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Issues in Economics Today
Issues in Economics Today
Robert Guell, Indiana State University

Supply and Demand

Glossary


ceteris paribus  Latin for other things equal.
consumers  Those people in a market who want to exchange money for goods or services.
demand  The relationship between price and quantity demanded, ceteris paribus.
demand schedule  Presentation, in tabular form, of the price and quantity demanded for a good.
equilibrium  The point where the amount that consumers want to buy and the amount firms want to sell are the same. This occurs where the supply curve and the demand curve cross.
equilibrium price  The price at which no consumers wish they could have purchase more goods at the price; no producers wish they could have sold more.
equilibrium quantity  The amount of output exchanged at the equilibrium price.
excess demand  Another term for shortage.
excess supply  Another term for surplus.
fixed costs  Expenses that do not change whether you produce zero or any other amount.
law of demand  The statement that the relationship between price and quantity demanded is a negative or inverse one.
law of diminishing marginal utility  The amount of additional happiness that you get from an additional unit of consumption falls with each additional unit.
law of supply  The statement that there is positive relationship between price and quantity supplied.
loss  The money a firm makes is less than its costs (costs - revenue).
marginal cost  The increase in cost associated with increasing production by one unit.
marginal revenue  The increase in revenue associated with increasing sales by one unit.
marginal utility  The amount of extra happiness that people get from an additional unit of consumption.
market  Any mechanism by which buyers and sellers negotiate an exchange.
output  The good or service produced for sale.
price  The amount of money that must be paid for a unit of output.
producers  Those people in a market who want to exchange goods or services for money.
profit  The money a firm makes in excess of its costs (or revenue - cost).
quantity demanded  Amount consumers are willing and able to buy at a particular price during a particular period of time.
quantity supplied  Amount firms are willing and able to sell at a particular price during a particular period of time.
real-balances effect  When a price increases your buying power is decreased causing you to buy less
revenue  Money received from sales.
shortage  The condition where firms do not want to sell as many goods as consumers want to buy.
substitution effect  Purchase of less of a product than originally wanted when its price is high because a lower-cost product is available.
sunk costs  Expenses that do not change whether you produce zero or any other amount.
supply  The relationship between price and quantity supplied, ceteris paribus.
supply and demand  The name of the most important model in all of economics.
supply schedule  Presentation, in tabular form, of the price and quantity supplied for a good.
surplus  The condition where firms want to sell more goods than consumers want to by.
variable costs  Costs that increase when firms increase production.




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