for some number
c, satisfy f(x) c. The points that satisfy f (x) c are a lower level set.
107
Back to Contents