4.0 Introduction
Learning Objectives
At the end of this chapter, learners will be able to:
- Describe consumer surplus and producer surplus
- Explain the economic efficiency
- Discuss the economic impact of government-imposed price floors and price ceilings
- Demonstrate the economic impact of taxes
The familiar demand and supply diagram holds within it the concept of economic efficiency. One typical way that economists define efficiency is when it is impossible to improve the situation of one party without imposing a cost on another. Conversely, if a situation is inefficient, it becomes possible to benefit at least one party without imposing costs on others.
Efficiency in the demand and supply model has the same basic meaning: The economy is getting as much benefit as possible from its scarce resources and all the possible gains from trade have been achieved. In other words, the optimal amount of each good and service is produced and consumed.
The demand and supply model emphasizes that prices are not only set by demand or supply, but also by the interaction between the two. In 1890, the famous economist Alfred Marshall wrote that asking whether supply or demand determined a price was like arguing “whether it is the upper or the under blade of a pair of scissors that cuts a piece of paper.” The answer is that both blades of the demand and supply scissors are always involved.
Attribution
“3.5 Demand, Supply, and Efficiency” in Principles of Economics 2e by OpenStax is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
