Economics: Supply and the Market Supply Curve

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the fundamental concepts of market supply, individual supply curves, and the factors that cause shifts versus movements along the curve based on the lecture transcript.

Quantity Supplied

The amount of a good that sellers are willing to sell at any given price.

Supply Schedule

A table or list that reports the quantity supplied at different prices.

Supply Curve

A graphical representation of the supply schedule that plots the quantity supplied at different prices and is generally upward sloping (supply to the sky).

Market Supply Curve

The plot of the relationship between the total quantity supplied and the market price, representing the aggregate behavior of all individual suppliers in the market holding all else equal.

Input Prices

One of the factors in the bucket of all else that shifts the supply curve; for example, cheaper shipping makes it profitable to supply more at the same price.

Technology

A factor that shifts the supply curve; improvements or cheaper methods can make rigs online at lower prices, causing the supply to increase.

Number and Scale of Sellers

A factor that shifts the market supply curve; adding more sellers increases total market supply, while an exit of sellers (like Libya's production shutdown) decreases it.

Sellers' Expectations

A factor where the anticipated future price of a good affects current supply; if sellers expect prices to tank in the future, they will increase supply today.

Movement along the Supply Curve

Occurs when the price of the product itself changes while holding all other factors constant.

Shift of the Supply Curve

Occurs when a factor other than the product's price (input prices, technology, number of sellers, or expectations) changes, moving the entire curve left or right.