Prices and markets. Types of market, страница 3

Эти те же самые события также привели к созданию мировых рынков. В Великобритании, например, мы знакомыс именами ведущих американских, японских, западногерманских, французских и итальянских изготовителей, также как с ведущими британскими фирмами. Первичные продукты, такие как каучук, олово, нефть, пшеница, сахар, кофе и чай продаются на мировых рынках много лет. И мы не должны упускать факт, что многие услуги, такие как банковские и страховые услуги покупаются и продаются на мировых рынках.

Ответьте на эти вопросы, основанные на тексте выше:

4.  Что такое заработная плата?

5.  Что такое рыночные силы?

6.  Какие типы рынка Вы знаете?

1.3 Demand

In the early chapters of this book, quite a lot has been said about people’s wants. We now turn rather different idea, namely, people’s demands for goods and services.

In economics, the word ‘demand’ refers to a desire for a good which is backed up by the willingness and ability to pay the price of that good or service. The important point is that firms will only continue to supply goods and services if they can sell them at prices which cover their costs. In other words, there will be supply of a good or service only if there is a demand for it – firms will not supply goods and services simply because people want them.

Demand is defined as the quantity demanded at any given price over some given period of time. For example, we could say that the demand for Good X at price of 5$ is 1000 units per week.

1.3.1 How changes in price affect demand

Experience shows that, with very few exceptions, the quantity demanded of a good increases as the price decreases. This fact is normally stated in the form of a ‘law’ of demand: ‘Other things being equal, more will be demanded at lower prices than at higher prices.’

The expression ‘other things being equal’ is a very important part of this statement. We can say with some certainly that more of a good will be demanded when its price falls if (and only if) we assume that other things do not change. If, when the price of a good falls, consumers’ incomes, or consumers’ tastes, or the prices of other goods are also changing, the effects of the fall in price become very uncertain.

For example, the effect of a fall in the price of beef on the quantity demanded could not be forecast if falls in the prices of pork and lamb were taking place at the same time. If, however, the prices of other types of meat were not expected to change, we could say with some certainly that more beef would be demanded at the lower price.

It is important to remember that whenever a statement is made about the effect of a change in price on the quantity demanded, we are always assuming that other things do not change. Figure 1.1 shows how a change in the price of a commodity affects the quantity demanded if other things do not change. The table on the right of Figure 1.1 shows how much will be demanded at different prices; it is described as a demand schedule. The graph on the left of Figure 1.1 represents a demand curve. It is obtained by plotting the figures in the demand schedule.

1.3.2 The shape of the demand curve

Why do demand curves slope downwards from left to right? Why do people buy more of a good when its price falls and less when its price rises? There are several ways of explaining the shape of a demand curve. We shall consider a fairly simple and straightforward explanation which deals with two effects of a change in price.

1. If the price of a good falls while consumers’ incomes and the prices of other goods remain unchanged, consumers will be better off. They can now buy more of this goods without having to buy less of the other goods. 2. When we make purchases we usually have to choose from a number of very similar products. Most goods have closely competing substitutes.