Markets and Competition A market is a group of buyers and sellers of a particular product. A competitive market is one with many buyers and sellers, each has a negligible effect on price. In a perfectly competitive market: All goods exactly the same Buyers & sellers so numerous that no one can affect market price – each is a “price taker” In this chapter, we assume markets are perfectly competitive. In the real world, there are relatively few perfectly competitive markets. Most goods come in lots of different varieties – including ice cream, the example in the textbook. And there are many markets in which the number of firms is small enough that some of them have the ability to affect the market price. For now, though, we look at supply and demand in perfectly competitive markets, for two reasons: First, it’s easier to learn. Understanding perfectly competitive markets makes it a lot easier to learn the more realistic but complicated analysis of imperfectly competitive markets. Second, despite the lack of realism, the perfectly competitive model can teach us a LOT about how the world works, as we will see many times in the chapters that follow. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND

Demand The quantity demanded of any good is the amount of the good that buyers are willing and able to purchase. Law of demand: the claim that the quantity demanded of a good falls when the price of the good rises, other things equal Demand comes from the behavior of buyers. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 1

Quantity of lattes demanded The Demand Schedule Price of lattes Quantity of lattes demanded $0.00 16 1.00 14 2.00 12 3.00 10 4.00 8 5.00 6 6.00 4 Demand schedule: a table that shows the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded Example: Helen’s demand for lattes. Notice that Helen’s preferences obey the Law of Demand. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 2

Demand Curve Shifters The demand curve shows how price affects quantity demanded, other things being equal. These “other things” are non-price determinants of demand (i.e., things that determine buyers’ demand for a good, other than the good’s price). Changes in them shift the D curve… THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 3

Demand Curve Shifters: # of Buyers Increase in # of buyers increases quantity demanded at each price, shifts D curve to the right. Income is the first demand shifter discussed in this chapter of the textbook. I chose to start with a different one (number of buyers), for the following reason: In discussing the impact of changes in income on the demand curve, the textbook also introduces the concept of normal goods and inferior goods. Students may find it easier to learn about curve shifts if the presentation focuses solely on a curve shift (at least initially) without simultaneously introducing other concepts. If you wish to present the demand shifters in the same order as they appear in the book, simply reorder the slides in this presentation. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 4

Demand Curve Shifters: Income Demand for a normal good is positively related to income. Increase in income causes increase in quantity demanded at each price, shifts D curve to the right. (Demand for an inferior good is negatively related to income. An increase in income shifts D curves for inferior goods to the left.) THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 5

Demand Curve Shifters: Prices of Related Goods Two goods are substitutes if an increase in the price of one causes an increase in demand for the other. Example: pizza and hamburgers. An increase in the price of pizza increases demand for hamburgers, shifting hamburger demand curve to the right. Other examples: Coke and Pepsi, laptops and desktop computers, CDs and music downloads If you are willing to spend a couple extra minutes on substitutes and complements, and have a blackboard or whiteboard to draw on, here’s an idea: Before (or instead of) showing this slide, draw the demand curve for hamburgers. Pick a price, say $5, and draw a horizontal line at that price, extending from the vertical axis through the D curve and continuing to the right. Suppose Q = 1000 when P = $5. Label this on the horizontal axis. Now ask your students: If pizza becomes more expensive, but price of hamburgers does not change, what would happen to the quantity of hamburgers demanded? Would it remain at 1000, would it increase, or would it decrease? Explain. Some and perhaps most students will see right away that people will want more hamburgers when the price of pizza rises. After establishing this, note that the increase in the price of pizza caused an increase in the quantity demanded of hamburgers. Then state the term “substitutes” and give the definition. Before giving the other examples (listed in the 3rd bullet of this slide), do a similar exercise to develop the concept of complements. Finally, give the examples of substitutes and complements from the 3rd bullet point of this and the following slides, but mix up the order and ask students to identify whether each example is complements or substitutes. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 6

Demand Curve Shifters: Prices of Related Goods Two goods are complements if an increase in the price of one causes a fall in demand for the other. Example: computers and software. If price of computers rises, people buy fewer computers, and therefore less software. Software demand curve shifts left. Other examples: college tuition and textbooks, bagels and cream cheese, eggs and bacon THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 7

Demand Curve Shifters: Tastes Anything that causes a shift in tastes toward a good will increase demand for that good and shift its D curve to the right. Example: The Atkins diet became popular in the ’90s, caused an increase in demand for eggs, shifted the egg demand curve to the right. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 8

Demand Curve Shifters: Expectations Expectations affect consumers’ buying decisions. Examples: If people expect their incomes to rise, their demand for meals at expensive restaurants may increase now. If the economy sours and people worry about their future job security, demand for new autos may fall now. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 9

Summary: Variables That Influence Buyers Variable A change in this variable… Price …causes a movement along the D curve # of buyers …shifts the D curve Income …shifts the D curve Price of related goods …shifts the D curve Tastes …shifts the D curve Expectations …shifts the D curve Students should notice that the only determinant of quantity demanded that causes a movement along the curve is price. Also notice: price is one of the variables measured along the axes of the graph. Here’s a handy “rule of thumb” to help students remember whether the curve shifts: If the variable causing demand to change is measured on one of the axes, you move along the curve. If the variable that’s causing demand to change is NOT measured on either axis, then the curve shifts. This rule of thumb works with all curves in economics that involve an X-Y relationship. (I.e., it works for the supply curve, the marginal cost curve, the IS and LM curves, among many others, but it does not apply to curves drawn on time series graphs.) THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 10

Supply The quantity supplied of any good is the amount that sellers are willing and able to sell. Law of supply: the claim that the quantity supplied of a good rises when the price of the good rises, other things equal Supply comes from the behavior of sellers. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 11

Quantity of lattes supplied The Supply Schedule Price of lattes Quantity of lattes supplied $0.00 1.00 3 2.00 6 3.00 9 4.00 12 5.00 15 6.00 18 Supply schedule: A table that shows the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity supplied. Example: Starbucks’ supply of lattes. Notice that Starbucks’ supply schedule obeys the Law of Supply. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 12

Supply Curve Shifters The supply curve shows how price affects quantity supplied, other things being equal. These “other things” are non-price determinants of supply. Changes in them shift the S curve… “Non-price determinants of supply” simply means the things – other than the price of a good – that determine sellers’ supply of the good. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 13

Supply Curve Shifters: Input Prices Examples of input prices: wages, prices of raw materials. A fall in input prices makes production more profitable at each output price, so firms supply a larger quantity at each price, and the S curve shifts to the right. In the second bullet point, “output price” just means the price of the good that firms are producing and selling. I have used “output price” here to distinguish it from “input prices.” THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 14

Supply Curve Shifters: Technology Technology determines how much inputs are required to produce a unit of output. A cost-saving technological improvement has the same effect as a fall in input prices, shifts S curve to the right. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 15

Supply Curve Shifters: # of Sellers An increase in the number of sellers increases the quantity supplied at each price, shifts S curve to the right. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 16

Supply Curve Shifters: Expectations Example: Events in the Middle East lead to expectations of higher oil prices. In response, owners of Texas oilfields reduce supply now, save some inventory to sell later at the higher price. S curve shifts left. In general, sellers may adjust supply* when their expectations of future prices change. (*If good not perishable) THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 17

Summary: Variables that Influence Sellers Variable A change in this variable… Price …causes a movement along the S curve Input Prices …shifts the S curve Technology …shifts the S curve # of Sellers …shifts the S curve Expectations …shifts the S curve THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 18

Supply and Demand Together P Q Equilibrium: P has reached the level where quantity supplied equals quantity demanded S D We now return to the latte example to illustrate the concepts of equilibrium, shortage and surplus. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 19

Equilibrium price: the price that equates quantity supplied with quantity demanded P Q S D P QD QS $0 24 1 21 5 2 18 10 3 15 4 12 20 9 25 6 30 THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 20

Equilibrium quantity: the quantity supplied and quantity demanded at the equilibrium price P Q S D P QD QS $0 24 1 21 5 2 18 10 3 15 4 12 20 9 25 6 30 THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 21

Surplus (a.k.a. excess supply): when quantity supplied is greater than quantity demanded P Q Example: If P = $5, S D Surplus then QD = 9 lattes and QS = 25 lattes resulting in a surplus of 16 lattes THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 22

Shortage (a.k.a. excess demand): when quantity demanded is greater than quantity supplied P Q Example: If P = $1, S D then QD = 21 lattes and QS = 5 lattes resulting in a shortage of 16 lattes Shortage THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 23

Shortage (a.k.a. excess demand): when quantity demanded is greater than quantity supplied P Q Facing a shortage, sellers raise the price, S D causing QD to fall and QS to rise, …which reduces the shortage. Shortage THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 24

Three Steps to Analyzing Changes in Eq’m To determine the effects of any event, 1. Decide whether event shifts S curve, D curve, or both. 2. Decide in which direction curve shifts. 3. Use supply-demand diagram to see how the shift changes eq’m P and Q. Step one requires knowing all of the things that can shift D and S – the non-price determinants of demand and of supply. THE MARKET FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND 25