Chapter 3 Outline |
I. DEMAND AND SUPPLY ANALYSIS |
A. General Definitions and Comments |
| 1. The law of demand states that consumers will purchase more of a good at
lower prices and less of a good at higher prices. |
| 2. The law of supply states that producers will sell less of a good at lower prices
and more of a good at higher prices. |
| 3. Equilibrium exits when there is no reason for a situation to change. |
| a. When equilibrium exits, the quantity people plan to buy is equal to the
quantity that producers plan to sell. |
| b. The laws of demand and supply cause the market to move to equilibrium. |
B. Other Demand Factors |
| 1. Changes in demand factors other than price of the good will result in achange in demand. |
| a. An increase in demand is depicted as a rightward shift of the demand
curve. |
| b. An increase in demand means that consumers plan to purchase more of
the good at each possible price. |
| c. A decrease in demand is depicted as a leftward shift of the demand curve |
| d. A decrease in demand means that consumers plan to purchase less of the
good at each possible price. |
| 2. The price of related goods is one of the other factors affecting demand. |
| a. Related goods are classified as either substitutes or complements. |
| | 1. Substitutes are goods that satisfy a similar need or desire. |
| | a. An increase in the price of a good will increase demand for its substitute, while a decrease in the price of a good will decrease demand for its substitute. |
| | 2. Complements are goods that are used jointly. |
| | a. An increase in the price of a good will decrease demand for its complement while a decrease in the price of a good will increase demand for its complement. |
| 3. Income is another factor that can affect demand. |
| a. If a good is a normal good, increases in income will result in an increase
in demand while decreases in income will decrease demand. |
| b. If a good is an inferior good, increases in income will result in a decreasein demand while decreases in income will increase demand. |
C. Other Supply Factors |
| 1. Changes in other supply factors will result in a change in supply. |
| a. An increase in supply is depicted as a rightward shift of the supply curve. |
| b. An increase in supply means that producers plan to sell more of the good
at each possible price. |
| c. A decrease in supply is depicted as a leftward shift of the supply curve. |
| d. A decrease in supply means that producers plan to sell less of the good
at each possible price. |
| 2. Other factors affecting supply include technology, the prices of inputs, and the prices of alternative goods that could be produced. |
| a. An advance in technology, a decrease in the prices of inputs, or a decrease in the prices of alternative goods that could be produced will
result in an increase in supply. |
| b. A deterioration of technology, an increase in the prices of inputs, or an increase in the prices of alternative goods that could be produced will result in a decrease in supply. |