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LEADING ECONOMIC INDICATOR: One of eleven economic statistics that tend to move up or down a few months before the expansions and contractions of the business cycle. These leading indicators are -- manufacturers new orders, an index of vendor performance, orders for plant and equipment, Standard & Poor's 500 index of stock prices, new building permits, durable goods manufacturers unfilled orders, the money supply, change in materials prices, average workweek in manufacturing, changes in business and consumer credit, a consumer confidence index, and initial claims for unemployment insurance. Leading indicators indicate what the aggregate economy is likely to do, business-cycle-wise, 3 to 12 months down the road. When leading indicators rise today, then the rest of the economy is likely to rise in the coming year. And when leading indicators decline, then the economy is likely to decline in 3 to 12 months.
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                           SUPPLY CURVE: A graphical representation of the relation between the supply price and quantity supplied, holding all ceteris paribus supply determinants constant. A supply curve graphically illustrates the law of supply, the direct relation between supply price and quantity supplied for a particular good. It is one half of the standard market model. A demand curve is the other half. A supply curve is a useful graph that can summarize several of the more important aspects of supply. It graphically illustrates the law of supply and when combined with the demand curve forms the market model, one of the most useful tools found in economic analysis.Plotting the NumbersA supply curve is commonly derived from a simple supply schedule, such as the one for stuffed Yellow Tarantulas, a cute and cuddly stuffed creature from the Wacky Willy Stuffed Amigos line of collectibles, shown in this exhibit. This schedule illustrates the law of supply relation between supply price and quantity supplied. As the supply price increases from $5 to $50, the quantity supplied increases from 0 to 900 Yellow Tarantulas.
| Supply Schedule | Supply Curve |  |  |
Transferring the price-quantity pairs from the supply schedule to a graph reveals the supply curve for stuffed Yellow Tarantulas. This task is easily accomplished by clicking the [Plot] button. A $5 price is associated with 0 stuffed animals, a $10 price goes with 100 stuffed animals, and on it proceeds, until finally a $50 price is paired with 900 stuffed animals.The supply curve is finalized by connecting these 10 points with a continuous line. The 10 prices corresponding to these 10 points, are but 10 of an infinite number of prices, each with a corresponding quantity. A continuous line includes these other possibilities. To reveal this line, click the [Draw] button. The end result is the supply curve. What It All Means |
Here are a few observations about this supply curve. - First, as the price increases from a low of $5 to a high of $50, the quantity supplied of Yellow Tarantulas increases from 0 to 900. Higher prices are related to larger quantities. This relation, this direct relation between supply price and quantity supplied, IS the basic law of supply.
- Second, the supply curve represents maximum quantities and minimum prices. That is, if the price is $10, then the maximum quantity supplied is 100 Yellow Tarantulas. It is not 150, nor even 101, but only 100. Alternatively, if sellers offer 100 Yellow Tarantulas for sale, then the minimum supply price they are willing and able to accept is $10, not $5, not even $9.99, but $10.
- Third, this whole curve, every price-quantity combination on the curve, is supply. Supply is the entire range of prices and quantities, all pairs. Supply is the entire curve. In contrast, quantity supplied is any specific number of Yellow Tarantulas sellers are willing and able to sell at a specific supply price. Selecting a different price generates a different quantity supplied. Quantity supplied is a point on the curve.
- Fourth, this supply curve represents hypothetical possibilities. It suggests a "What if" relation between supply price and quantity supplied. It indicates quantity supplied given a supply price, or supply price given the quantity supplied. If, for example, the supply price is $10, then sellers are willing and able to sell 100 Yellow Tarantulas. This does not mean that sellers will sell, are selling, or ever will sell 100 Yellow Tarantulas. It only indicates what they would sell at a $10 price.
Recommended Citation:SUPPLY CURVE, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2026. [Accessed: May 18, 2026].
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PURPLE SMARPHIN
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Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time strolling through a department store seeking to buy either a tall storage cabinet with five shelves and a secure lock or a birthday greeting card for your grandmother. Be on the lookout for deranged pelicans.
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Approximately three-fourths of the U.S. paper currency in circular contains traces of cocaine.
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"Nobody can be successful unless he loves his work. " -- David Sarnoff, TV pioneer
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GDI
Gross Domestic Income
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