Question

What is the difference between supply and quantity supplied?

Short answer

Supply is the total amount of a product or service that producers are willing and able to offer at various prices, represented as a curve in a graph. Quantity supplied is a specific quantity offered at a specific price, representing a single point on the supply curve.

Step-by-step solution

Define Supply

Supply in an economic context refers to the quantity of a specific product or service that entities are willing and able to make available in the market at varying price points. This is typically represented in the form of a supply curve where increasing prices generally indicate a greater willingness to supply more of a product or service.

Define Quantity Supplied

Quantity Supplied, on the other hand, refers to a specific quantity that a supplier is willing and able to offer in the market at a specific price. Thus, quantity supplied is a point on the supply curve.

Highlight the Difference

The primary difference between supply and quantity supplied is that supply refers to the entire curve in the graph, showing various quantities that suppliers are willing to provide at different price levels. In contrast, quantity supplied represents a single point on that curve, where a specific quantity is offered at a specific price. In other words, supply refers to the broader market behavior, while quantity supplied pertains to an individual producer's action at a particular price point.