Related to the Economics in Practice on page 316: From a consumer welfare standpoint, as the variety of available choices of a particular type of product increases, consumer welfare

A) increases at a proportional rate.
B) decreases at a proportional rate.
C) increases to a point, but eventually may lose value with too much variety.
D) tends to remain very constant.

When the variety of available choices increases, consumer welfare generally increases because consumers have more options to find products that closely match their preferences. However, beyond a certain point, too much variety can lead to decision fatigue, making it harder for consumers to choose and potentially reducing their overall satisfaction. This concept is supported by the idea of diminishing marginal utility, where the benefit of each additional choice decreases beyond a certain point.