What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

Supply and Demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes that in a competitive market, the unit price for a particular good will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded by consumers will equal the quantity supplied by producers resulting in an economic equilibrium of price and quantity. This relationship of supply and demand can be seen in a plot of the classic supply-demand curve on the right. [1]

Definition: The law of supply and demand is a theory that explains the interaction between the sellers of a resource and the buyers for that resource.

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

What are the Supply and Demand Laws?

The Supply and Demand model has two “laws,”: the (1) Law of Demand and the (2) Law of Supply. These laws interact with each other to determine the market price and volume of goods. The key components to the theory are:

Supply and Demand Outcomes

The four (4) basic outcomes of supply and demand are: [3]

  • If demand increases and supply remains unchanged, a shortage occurs, leading to a higher equilibrium price.
  • If demand decreases and supply remains unchanged, a surplus occurs, leading to a lower equilibrium price.
  • If demand remains unchanged and supply increases, a surplus occurs, leading to a lower equilibrium price.
  • If demand remains unchanged and supply decreases, a shortage occurs, leading to a higher equilibrium price.

(1) What is the Law of Demand?

The Law of Demand refers to the number of products that people are willing to buy at different prices at a specific time. The law states that the higher the price of a product the fewer people will demand the product.  As a consumer, the higher a product costs the less the amount of the product the consumer will purchase. This means the opportunity cost of buying that product goes down. [2]

Factors that have influence over the supply are:

  • Consumer Preference
  • Influence
  • Number of Sellers
  • Taxes and Regulations

(2) What is the Law of Supply?

Supply refers to the quantities of product manufactures or owners are willing to sell at different prices at a specific time.  The higher the price will result in higher the quantity supplied. As a seller, the opportunity cost of each product they sell is higher so they want to sell more and producers want to produce more. [1]

Factors that have influence over the supply are:

  • Labor and Materials costs
  • Technology availability
  • Number of sellers
  • Capacity
  • Taxes and Regulations

What is Supply and Demand Equilibrium?

The market price is the intersection of the demand price and quantities of products manufactured and the intersection are called the equilibrium price or Market Clearing Price. The equilibrium price is the price at which the producer can sell all the units he wants to produce and the buyer can buy all the units he wants.

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

It is visualized on a chart at the intersection of the supply and demand curve. This intersection is the market price at which suppliers bring to market that same quantity of product that consumers will be willing to buy. They then say the Supply and Demand are in equilibrium.  [1]

Purpose of the Supply and Demand Theory

The purpose of the Supply and Demand theory is to help people, businesses, bankers, investors, entrepreneurs, economists, government, and others understand and predict conditions in the market for best optimization.

Updated: 6/27/2021

Rank: G16.9

(I) Both Demand and Supply Decrease:

Case 1: Decrease in Demand = Decrease in Supply:

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

Case 2: Decrease in Demand > Decrease in Supply:

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

Case 3: Decrease in Demand < Decrease in Supply:

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

(II) Both Demand and Supply Increase:

Case 1: Increase in Demand = Increase in Supply:

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

Case 2: Increase in Demand > Increase in Supply:

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

Case 3: Increase in Demand < Increase in Supply:

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

(III) Demand decreases and Supply increases:

Case 1: Decrease in Demand = Increase in Supply:

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

Case 2: Decrease in Demand > Increase in Supply:

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

(IV) Demand increases and Supply decreases:

Case 1: Increase in demand = Decrease in supply:

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

Case 2: Increase in Demand > Decrease in Supply:

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?

Case 3: Increase in Demand < Decrease in Supply:

What happens when demand decreases more than supply?