Question

Consider the market for socks. The current price of a pair of plain white socks is $5.00. Two consumers, Jeff and Samir, are willing to pay $7.25 and $9.00, respectively, for a pair of plain white socks. Two sock manufacturers are willing to sell plain white socks for as little as $3.00 and $3.15 per pair. What is the total producer AND consumer surplus (i.e., social welfare) in this market

Answer 1

Answer:

$10.10

Explanation:

Consumer surplus is the difference between the willingness to pay of a consumer and the price of the product.

Consumer surplus = willingness to pay of a consumer - price of the good

Producer surplus is the difference between the price of the product and the least price the producer is willing to sell his product

Producer surplus = price of the product - least price the producer is willing to sell his product

Consumer surplus

Jeff :  $7.25 - $5 = $2.25

Samir: $9 - $5 = $4

Total consumer surplus = $2.25 + $4 = $6.25

Producer surplus

Ist manufacturer = $5 - $3 = $2

2nd manufacturer = $5 - $3.15 = $1.85

Total producer surplus = $2 + $1.85 = $3.85

Total social welfare = $3.85 + $6.25 = $10.10

I hope my answer helps you