Consumer and producer surplus.
Effect of price floor on consumer surplus.
The total economic surplus equals the sum of the consumer and producer surpluses.
When government laws regulate prices instead of letting market forces determine prices it is known as price control.
When a price floor is set above the equilibrium price quantity supplied will exceed quantity demanded and excess supply or surpluses will result.
If price floor is less than market equilibrium price then it has no impact on the economy.
But if price floor is set above market equilibrium price immediate supply surplus can be observed.
Producers may be better off no different or worse off as a result of the measure.
Raises the price of good to the mandated price.
Price floor is enforced with an only intention of assisting producers.
Typically producers are better off.
Supply and demand analysis.
This has the effect of binding that good s market.
Consumer surplus will only increase as long as the benefit from the lower price exceeds the costs from the resulting shortage.
Consumer surplus always decreases when a binding price floor is instituted in a market above the equilibrium price.
Creates a dead weight loss.
Consumers never gain from the measure.
If the price floor was set above the equilibrium.
Consumers are made worse off.
However price floor has some adverse effects on the market.
Price floors prevent a price from falling below a certain level.
A price floor may lead to market failure if the market is not able to allocate scarce resources in an efficient manner.
They may be worse off or no different.
Reduces the quantity produced and consumed.
To understand how the price floors work you should have an understanding of the following.
The government is inflating the price of the good for which they ve set a binding price floor which will cause at least some consumers to avoid paying that price.
The effect of a price floor on consumers is more straightforward.
If the price floor was set below the equilibrium price then the removal of this price floor would have no effect on producer and consumer surplus.
The effect of a price floor on producers is ambiguous.
Reasons for setting up price floors.