CCEA A-Level Economics 4410
Key Economic Concepts
The Basic Economic Problem of Scarcity and Choice
Demand and Supply in Product Markets
Markets and Equilibrium
Elasticity of Demand and Supply
Factor Markets: Labour
Market Failures and Imperfections
Government Intervention in Markets
The Circular Flow of Income
Measuring National Income
Aggregate Demand
Aggregate Supply
Macroeconomic Equilibrium
Macroeconomic Objectives
Inflation
Unemployment
Economic Growth
Fiscal Policy and Its Effects
Monetary Policy
Supply-Side Policies
Exchange Rates and the National Economy
Short Run Versus Long Run
Business Objectives
Business Growth
Measuring Markets
Analysing Market Structures
Perfect Competition
Monopoly
Monopolistic Competition
Oligopoly
Contestable Markets
Competition Policy
Trade and Globalisation
Economic Development
Balance of Payments
Exchange Rate Systems and Competitiveness
European Union (EU)
Monetary Policy and the Financial Sector
Fiscal Deficits and the National Debt
Macroeconomic Policies and Objectives in a Global Economy
Quantitative Skills in Economics
Markets and Equilibrium
Tracing effects between interrelated markets
- 1 thing to know
- Unit AS 1
Overview
Joint supply and competitive supply.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Distinguish between joint supply and competitive supply.
Model answer
In joint supply two goods are produced together from the same process, so more of one automatically brings more of the other and their supplies move in the same direction. In competitive supply two goods can be made from the same resources but not simultaneously, so devoting resources to one means less of the other and their supplies move in opposite directions. Beef and hides illustrate the first; wheat and barley on the same field illustrate the second.
- 2
Explain how the labour market and the product market for restaurant meals are interrelated in both directions.
Model answer
The demand for restaurant staff is derived from the demand for meals, so when eating out becomes more popular the demand for chefs and waiting staff shifts right and wages in the sector rise. Running in the other direction, a rise in restaurant wages raises the marginal cost of producing a meal, so the supply curve for meals shifts left and the price of meals rises. Each market therefore acts on the other, and a shock in either will be felt in both.
- 3
A new industrial use is discovered for a metal previously used only in jewellery. Analyse the effects across the affected markets.
Model answer
The metal is now in composite demand, and total demand for it shifts to the right, raising its price and the quantity mined. In the jewellery market the higher input price raises the marginal cost of production, so the supply of jewellery shifts left and its price rises while quantity falls. In the mining sector, higher prices raise profits, which attracts investment and shifts the supply of the metal right over time, moderating the price. Demand for the labour and equipment used in mining, being derived, also rises.
- 4
Explain how a rise in the world price of oil is transmitted to the market for air travel.
Model answer
Aviation fuel is refined from crude, so a higher crude price raises the price of jet fuel because crude is an input cost, not because the two are in joint supply. Fuel is a large share of an airline's operating cost, so the marginal cost of each flight rises and the supply curve for air travel shifts to the left. The equilibrium price of tickets rises and the number of journeys falls. Because demand for leisure air travel is fairly responsive to price, much of the adjustment shows up as fewer flights rather than as a full pass-through into fares.
- 5
Explain why a shock to a single commodity market can have effects across an entire economy.
Model answer
Commodities are inputs into a great many products, so their demand is derived from a wide range of markets and their prices feed into the costs of all of them. A rise in the price of oil, wheat or a key metal therefore shifts supply curves left across many industries at once, raising prices generally. Households facing higher fuel and food bills also have less to spend on other goods, shifting demand curves left elsewhere. The initial shock is amplified by the network of connections between markets.
- 6
Analyse the effect on the market for agricultural land of a large increase in demand for housing near a city.
Model answer
Land near the city is in composite demand, since the same acres can be farmed or built on. Higher housing demand raises the price developers will pay, which is greater than the return from farming, so land is transferred out of agriculture and the supply of farmland near the city shifts left. Its price rises to match the value in the alternative use. Agricultural output from the area falls, which shifts the supply of local produce left and raises its price, and the demand for farm labour in the area, being derived, falls.
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