Question

Consider the market for socks. The current price of a pair of plain white socks is $6.00. Two consumers, Jeff and Samir, are willing to pay $7.00 and $8.50, respectively, for a pair of plain white socks. Two sock manufacturers are willing to sell plain white socks for as little as $4.50 and $5.50 per pair. What is the total producer and consumer surplus (i.e., social welfare) in this market

Answer 1

Answer:

consumer surplus = $3.5

producer surplus = $2

Explanation:

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

Consumer surplus = willingness to pay – price of the good

Jeff's consumer surplus = $7 - $6 = $1

Samir's  consumer surplus = $8.50 - $6 = $2.50

total consumer surplus = $1 + $2.50 = $3.50

Producer surplus is the difference between the price of a good and the least price the seller is willing to sell the product

Producer surplus = price – least price the seller is willing to accept

Manufacturer 1's producer surplus = $6 - $4.5 = $1.50

Manufacturer 2's producer surplus = $6 - $5.50 = $0.50

total producer surplus = $1.50 + 0.50 = $2