Những bài viết tiếp theo sẽ bàn về cơ chế xác định giá của thị trường,
đảm bảo sao cho nguồn lực được sử dụng một cách tốt nhất.
(Saigon Times Daily ngày 17-6-2002)
5. Markets: Supply And Demand
Microeconomics is often called price theory because it focuses on the
manner in which markets operate to determine the prices of goods and
services. In microeconomics, a market is not a physical place where
exchange takes place. Instead, a market represents the interaction between
the demand and supply relationships.
Demand is the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity
demanded of that good, holding all other variables constant. Price is
measured in money per unit and quantity demanded is measured in units
consumers are willing and able to buy per time period. The law of demand
specifies that the relationship between price and quantity demanded is
inverse: as price rises, consumers decrease their quantity demanded.
Supply is the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity
supplied of that good, holding all other variables constant. Quantity
supplied is measured in units producers are willing and able to sell per time
period. The law of supply specifies that the relationship between price and
quantity supplied is direct: as price rises, producers increase their quantity
supplied.
Equilibrium occurs at the price for which the quantity demanded equals
the quantity supplied. If the market price is below the equilibrium price,
quantity demanded by consumers exceeds quantity supplied by producers;
if the market price is above the equilibrium price, quantity demanded by
consumers is less than the quantity supplied by producers. The next article
describes how markets adjust until equilibrium is achieved.
