Supply and Demand
Analysis
Reference Note
Demand
The process to satisfy human wants/ needs/desires.
Want: having a strong desire for something
Need: lack of means of subsistence
Desire: an aspiration to acquire something
Demand: effective desire
Demand is that desire which backed by willingness and ability to buy a
particular commodity.
Amount of the commodity which consumers are willing to buy per
unit of time, at that price.
Things necessary for demand:
Time
Price of the commodity
Amount (or quantity) of the commodity consumers are willing to
purchase at the price
Types of Demand
Direct and Derived Demand
Direct demand is for the goods which are demanded for final
consumption; such as clothes or food
Derived demand is for the goods which are demanded to produce
some other commodities; such as diesel or cement
Recurring and Replacement Demand
Recurring demand is for goods which are consumed at short intervals
such as food.
Durable goods are purchased to be used for a long period of time,
hence they need replacement, such as cars.
Complementary and Competing Demand
Some goods are jointly demanded hence are complementary in
nature, e.g. software and hardware, car and petrol.
Some goods compete with each other for demand because they are
substitutes to each other, e.g. soft drinks and juices.
Types of Demand
Contd…
Demand for Consumer Goods and Capital Goods
Consumer goods are demanded for final consumer for personal
consumption, in some cases their demand will be direct demand
Capital goods are demanded to produce some other commodities;
hence their demand is similar to derived demand
Demand for Perishable Goods and Durable Goods
Perishable goods have recurring demand.
Durable goods have replacement demand.
Individual and Market Demand
Demand by a single consumer for a product is Individual demand. The
micro economics is primarily based on individual demand.
Demand by all the consumers for the product is market demand.
Determinants of Demand
Primary determinants:
Price of the product
Single most important determinant
Negative effect on demand
Higher the price-lower the demand
Income of the consumer
Normal goods: demand increases with increase in consumer’s income
Inferior goods: demand falls as income rises
Price of related goods
Substitutes
If the price of a commodity increases, demand for its substitute
rises.
Complements
If the price of a commodity increases, quantity demanded of its
complement falls.
Determinants of Demand
Contd…
Other determinants
Tastes and preferences
Very significant in case of consumer goods as it might nullify the effect of price
and income
Advertising
Very important in case of competitive markets, especially where product
differentiation is low or insignificant
Expectation of future price changes
Results in panic buying and gives rise to tendency of hoarding of durable goods
Population
Size, composition and distribution of population will influence structure of
demand
Growth of economy
Determines general standard of living of people
Consumer Credit
Availability of credit to buy consumer goods affects demand
Demand Function
Interdependence between demand for a product and its
determinants can be shown in a mathematical functional
form
Dx = f(Px, Y, Py, T, A, N)
Dependent variable: Dx
Independent variables: Px, Y, Py, T, A, N
Px: Price of x
Y: Income of consumer
Py: Price of other commodity
T: Taste and preference of consumer
A: Advertisement
N: Macro variable like inflation, population growth, economic
growth
Law of Demand
A special case of demand function which shows relation between price and
demand of the commodity
Dx = f(Px)
Other things remaining constant, when the price of a commodity rises, the
demand for that commodity falls or when the price of a commodity falls, the
demand for that commodity rises.
Price bears a negative relationship with demand
Reasons
Substitution Effect : When the price of a commodity falls (rises), its
substitutes become more (less) expensive assuming their price has not
changed.
Income Effect: When the price of a particular commodity falls, the
consumer’s real income rises, hence the purchasing power of the individual
rises.
Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility: as a person consumes successive units
of a commodity, the utility derived from every next unit (marginal unit) falls.
Demand Schedule and Individual
Demand Curve
Point e
on Demand
Demand 35
Price (Rs (‘000 d
Price of Coffee
Curve per cup) cups)
30
a 15 50 c
b 20 40 25
b
c 25 30 20
d 30 20 a
15
e 35 10
O
10 20 30 40 50
Quantity of coffee
Market Demand
Market: interaction between sellers and buyers of a good (or
service) at a mutually agreed upon price.
Market demand
Aggregate of individual demands for a commodity at a particular
price per unit of time.
Sum total of the quantities of a commodity that all buyers in the
market are willing to buy at a given price and at a particular point
of time (ceteris paribus)
Market demand curve: horizontal summation of individual
demand curves
Supply
• Indicates the quantities of a good or service that the seller is
willing and able to provide at a price, at a given point of time,
other things remaining the same.
• Supply of a product X (Sx) depends upon:
• Price of the product (Px): positive relation
• Cost of production (C): negative relation
• State of technology (T)
• Government policy regarding taxes and subsidies (G)
• Other factors like number of firms (N)
• Hence the supply function is given as:
Sx = (Px, C, T, G, N)
Law of Supply
Supply bears a positive relation to the price of the commodity.
Law of Supply states that other things remaining the same, the
higher the price of a commodity the greater is the quantity supplied.
Price of the product is revenue to the supplier; therefore higher price
means greater revenue to the supplier and hence greater is the
incentive to supply.
Supply Schedule Supply Curve
Point on Supply (‘000 35
Price of Coffee
Supply Price (Rs. cups per e
Curve Per cup) month) 30
a 15 10 25 d
c
b 20 20 20
c b
25 30 15 a
d 30 45
e 35 60 0
10 20 30 40 50 60
Quantity of Coffee
Market Equilibrium
Equilibrium occurs at the price where the quantity demanded and the
quantity supplied are equal to each other.
At point E demand is equal to supply hence 25 is equilibrium price
Price Demand of
Supply of coffee
coffee (‘000 cups/
Price (‘000 cups/ month)
S (Rs) month)
15 10 50
E 20 15 40
25
25 30 30
30 45 15
D 35 70 10
O 30 Quantity
Summary
• Demand is defined as the desire to acquire a commodity to satisfy human wants, which is backed by ability and
willingness to pay the price.
• Categories of demand are made on the basis of the nature of commodity demanded (consumer goods and
capital goods); time unit for which it is demanded (short run and long run); relation between two goods
(substitutes and complements), etc.
• Demand for a product X (Dx) is a function of price of the commodity X (Px), income of the consumer (Y), price of
related (substitutes or complements) commodities (Po), tastes and preference of the consumer (T), advertising
(A), future expectations (Ef), population and economic growth (N).
• The law of demand states that the consumers will buy more of the commodity when prices are high and less
when prices are low, provided all the other factors of demand remains constant.
• The law of supply states that firms will sell more of the commodity when prices are high and less of the
commodity when prices are low provided all the other factors of supply remains constant.
• Supply of a product X (Sx) is a function of price of the product (Px), cost of production (C), state of technology (T),
Government policy regarding taxes and subsidies (G), other factors like number of firms (N).
• Market equilibrium occurs where demand and supply are equal. This equilibrium determines the price in the
market through the forces of demand and supply. Comparative statics is the process of comparison between
two equilibrium situations.
