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Текст 4.2. «Supply»

(1) Broadly speaking, supply is similar to but opposite from demand. It is the quantity of a good that producers are willing and able to make/sell at all possible prices during a given time period.

(2) Supply can be thought of as the relationship between a range of prices and a range of quantities. In other words, it includes not just the quantity sold at the current price, but any and all quantities that would be sold at other prices – higher and lower. The price part of this relation is termed supply price and the quantity part is termed quantity supplied.

(3) Price is a major determinant of the amount sellers will want to sell. Because a higher price leads to higher profits, one expects that a greater quantity should be supplied when the price is higher. So we can conclude that as the price of the product rises (falls), the quantity supplied will rise (fall), all other variables remaining the same. Economists call this statement the law of supply.

(4) The law of supply can be expressed mathematically in functional form as

Qs = f (price, other factors held constant).

(5) From the law of supply it follows that the relationship between price and quantity is a direct one – that is, both quantity and price change in the same direction: the higher the price, the larger the quantity supplied. Reasons for positive relationship between price and quantity supplied are that as the price of a good increases, the good becomes more attractive to producers relative to other goods that can be produced with similar resources.

(6) As with individual demand, an individual supply for a particular good or service refers to the quantity of a good a producer/seller is willing and able to produce/sell at all possible prices within a period of time, with all other factors remaining constant. The market supply is simply the horizontal sum of the individual supplies within the marketplace. Aggregate supply is the total supply of goods and services in the economy during a specific time period.

(7) Price elasticity of supply, or simply elasticity of supply, is the degree of responsiveness with which quantity supplied changes for a given change in price. Similar to demand, if the quantity supplied changes a lot when the price changes a little, the supply is said to be (price) elastic. If the quantity changes little when the prices changes a lot, it is said to be (price) inelastic.

Задания к тексту 4.2:

1. Прочтите текст 4.2, стараясь понять его основное содержание. Составьте развернутый план текста. При необходимости, ключевые для понимания общего содержания текста и составления плана текста незнакомые слова и выражения выпишите и запомните их значения.

Форма контроля степени усвоения лексико-грамматического материала, необходимого для понимания основного содержания текста – компьютерный тест.

• Образец тестового задания к тексту 4.2:

Укажите, какие из следующих утверждений имеют смысл, исходя из содержания текста 4.2: 1. Supply is the quantity of a good that producers are willing and able to sell at various prices during a given time period. 2. If the price of the product rises, the quantity supplied will fall, ceteris paribus. 3. From the law of supply it follows: the relationship between price and quantity is an indirect one. 4. If the quantity supplied changes a lot when the price changes a little, the supply is said to be inelastic. а) все d) только второе и третье b) ни одно e) только четвертое c) только первое