微观经济学（N. Gregory Mankiw）教学课件ch07.pdfVIP

CONSUMERS, PRODUCERS, AND THE EFFICIENCY OF MARKETS 0 C H A P T E R 7 Consumers, Producers, and the Efficiency of Markets P R I N C I P L E S O F Economics N. Gregory Mankiw bannannan@dufe.edu.cn © 2009 South- Western, a part of Cengage Learning, all rights reserved  So far, however, we have described the way markets allocate scarce resources without directly addressing the question of whether these market allocations are desirable.  In other words, our analysis has been positive(what is) rather than normative(what should be).  Whether the market allocation is desirable can be addressed by welfare economics. CONSUMERS, PRODUCERS, AND THE EFFICIENCY OF MARKETS 2 Welfare Economics  Welfare economics is the study of how the allocation of resources affects economic well- being.  We begin by examining the benefits that buyers and sellers receive from taking part in a market.  The equilibrium of supply and demand in a market maximizes the total benefits/welfare received by buyers and sellers. CONSUMERS, PRODUCERS, AND THE EFFICIENCY OF MARKETS 3 Welfare Economics  Consumer Surplus measures economic welfare from the buyer’s side.  Producer Surplus measures economic welfare from the seller’s side. CONSUMERS, PRODUCERS, AND THE EFFICIENCY OF MARKETS 4 Willingness to Pay (WTP) Willingness to pay is the maximum amount that a buyer will pay for a good. It measures how much the buyer values the good. Buyer WTP Four Possible Buyers John $100 Willingness to Pay Paul 80 George 70 Ring