ABSTRACT
What are your favorite things? Are they “brown paper packages tied up with strings” along with “bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.” They probably are not, but they were Maria’s favorite things. The song provides a good example that different people get utility from different items. Some people will place a greater value on experiences, some on physical products, and some on products or services that help others. One of the central assumptions of economics, however, is that each person maximizes his or her own utility subject to their budget constraint.
