Question

Consider the market for plane tickets to Hawaii. A bad winter in the mainland United States increases demand for tropical vacations, shifting the demand curve to the right. The supply curve stays constant. Total surplus will:

Answer 1

Answer:

Increase

Explanation:

Consumer surplus means the difference between the highest price a consumer is willing to pay and the actual market price of a product

Producer surplus means the difference between the market price and the lowest price a producer is willing to take for his product.

The addition of the two gives total surplus which is also known as economic surplus.

In economics, market price and quantity of a good are obtained when supply and demand curves intersect. The space before the intersection of the two curves is where the consumer is ready to pay higher than the price which suppliers is ready to a given quantity the good. There is therefore surplus for both of them at the market price.

If the demand curve shifts to the right while the supply curve remains constant, the market price will rise and this will lead to increase both consumer and producer surplus increase. By implication, total surplus will rise since it is the addition of both consumer and producer surplus.

Therefore, total surplus will increase if a bad winter in the mainland United States increases demand for tropical vacations, which shifts the demand curve to the right while the supply curve stays constant.

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