微观经济学lecture03-Ch03.ppt

What makes the prices of oil and gasoline double in just one year? Will the price of gasoline keep on rising? Are the oil companies taking advantage of people? Some prices rocket, some slide, and some roller coaster. This chapter explains how markets determine prices and why prices change. Markets and Prices A market is any arrangement that enables buyers and sellers to get information and do business with each other. A competitive market is a market that has many buyers and many sellers so no single buyer or seller can influence the price. The money price of a good is the amount of money needed to buy it. The relative price of a good—the ratio of its money price to the money price of the next best alternative good—is its opportunity cost. Demand If you demand something, then you 1. Want it, 2. Can afford it, and 3. Have made a definite plan to buy it. Wants are the unlimited desires or wishes people have for goods and services. Demand reflects a decision about which wants to satisfy. The quantity demanded of a good or service is the amount that consumers plan to buy during a particular time period, and at a particular price. Demand The Law of Demand The law of demand states: Other things remaining the same, the higher the price of a good, the smaller is the quantity demanded; and the lower the price of a good, the larger is the quantity demanded. The law of demand results from Substitution effect Income effect Demand Substitution effect When the relative price (opportunity cost) of a good or service rises, people seek substitutes for it, so the quantity demanded of the good or service decreases. Income effect When the price of a good or service rises relative to income, people cannot afford all the things they previously bought, so the quantity demanded of the good or service decreases. Demand Demand Curve and Demand Schedule The term demand refers to the entire relationship between the price of the good and quantity demanded of the good. A demand curve shows