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OPEC: The common abbreviation for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is an international organization of more than a dozen nations located primarily in the Middle East, Africa, and Central America that controls a sizeable portion of the world's petroleum reserves. This control over oil reserves gives OPEC significant market control, which it has been inclined to exert from time to time. The most noted time was the 1970s. OPEC raised oil prices from a scant $2 to $3 a barrel in the early 1970s to over $30 a barrel by the end of the decade. As an group of independent oil-producing nations seeking to monopolize the market, OPEC represents a textbook example of an cartel.
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                           CONSUMER SURPLUS: The satisfaction that consumers obtain from a good over and above the price paid. This is the difference between the maximum demand price that buyers are willing to pay and the price that they actually pay. A related notion from the supply side of the market is producer surplus. Consumers' surplus is the extra satisfaction received when purchasing a good. The demand price is generally greater than the price actually paid. Most consumers under most circumstances receive some surplus of satisfaction. Even competitive markets overflowing with efficiency generate an ample amount of consumer surplus.Suppose, for example, that Duncan Thurly is willing and able to pay $3 for a Hot Momma Fudge Bananarama Ice Cream Sundae. This is his demand price. However, the going market price, the actual price that everyone pays for a Hot Momma Fudge Bananarama Ice Cream Sundae at the Hot Momma Fudge Bananarama Ice Cream Shoppe is $2. While Duncan is willing and able to pay $3, he pays only $2. He receives a $1 consumer surplus on this purchase. A Visual RepresentationThe demand curve for Yellow Tarantulas, a cute and cuddly creature from the Wacky Willy Stuffed Amigos line of collectibles, presented in this exhibit can be used to illustrate consumer surplus.The demand price of Yellow Tarantulas is measured on the vertical axis and the quantity demanded is measured on the horizontal axis. The negatively-sloped demand curve captures the law of demand relation between these two variables. Key to this discussion, the demand price represents the maximum price that buyers are willing and able to pay. However, they often end up paying less.For example, if the quantity demanded is 20 Yellow Tarantulas, then the demand price is $40. However, if the quantity demanded is 80 Yellow Tarantulas, then the demand price is $10. Now suppose that the going market price of Yellow Tarantulas is $30. If so, buyers are willing and able to purchase 40 Yellow Tarantulas. Click the [Going Price] button to highlight this situation. However, while the demand price for the 40th Yellow Tarantula is $30, the demand prices for the other 30 Yellow Tarantulas are greater than $30. For example, the buyer who purchased the 20th Yellow Tarantula is willing and able to pay $40. Yet, because the market price is only $30, the 20th Yellow Tarantula is purchased for $10 less than the maximum demand price. The difference between the demand price and the price paid is consumer surplus. This particular buyer gains $10 worth of consumer surplus. In fact, every Yellow Tarantula sold up to the 40th generates consumer surplus for the buyer. The 40th Yellow Tarantula is the only one with a match between demand price and price paid and no consumer surplus. The total consumer surplus associated with a $30 price can be revealed by clicking the [Consumers' Surplus] button in the exhibit. The yellow triangle beneath the demand curve, but above the $30 price, is the consumer surplus. The size of this consumer surplus triangle--while probably evident, but worth stating and demonstrating explicitly--depends on the price of the good. A higher price results in a smaller consumers's surplus and a lower price generates a larger consumer surplus. A click of the [Higher] and [Lower] buttons will reveal these alternatives. Producers' SurplusA comparable surplus from the supply side of the market is producer surplus. It too exists in efficient, competitive markets. As a matter of fact, an efficient market is one that generates the maximum total amount of consumers' and producer surpluses. A market that falls short of the maximum is NOT efficient.
Recommended Citation:CONSUMER SURPLUS, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2018. [Accessed: June 23, 2018].
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ORANGE REBELOON
[What's This?]
Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time wandering around the shopping mall wanting to buy either a dozen high trajectory optic orange golf balls or a large red and white striped beach towel. Be on the lookout for celebrities who speak directly to you through your television.
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Potato chips were invented in 1853 by a irritated chef repeatedly seeking to appease the hard to please Cornelius Vanderbilt who demanded french fried potatoes that were thinner and crisper than normal.
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"The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those that fail. " -- Napoleon Hill, author
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BACS
Bankers Automated Clearing Services
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