Autonomous Consumption

Autonomous consumption is the portion of consumption that is not dependent on income. It is the amount of money that people would spend even if their income were zero. Autonomous consumption is also known as the subsistence level of consumption.

There are a number of factors that can affect autonomous consumption. These include:

* **Wealth:** People with more wealth tend to have higher levels of autonomous consumption. This is because they have more money to spend on things that they want, even if their income is low.
* **Age:** Younger people tend to have higher levels of autonomous consumption than older people. This is because younger people are more likely to be single and have fewer financial obligations.
* **Family size:** People with larger families tend to have higher levels of autonomous consumption. This is because they have more mouths to feed and more expenses to pay for.
* **Housing costs:** People who live in more expensive homes tend to have higher levels of autonomous consumption. This is because they have to pay more for rent or mortgage payments.
* **Interest rates:** Higher interest rates can lead to lower levels of autonomous consumption. This is because people are less likely to borrow money to buy things when interest rates are high.

Autonomous consumption is an important concept in economics because it helps to explain how changes in income affect consumption. When income increases, consumption also increases, but not by the full amount of the increase in income. This is because some of the increase in income is used to save. The amount of the increase in income that is used to save is called the marginal propensity to save.

The marginal propensity to save is the ratio of the change in saving to the change in income. It is a measure of how much people save when their income changes. The marginal propensity to save can be anywhere from zero to one. If the marginal propensity to save is zero, then people do not save any of their income. If the marginal propensity to save is one, then people save all of their income.

The marginal propensity to save is an important concept in economics because it helps to explain how changes in income affect saving. When income increases, saving also increases, but not by the full amount of the increase in income. This is because some of the increase in income is used to consume. The amount of the increase in income that is used to consume is called the marginal propensity to consume.

The marginal propensity to consume is the ratio of the change in consumption to the change in income. It is a measure of how much people spend when their income changes. The marginal propensity to consume can be anywhere from zero to one. If the marginal propensity to consume is zero, then people do not spend any of their income. If the marginal propensity to consume is one, then people spend all of their income.

The marginal propensity to consume and the marginal propensity to save are important concepts in economics because they help to explain how changes in income affect consumption and saving. These concepts are also used to develop macroeconomic models that can be used to forecast economic activity.