Allocation of Resources · 4 question types
Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)
This topic accounts for approximately 18% of your exam marks.
Supply appears alongside demand on virtually every paper; cost changes, technology, and taxes/subsidies are the most tested supply shifters.
Individual supply is the quantity one firm is willing and able to offer at each price. Market supply is the sum of all individual supplies at each price.
To build the market supply curve, the supply from every firm is added horizontally (quantities at each price are added together).
Example — At a price of £6 per kilogram of strawberries, the supply from three local farms is:
| Farm | Kg per week |
|---|---|
| Farm A | 400 |
| Farm B | 150 |
| Farm C | 250 |
| Market supply | 800 |
At a different price, each farm's individual supply would be different and the market total would change too. Plotting the market totals for every price gives the market supply curve.