If the utility numbers we assign to objects have no meaning other than to represent the ranking of these goods in terms of a person's preferences, then utility is measurable in the
A) ordinal sense
B) cardinal sense
C) rational sense

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Utility can only be measured in an ordinal sense because the numbers assigned to goods represent only their relative rankings in terms of a person's preferences, not the actual amount of utility gained from them. In other words, we can say that one object provides more utility than another, but we cannot say by how much. Cardinal measurement, on the other hand, assigns actual numerical values to utility, which is not possible in this case. As for rational sense, it is not applicable to the measurement of utility.

If the Utility Numbers We Assign to Objects Have No