Why is a vending machine, which requires payment for each snack purchased, used to sell snacks, while a newspaper can be sold out of a box that allows anyone to take more than one paper?

Marginal utility is defined as the change in total utility that results from a one-unit increase in the quantity of a good consumed. After completing this course, you may find yourself actually using marginal utility to make your own consumer decisions in the future. This concept clarifies the options and helps to make the value of the alternatives explicit.

Question for Discussion: Why is a vending machine, which requires payment for each snack purchased, used to sell snacks, while a newspaper can be sold out of a box that allows anyone to take more than one paper?

If snacks were sold using a newspaper style box, would some people take more than they paid for? Why don’t people take more than one paper?

Discuss and post the theories and concepts which apply to this situation. Justify your statements