Shift vs Movement: the Central Distinction — Demand | IGCSE Economics

Exam Frequency Analysis

Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)

This topic accounts for approximately 20% of your exam marks.

stable

Very High

Stable20%

Demand is the single highest-frequency topic; demand definition, curve shifts, and factors appear on virtually every Paper 2, typically worth 10 to 18 marks.

	Movement along the demand curve	Shift of the demand curve
What changes?	The good's own price	Any non-price factor (income, tastes, related goods, expectations, population, advertising)
What does the curve do?	Stays put	Moves to a new position
What do we call the change?	Extension (price ↓) or contraction (price ↑)	Increase in demand (rightward) or decrease in demand (leftward)
What changes on the diagram?	The point on the curve	The whole curve
Vocabulary	"change in quantity demanded"	"change in demand"

Example — Distinguish a movement along a demand curve from a shift of a demand curve. (3 marks)

A full-mark answer covers all three components:

Movement along the demand curve is caused by a change in the good's own price. For example, if the price of petrol rises from £1.50 to £1.80 per litre, the quantity of petrol demanded falls, and the point moves up and to the left along the same curve (a contraction).
Shift of the demand curve is caused by a change in any non-price factor. For example, if average incomes rise, more consumers can afford a holiday abroad, so the demand curve for foreign holidays shifts to the right at every price.
Distinct examples (one for each), as above.