Competitive Markets
Consider a village’s competitive market for rice. The
daily market demand for rice (in bushels per day) is given by the
equation:
P = 18 – 2Q
The market supply of rice is given by the equation:
P = 3 + Q
These equations are plotted below (with some labels missing that
you will be asked to fill in):
Given this information, answer the following:
- (20 pts.) Using the equations for demand and supply given in
the instructions above, find the value of the intercepts A, B, and
C given in the figure above.
- (20 pts.) What is the price and quantity of rice in competitive
equilibrium? (In other words, find P*and
Q*.) Why is this equilibrium a Nash
equilibrium?
- (20 pts.) Is the competitive equilibrium efficient? Why or why
not?
- (20 pts.) Calculate producer and consumer surplus in
equilibrium.
- (20 pts.) Suppose now that supply increases to P = 2 +
Q. Recalculate consumer surplus given the new supply.
(HINT: Intercept B has changed.) Has consumer surplus increased or
decreased?