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October 13, 2024 

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LAW OF DIMINISHING MARGINAL UTILITY: The principle stating that as more of a good is consumed, eventually each additional unit of the good provides less additional utility--that is, marginal utility decreases. Each subsequent unit of a good is valued less than the previous one. The law of diminishing marginal utility helps explain the negative slope of the demand curve and the law of demand.

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SUPPLY PRICE:

The minimum price that sellers are willing and able to accept for a given quantity of a good. While sellers might be willing and able to accept more than the supply price for a given quantity, they are not willing and able to accept less. The supply curve is a plot of the supply price for each quantity.
Supply price is the lowest price that sellers will accept for a good. It is based on the opportunity cost that sellers incur in the production of the good. While a number a factors influence the supply price, quantity supplied tends to be among the most important. The supply price is generally higher if the quantity supplied is greater.

Getting More For Less

This notion of supply price as a minimum comes from the fundamental economic observation that people prefer more to less. As a lower limit, supply price indicates that sellers are willing to accept more for a given quantity, but not less. By accepting more for one good, sellers have extra profit remaining after paying the opportunity cost of production.

Consider the hot fudge sundae selling activities of the Hot Momma Fudge Bananarama Ice Cream Shoppe. Hot Momma Fudge is willing and able to accept $3 for a Hot Momma Fudge Bananarama Ice Cream Sundae. However, due to the opportunity cost of producing Hot Momma Fudge Bananarama Ice Cream Sundaes, Hot Momma is unable to accept a penny less than $3.

But, Hot Momma would not complain if they could sell this tasty treat for $4. They would not argue if they could make the sale for $5. In fact, they are not likely to disagree if they found it possible to sell the sundae for a price of a hundred million dollars. The more they receive, the better.

On the Supply Curve

Supply Price
Supply Price
As the minimum price that sellers are willing and able to accept, the supply price lies ON the supply curve. In essence, the supply curve is the supply price. The supply curve plots the range of supply prices for a range of different quantities.

Consider the supply curve for electronic calculators displayed in the exhibit to the right. For a quantity of 200 calculators, the supply price is $15. Would calculator sellers like to accept more than $15? Certainly. Would calculator sellers accept less than $15? No.

The story is the same for any quantity. Only the numbers differ. For a quantity of 800 calculators, the supply price is $45. Sellers are willing to accept more than $45 for this quantity, but not less.

A Lot of Supply Space

The area above the supply curve that includes all prices that sellers are willing to accept is termed the supply space. It includes all prices down to and on the supply curve. Buyers are willing and able to sell any price-quantity combination in this supply space.

If sellers are able to operate above the supply curve, such that the price paid is more than the minimum supply price, then they obtain what is called producer surplus. This is the extra revenue received by sellers over and above the opportunity cost of production.

And A Little Competition

Competition among sellers is the force that pushes the market price of a good down to the minimum supply price. This ensures efficiency, at least from the supply side of the market. With competition, sellers bid down the price until the minimum supply price is reached. If a seller is unwilling or unable to accept that price, then they do not sell the good. Moreover, buyers have no reason to buy from any sellers charging more, because competition ensures that other sellers are willing and able to charge the supply price.

<= SUPPLY INCREASESUPPLY SCHEDULE =>


Recommended Citation:

SUPPLY PRICE, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2024. [Accessed: October 13, 2024].


Check Out These Related Terms...

     | quantity supplied | law of supply | supply schedule | supply curve | supply space | producer surplus | supply determinants | change in supply | change in quantity supplied | demand price |


Or For A Little Background...

     | supply | market | price | opportunity cost | limited resources | economic analysis | exchange | scarcity | good | service |


And For Further Study...

     | market supply | quantity | competition | value | production | production possibilities | competitive market | efficiency | production cost | short-run production analysis | price elasticity of supply | marginal cost |


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