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• Tablet computers were just 1 percent of the market in 2006, contrary to Bill Gates’ prediction five years earlier that they would make up a majority of sales in that time.
• In April 2010, Steve Jobs introduced the iPad, which was an immediate success, and within a year the iPad 2 experienced similarly rapid sales.
• Intense competition ensued, including Research in Motion’s introduction of the BlackBerry Playbook, increasing the available choices of products and lowering the prices consumers pay for those products.
• AN INSIDE LOOK on page 92 discusses how the many tablet producers are concerned about component shortages.
Will You Buy an Apple iPad or a Samsung Galaxy Tab?
Seven months after the iPad was introduced, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab. Although at a disadvantage, it could still compete based on price and value.
See if you can answer these questions by the end of the chapter:
Would you choose to buy a Galaxy Tab if it had a lower price than an iPad?
If your income increased, would it affect your decision about which tablet to buy?
Perfectly competitive market A market that meets the conditions of (1) many buyers and sellers, (2) all firms selling identical products, and (3) no barriers to new firms entering the market.
As the price changes, consumers change the quantity of tablet computers they are willing to buy. We can show this as a demandschedule in a table or as a demand curve on a graph. The table and graph both show that as the price of tablet computers falls, the quantity demanded increases. When the price of tablet computers is $700, consumers buy 3 million tablets per month. When the price drops to $600, consumers buy 4 million tablets. Therefore, the demand curve for tablet computers is downward sloping.
Law of demand The rule that, holding everything else constant, when the price of a product falls, the quantity demanded of the product will increase, and when the price of a product rises, the quantity demanded of the product will decrease.
Substitution effect The change in the quantity demanded of a good that results from a change in price, making the good more or less expensive relative to other goods that are substitutes.
Income effect The change in the quantity demanded of a good that results from the effect of a change in the good’s price on consumers’ purchasing power.
Ceteris paribus (“all else equal”) condition The requirement that when analyzing the relationship between two variables—such as price and quantity demanded—other variables must be held constant.
Holding Everything Else Constant: The Ceteris Paribus Condition
A shift of a demand curve is an increase or a decrease in demand. A movement along a demand curve is an increase or a decrease in the quantity demanded.
When consumers increase the quantity of a product they want to buy at a given price, the market demand curve shifts to the right, from D1to D2.When consumers decrease the quantity of a product they want to buy at a given price, the demand curve shifts to the left, from D1 to D3.
Are Quiznos Sandwiches Normal Goods and Subway Sandwiches Inferior Goods?
Makingthe
Connection
Subway experienced increased sales during 2008 and 2009, while sales of Quiznos sandwiches fell.
Subway sandwiches seem to fit the economic definition of an inferior good because demand increases as income falls, while Quiznos sandwiches fit the definition of a normal good.
But remember that inferior goods are not necessarily of low quality; they are just goods for which consumers increase their demand as their incomes fall.
Your Turn: For more practice, do related problem 1.11 at the end of this chapter.MyEconLab
A Change in Demand versus a Change in Quantity DemandedFigure 3.3
If the price of tablet computers falls from $700 to $600, the result will be a movement along the demand curve from point A to point B—an increase in quantity demanded from 3 million tablets to 4 million tablets. If consumers’ incomes increase, or if another factor changes that makes consumers want more of the product at every price, the demand curve will shift to the right—an increase in demand.In this case, the increase in demand from D1 to D2 causes the quantity of tablet computers demanded at a price of $700 to increase from 3 million tablets at point A to 5 million tablets at point C.
As the price changes, Apple, Toshiba, Samsung, LG, and other firms producing tablet computers change the quantity they are willing to supply. We can show this as a supply schedule in a table or as a supply curve on a graph.The supply schedule and supply curve both show that as the price of tablet computers rises, firms will increase the quantity they supply.At a price of $600 per tablet, firms will supply 6 million tablets. At a price of $700, firms will supply 7 million tablets.
Law of supply The rule that, holding everything else constant, increases in price cause increases in the quantity supplied, and decreases in price cause decreases in the quantity supplied.
Shifting the Supply Curve
Figure 3.5
When firms increase the quantity of a product they want to sell at a given price, the supply curve shifts to the right. The shift from S1 to S3represents an increase in supply.When firms decrease the quantity of a product they want to sell at a given price, the supply curve shifts to the left.The shift from S1 to S2represents a decrease in supply.
• Prices of Substitutes in Production Alternative products that a firm could produce are called substitutes in production.
• Number of Firms in the Market A change in the number of firms in the market will change supply.
• Expected Future Prices If a firm expects that the price of its product will be higher in the future than it is today, it has an incentive to decrease supply now and increase it in the future.
Technological change A positive or negative change in the ability of a firm to produce a given level of output with a given quantity of inputs.
The following are the most important variables that shift market supply:
• Prices of Inputs A change in the price of an input—anything used in the production of a good or service—is the most likely factor to cause the supply curve for a product to shift.
A Change in Supply versus a Change in Quantity SuppliedFigure 3.6
If the price of tablet computers rises from $500 to $600 per tablet, the result will be a movement up the supply curve from point A to point B—an increase in quantity supplied by Apple, Toshiba, Samsung, and the other firms from 5 million to 6 million tablets.If the price of an input decreases or another factor changes that causes sellers to supply more of the product at every price, the supply curve will shift to the right—an increase in supply.In this case, the increase in supply from S1 to S2 causes the quantity of tablet computers supplied at a price of $600 to increase from 6 million at point B to 8 million at point C.
Where the demand curve crosses the supply curve determines market equilibrium. In this case, the demand curve for tablet computers crosses the supply curve at a price of $500 and a quantity of 5 million tablets. Only at this point is the quantity of tablet computers consumers are willing to buy equal to the quantity that Apple, Amazon, Samsung, and the other firms are willing to sell: The quantity demanded is equal to the quantity supplied.
The Effect of Surpluses and Shortages on the Market Price
Figure 3.8
When the market price is above equilibrium, there will be a surplus. In the figure, a price of $600 for tablet computers results in 6 million tablets being supplied but only 4 million tablets being demanded, or a surplus of 2 million. As Apple, Toshiba, Dell, and other firms cut the price to dispose of the surplus, the price will fall to the equilibrium of $500.When the market price is below equilibrium, there will be a shortage. A price of $300 results in 7 million tablets being demanded but only 3 million tablets being supplied, or a shortage of 4 million tablets. As firms find that consumers who are unable to find tablet computers available for sale are willing to pay higher prices to get them, the price will rise to the equilibrium of $500.
Keep in mind that the interaction of demand and supply determines the equilibrium price.
Neither consumers nor firms can dictate what the equilibrium price will be.
No firm can sell anything at any price unless it can find a willing buyer, and no consumer can buy anything at any price without finding a willing seller.
Solved Problem 3.3Demand and Supply Both Count: A Tale of Two Letters
Solving the ProblemStep 1: Review the chapter material.Step 2: Draw demand curves that illustrate the greater demand for Lincoln’s letters.Begin by drawing two demand curves. Label one “Demand for Lincoln’s letters” and the other “Demand for Booth’s letters.”Make sure that the Lincoln demand curve is much farther to the right than the Booth demand curve.
Which letter is likely to be worth more: one written by Abraham Lincoln or one written by his assassin, John Wilkes Booth? Auctioned off on the same day, the Booth letter sold for $31,050, and the Lincoln letter sold for only $21,850. Use a demand and supply graph to explain how the Booth letter has a higher market price than the Lincoln letter, even though the demand for letters written by Lincoln is greater than the demand for letters written by Booth.
Solved Problem 3.3Demand and Supply Both Count: A Tale of Two Letters
Both demand and supply count when determining market price.The upward slope of the supply curves occurs because the higher the price, the larger the quantity of letters that will be offered for sale by people who currently own them.
Solving the ProblemStep 3: Draw supply curves that illustrate the equilibrium price of Booth’s letters being higher than the equilibrium price of Lincoln’s letters.
Your Turn: For more practice, do related problems 3.5 and 3.6 at the end of this chapter.MyEconLab
Which letter is likely to be worth more: one written by Abraham Lincoln or one written by his assassin, John Wilkes Booth? Auctioned off on the same day, the Booth letter sold for $31,050, and the Lincoln letter sold for only $21,850. Use a demand and supply graph to explain how the Booth letter has a higher market price than the Lincoln letter, even though the demand for letters written by Lincoln is greater than the demand for letters written by Booth.
The Effect of an Increase in Supply on Equilibrium
Figure 3.9
The Effect of Shifts in Supply on Equilibrium
1. As Toshiba enters the market for tablet computers, a larger quantity of tablets will be supplied at every price, so the market supply curve shifts to the right, from S1 to S2, which causes a surplus of tablets at the original price, P1.
2. The equilibrium price falls from P1 to P2.
3. The equilibrium quantity rises from Q1 to Q2.
If a firm enters a market, as Toshiba entered the market for tablet computers when it introduced the Thrive, the equilibrium price will fall, and the equilibrium quantity will rise:
The declining cost of manufacturing the players as other firms enter the industry increases the quantity supplied at every price, shown by the large shift to the right of the supply curve.
Your Turn: For more practice, do related problem 4.6 at the end of this chapter.MyEconLab
The Effect of an Increase in Demand on Equilibrium
Figure 3.10
The Effect of Shifts in Demand on Equilibrium
Increases in income will cause the equilibrium price and quantity to rise:1. Because tablet computers
are a normal good, as income grows, the quantity demanded increases at every price, and the market demand curve shifts to the right, from D1 to D2, which causes a shortage of tablet computers at the original price, P1.
High Demand and Low Prices in the Lobster Market?The market price is higher when demand is low than when demand is high. Resolve this paradox, with the help of a demand and supply graph.
Solved Problem 3.4
Solving the ProblemStep 1: Review the chapter material.Step 2: Draw the demand and supply graph.Label the equilibrium price $6.00. Label both the demand and supply curves “in spring.”
Step 3: Add to your graph a demand curve for summer.
High Demand and Low Prices in the Lobster Market?Solved Problem 3.4
Solving the ProblemStep 1: Review the chapter material.Step 2: Draw the demand and supply graph.Label the equilibrium price $6.00. Label both the demand and supply curves “in spring.”
Step 3: Add to your graph a demand curve for summer.Step 4: Explain the graph.The supply curve shifts to the right by enough to cause the equilibrium price to fall to $3.00. Draw the new supply curve, label it “in summer,” and label the new equilibrium price $3.00.
The market price is higher when demand is low than when demand is high. Resolve this paradox, with the help of a demand and supply graph.
High Demand and Low Prices in the Lobster Market?The market price is higher when demand is low than when demand is high. Resolve this paradox, with the help of a demand and supply graph.
Solved Problem 3.4
Your Turn: For more practice, do related problems 4.7 and 4.8 at the end of this chapter.MyEconLabThe increase in supply is greater than the increase in demand between spring and summer.
Solving the ProblemStep 1: Review the chapter material.Step 2: Draw the demand and supply graph.Label the equilibrium price $6.00. Label both the demand and supply curves “in spring.”
Step 3: Add to your graph a demand curve for summer.Step 4: Explain the graph.The supply curve shifts to the right by enough to cause the equilibrium price to fall to $3.00. Draw the new supply curve, label it “in summer,” and label the new equilibrium price $3.00.
Shifts in a Curve versus Movements along a CurveWhen a shift in a demand or supply curve causes a change in equilibrium price, the change in price does not cause a further shift in demand or supply.
Don’t Let This Happen to YouRemember: A Change in a Good’s Price Does Not Cause the Demand or Supply Curve to Shift
The increase in demand shifts the demand curve from D1 to D2, causing a shortage, but the demand curve will not shift further from the resulting price increase. Changes in the price of a product result only in movements along a demand curve. The increase in price causes a decrease in the quantity demanded, from Q3 to Q2, but does not cause a decrease in demand. The graph on the left is incorrect.
Your Turn: Test your understanding by doing related problems 4.13 and 4.14 at the end of this chapter.
Will You Buy an Apple iPad or a Samsung Galaxy Tab?
At the beginning of the chapter, we asked you to consider two questions:
Would you choose to buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet if it had a lower price than an Apple iPad? and Would your decision be affected if your income increased?
If you recognize that the two tablets are very close substitutes, then you are likely to buy the one with the lower price.
If an increase in your income would cause you to change your decision and buy the iPad, then the Galaxy Tab is an inferior good for you.
Will Shortage of Display Screens Derail Computer Tablet Sales?
AN INSIDE
LOOK
An increase in demand for tablet computers shifts the demand curve to the right.
An increase in the price of an input, such as the display screen, used in the manufacture of tablet computers causes the supply curve to shift to the left.