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Table of Contents

  1. Topic pack - Microeconomics - introduction
  2. 1.1 Competitive Markets: Demand and Supply
  3. 1.1 Competitive Markets: Demand and Supply - notes
    1. The nature of markets
    2. Types of markets
    3. Market structure
    4. Spectrum of competition
    5. Demand
    6. The law of demand
    7. Individual and market demand
    8. Non-price determinants of demand
    9. Movements along the demand curve
    10. Shifts in the demand curve
    11. Example - shifts and movements along a demand curve
    12. Exceptions to the normal law of demand
    13. Linear demand functions
    14. Linear demand functions - example
    15. The law of supply
    16. Non-price determinants of supply
    17. Movements along the supply curve
    18. Shifts in the supply curve
    19. Shifts and moves of supply curve
    20. The real supply curve?
    21. Linear supply functions
    22. Linear supply functions - example
    23. Market equilibrium
    24. Market equilibrium - notes
    25. Excess demand and excess supply
    26. Example 1 - the market for DVD players
    27. Example 2 - the market for fish
    28. Applications of demand and supply
    29. Calculating market equilibrium
    30. Calculating equilibrium - example
    31. Scarcity and choice
    32. Choice and opportunity cost
    33. Price signalling
    34. Market efficiency - consumer surplus
    35. Market efficiency - producer surplus
    36. Allocative efficiency
  4. 1.1 Competitive markets - questions
  5. 1.1 Competitive markets - simulations and activities
  6. 1.2 Elasticities
  7. 1.2 Elasticities - notes
  8. Section 1.2 Elasticities - questions
  9. Section 1.2 Elasticities - simulations and activities
  10. 1.3 Government intervention
  11. 1.3 Government Intervention - notes
  12. 1.3 Government intervention - questions
  13. 1.3 Government intervention - simulations and activities
  14. 1.4 Market failure
  15. 1.4 Market failure - notes
  16. Section 1.4 Market failure - questions
  17. Section 1.4 Market failure - simulations and activities
  18. 1.5 Theory of the firm
  19. 1.5 Theory of the firm - notes (HL only)
  20. Section 1.5 Theory of the firm - questions
  21. Section 1.5 Theory of the firm - simulations and activities
  22. Print View

Market equilibrium

In the previous section we explained markets and the rules of supply and demand. We now move on to examine market equilibrium, the price mechanism and market efficiency.

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By the end of this section you should be able to:

  • Explain, using diagrams, how demand and supply interact to produce market equilibrium.
  • Analyse, using diagrams and with reference to excess demand or excess supply, how changes in the determinants of demand and/or supply result in a new market equilibrium.
  • Explain why scarcity necessitates choices that answer the "What to produce?" question.
  • Explain why choice results in an opportunity cost.
  • Explain, using diagrams, that price has a signalling function and an incentive function, which result in a reallocation of resources when prices change as a result of a change in demand or supply conditions.
  • Explain the concept of consumer surplus.
  • Identify consumer surplus on a demand and supply diagram.
  • Explain the concept of producer surplus.
  • Identify producer surplus on a demand and supply diagram.
  • Explain that the best allocation of resources from society's point of view is at competitive market equilibrium, where social (community) surplus (consumer surplus and producer surplus) is maximized (marginal benefit = marginal cost).

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  • Calculate the equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity from linear demand and supply functions.
  • Plot demand and supply curves from linear functions, and identify the equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity.
  • State the quantity of excess demand or excess supply in the above diagrams.