Editing Marginal rate of substitution (section)

== Diminishing Marginal rate of Substitution==

An important principle of economic theory is that marginal rate of substitution of X for Y diminishes as more and more of good X is substituted for good Y. In other words, as the consumer has more and more of good X, he is prepared to forego less and less of good Y.

It means that as the consumer's stock of X increases and his stock of Y decreases, he is willing to forego less and less of Y for a given increment in X. In other words, the marginal rate of substitution of X for Y falls as the consumer has more of X and less of Y. That the marginal rate of substitution of X for Y diminishes can also be known from drawing tangents at different points on an indifference curve.