1.2) how markets work Flashcards
what are the aims of consumers?
their aim is to maximise utility
what are the aims of firms?
their aim is to maximise profit
what are the 5 influences on demand?
1) the price of a good - this will cause movement along curve
2) the price of an other good-shift in demand
3) the income-shift in demand
4) tastes and preferences
5) time period over which demand is considered
what is the law of diminishing marginal utility?
a situation where individuals gain less additional utility from consuming a product, the more of it is consumed
what is the law of demand?
there is an inverse relationship between the price of a good and service or quantity demanded, cetiris paribus
state two reasons why the demand curve slopes downward?
1) the real income effect- at a higher price, consumers will have less income left over
2) the substitution effect- the more expensive a good the more likely a consumer will decide to purchase something else
define PED
a measure of how sensitive demand is to a change in price.
what are the 4 influences on PED?
1) availability of substitutes
2) if good is perceived as neccessity
3) proportion of income spent on good
4) time period for which ped is considered
how can you increase revenue at different PED
inelastic- increase price to increase revenue
elastic- decrease price to increase revenue
define YED
a measure of how sensitive demand is to a change in income
what are the types of good shown by YED?
1) inferior- x<0 - as income falls, demand rises faster- bus travel
2) normal -x>0- two categories, neccesity is good above 0 but less than 1, luxury is good above 1
formula for YED
%change in demand/%change in income
formula for PED
%change in demand/%change in price
define XED
a measure of the sensitivity of demand of one good to the change in price of another good
formula for XED
%change in demand of good X/ %change in price of good Y
what are the three relationships between goods in XED?
substitutes - x>0 - higher value of XED means closer
substitute
complementary- x<0 - coffee and sugar
unrelated - x=0
why is it hard to agree on YED?
it is usually a value judgement about if something is considered a luxury, therefore interpreted differently
what are the uses of PED?
-see how consumers respond to change in price- see
how to maximize revenue
-when imposing indirect taxes, gov can use ped to
forecast tax revenue
-when gov imposes subsidy, ped can access impact of
it
what are the uses of YED?
Firms will make use of income elasticity of demand by producing more luxury goods during periods of economic growth.
In a recession with falling incomes, supermarkets might be advised to promote more ‘value’ inferior goods.
what are the uses of XED?
anticipate changes in demand for one company from changes in price of another’s good.
can be used by the competition and market authoritys to see if firms have susbtitute goods
what does a perfectly elastic PED look like on a price against quantity graph?
horizontal line
what does a perfectly inelastic PED look like on a price against quantity graph?
vertical line
define supply?
the quantity of a good or service a firm is willing and able to supply at any given price, over a given period of time
define a firm?
a firm is an organisation that bring together the factors of production to produce output
what factors influence supply?
1-production costs-shift supply left
2-technology- if it improves , supply shifts right
3-taxes and subsidys- taxes shift left, subsidy shift right
4-prices of related goods- if price increases, firms may choose to increase production
5-expectations of future prices- if prices expected to rise then firms may choose to stockpile goods for future
6-number of firms in the market
define price elasticity of supply?
a measure of the sensitivity of supply of a good in response to a change of price of the good
what is the formula for PES?
percentage change in quantity supplied/ percentage change in price
what causes a firm to be elastic?
when they have stockpiles of goods available
when they are working below full capacity
what causes a firm to be inelastic?
when they have significant costs involved with increasing production ie paying overtime or hiring new machinery
in the short run are firms likely to be elastic or inelastic PES
they are likely to be inelastic as they can only vary one factor of production, typically labour, therefore they are less able to respond
in the long run are firms likely to be inelastic or elastic PES?
they are likely to be elastic as they can vary both capitol and labour so easier to respond to change in price
what does perfectly elastic supply mean and what does it look like on graph?
it means there PES=infinity, no change in price no matter the amount of quantity supplied, horizontal line
what does perfectly inelastic supply mean and what does it look like on graph?
it means PES=0, no change in quantity supplied no matter change in price, vertical line
define market equilibrium?
it occurs when in a market, the quantity demanded by consumers is directly balanced by quantity supplied by firms
what will happen the price is too high in a market?
it will act as a signal for firms to lower price so they can clear the excess supply
what happens when the price is too low?
the firms will realise that some consumers are willing to pay more so they will raise prices to clear the excess demand
define consumer surplus?
the value that consumers gain from consuming a good or service over and above the price paid ( consumers are willing to pay up to point where price=marginal utility, so if price is lower than MU then there will be consumer surplus)
what can the demand curve be seen as?
the marginal benefit curve
what is producer surplus?
the difference between price received by firms for a good or service and the price they were willing to supply at
what will affect the the size of consumer surplus?
shifts of the supply and demand curves
how can you work out the net welfare of society?
sum of consumer and producer surplus