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SingaporeEconomics

Demand and Supply

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

Why do buyers want more of a good when its price falls?

Define demand and the law of demand, and explain why the demand curve slopes downward
A clear O-Level answer on demand and the law of demand. What effective demand means, why quantity demanded rises as price falls, the income and substitution reasons behind it, and how the demand curve is drawn.
7 min answer →

Apart from its own price, what makes consumers want more or less of a good?

Identify the factors that shift the demand curve and explain how each changes demand
A clear O-Level answer on the factors that shift demand. How income, the prices of substitutes and complements, tastes, population and expectations move the whole demand curve, and why these differ from a change in the good's own price.
8 min answer →

Apart from its own price, what makes producers offer more or less of a good?

Identify the factors that shift the supply curve and explain how each changes supply
A clear O-Level answer on the factors that shift supply. How costs of production, technology, taxes and subsidies, the number of firms, weather and the prices of other goods move the whole supply curve.
8 min answer →

When does a curve move along, and when does the whole curve shift?

Distinguish between a movement along a demand or supply curve and a shift of the whole curve
A clear O-Level answer on the difference between a movement along a curve and a shift of the whole curve. Why the good's own price causes a movement, why other determinants cause a shift, and the correct terms for each.
7 min answer →

Why are firms willing to offer more of a good when its price rises?

Define supply and the law of supply, and explain why the supply curve slopes upward
A clear O-Level answer on supply and the law of supply. What supply means, why quantity supplied rises with price, the profit and rising-cost reasons for the upward slope, and how the supply curve is drawn.
7 min answer →