What Is Equilibrium Quantity?
Equilibrium quantity is when there is no shortage or surplus of a product in the market. Supply and demand intersect, meaning the amount of an item that consumers want to buy is equal to the amount being supplied by its producers. In other words, the market has reached a perfect state of ꦅbalance as prices stabilize to suit all parties.
Basic 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:microeconomic theory provides a model to determine the optimal quantity and price of a good or service. This theory is based on 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:the&nb✤sp;supply and demand model, which is the 🔥fundamental basis for market capitalism. It assumes that producers and consumers behave predictably and consistently and there are no other factors influencing their decisions.
Key Takeaways
- Equilibrium quantity is when supply equals demand for a product.
- The supply and demand curves have opposite trajectories and eventually intersect, creating economic equilibrium and equilibrium quantity.
- Hypothetically, this is the most efficient state the market can reach and the state to which it naturally gravitates.
Understanding Equilibrium Quantity
In a supply and demand chart there are two curves, one representing supply and the other representing demand. These curves are plotted against price (the y-axis) and quantity (the x-axis). If looking from left to right, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:supply curve slopes upwards. This is because there is a direct relationship between price and supply. The producer has a greater incentive𒐪 to supply an item if the price is higher. Therefore, as the price of a product increases, so does the quantity supplied.
Meanwhile, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:demand curve, representing buyers, slopes downwards. This is because there is an in🌠verse relationship between the price and quantity demanded. Consumers are more willing to purchase goods if they a🍬re inexpensive; therefore, as the price increases, the quantity demanded decreases.
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As the curves have opposite trajectories, they will eventually intersect on the supply and demand chart. This is the point of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:economic equilibrium, which also represents the equilibrium quantity and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:equilibrium price of a good or service.
Since the intersection occurs at a point on both the supply and d🌳emand curves, producing/buying the equilibrium quantity of a good or service at the equilibrium price should be agreeable to both producers and consume𝐆rs. Hypothetically, this is the most efficient state the market can reach and the state to which it naturally gravitates.
Special Considerations
Supply and demand theory underpins most economic analysis, but 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:economists caution against taking it too literally. A supply and demand chart only represents, in a vacuum, the market for one good or service. In reality, there are always many other factors influencing decisions such as logistical limitations, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:purchasing power, and technologic꧋al changes or other industrℱy developments.
The theory does not account for potential 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:externalities, which can result in 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:market failure. For example, during the Irish potato famine of the mid-19th century, Irish potatoes were still being exported to England. The market for potatoes was in equilibrium—Irish producers and English consumers were satisfied with the price and the number of potatoes in the market. However, the Irish, who were not a factor in reaching the optimum price and quantity of items, were starving.
Corrective 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:social welfare measures to correct such a situation, or government 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:subsidies to prop up a specific industry, can also impact the equilibrium price and quantitꦜy of a good or service.