What is the term used to define the difference between the amount the consumer is willing to pay and what the consumer actually pay for a commodity?

What is the term used to define the difference between the amount the consumer is willing to pay and what the consumer actually pay for a commodity?
   
What is the term used to define the difference between the amount the consumer is willing to pay and what the consumer actually pay for a commodity?
Definition:
Consumers' surplus is a measure of consumer welfare and is defined as the excess of social valuation of product over the price actually paid. It is measured by the area of a triangle below a demand curve and above the observed price.

Context:
Consumers' surplus is a widely used measure of consumer welfare because it only requires information on the demand curve (prices and quantities). However, there is considerable debate over the degree to which it corresponds to more theoretically appealing measures of consumer welfare. In general, consumers' surplus is more useful the lower is the income elasticity of demand.

Glossary of Industrial Organisation Economics and Competition Law, compiled by R. S. Khemani and D. M. Shapiro, commissioned by the Directorate for Financial, Fiscal and Enterprise Affairs, OECD, 1993

The difference between the price paid by an individual for a particular good or service and the maximum he would accept to pay.

United Nations, European Commission, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank , 2005, Handbook of National Accounting: Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting 2003, Studies in Methods, Series F, No.61, Rev.1, Glossary, United Nations, New York, para. 9.99.


Source Publication:
Glossary of Industrial Organisation Economics and Competition Law, compiled by R. S. Khemani and D. M. Shapiro, commissioned by the Directorate for Financial, Fiscal and Enterprise Affairs, OECD, 1993.


Statistical Theme: Financial statistics


Created on Thursday, January 3, 2002


Last updated on Monday, July 18, 2005


Here is a sample answer to this question: "Evaluate the impact of changes in price on consumer surplus."

Price Changes and Consumer Surplus

Consumer surplus measures the difference between what a consumer is willing and able to pay for a product and the price that he/she actually pays. Price changes can come about because of changes in the conditions of demand and supply. But they can also arise from government interventions in markets and changes in prices brought about by adjustments in business objectives. Some factors increase consumer surplus, whereas other factors may cause consumer surplus to fall.

Consider market demand and supply shown in the diagram. The initial level of consumer surplus = area AP1B. If there is an outward shift of supply – for example caused by an improvement in production technology or productivity, then the equilibrium price will fall, and quantity demanded will expand. This leads to an increase in consumer surplus to a new area of AP2C. The extent of the increase in consumer surplus depends on whether suppliers actually do lower their prices.

What is the term used to define the difference between the amount the consumer is willing to pay and what the consumer actually pay for a commodity?

However falling prices does not necessarily mean that consumer surplus will increase. For example, there might have been an inward shift in the demand curve perhaps caused by a fall in real disposable income. This is shown in the diagram with demand shifting inwards from D1 to D2 which leads to a fall in both equilibrium price and quantity. The area of consumer surplus drops from AP1B to EP2D.

Changes in price can also be caused by government interventions in a market. For example the UK government recently brought in the Sugar Levy which taxes manufacturers of drinks with high sugar content. A tax causes an inward shift of supply and leads to higher prices and – in theory – a fall in consumer surplus to AP2C. But this depends on whether retailers pass on the tax to consumers which depends on both the price elasticity of demand and also the strategic objectives of firms. When demand is price inelastic, the level of consumer surplus is high and a tax can cause a large transfer of consumer surplus to the government.

What is the term used to define the difference between the amount the consumer is willing to pay and what the consumer actually pay for a commodity?

What is called the difference between the price willing to pay by consumer and actual paid by consumer?

Consumer surplus is the difference between the highest price a consumer is willing to pay and the actual price they do pay for the good, or the market price.

Can be defined as the difference between the prices that a consumer is willing to pay and the price that he she actually pays for a commodity?

A consumer surplus happens when the price that consumers pay for a product or service is less than the price they're willing to pay. It's a measure of the additional benefit that consumers receive because they're paying less for something than what they were willing to pay.

What is called consumer surplus?

consumer surplus, also called social surplus and consumer's surplus, in economics, the difference between the price a consumer pays for an item and the price he would be willing to pay rather than do without it.

What is the term used for the highest amount that consumers are willing to pay?

Consumer surplus = The highest price consumers are willing to pay for a product - The product's market price. When product demand is perfectly inelastic, the consumer surplus is zero.