Illustrate the following with supply and demand curves:
a.
With
increased access to wireless technology and lighter weight, the demand for
laptop computers has increased substantially.
Laptops have also become easier and cheaper to produce as new technology
has come online. Despite the shift of
demand, prices have fallen.
b.
Cranberry production in Massachusetts totaled
1.97million barrels in 2006, a 39 percent increase from the previous year’s
production. This year’s crop yield
averaged 140.9 barrels per acre, an increase of over 40 barrels per acre from
the 2005 crop. But demand increased by
even more than supply, actually pushing 2006 prices above 2005 prices.
c.
During the high-tech boom in the late 1990’s,
San Jose office spaces was in very high demand and rents were very high. With the national recession that began in
March 2001, however, the market for office space in San Jose was hit very hard,
with rents per square foot falling. In
2005, the employment numbers from San Jose were rising slowly and rents began
to rise again. Assume for simplicity
that no new office space was built during the period.
d.
Before economic reforms were implemented in the
countries of Eastern Europe, regulation held the price of bread substantially
below equilibrium. When reforms were
implemented, prices were deregulated and the price of bread rose
dramatically. As a result, the quantity
of bread demanded fell and the quantity of bread supplied rose sharply.
e.
The steel industry has been lobbying for high
taxes on imported steel. Russia, Brazil,
and Japan have been producing and selling steel on world markets at $610 per
metric ton, well below what equilibrium would be in the US with no
imports. If no imported steel was
permitted into the country, the equilibrium price would be $970 per metric
ton. Show supply and demand curves for the
US, assuming no imports; then show what the graph would look like if US buyers
could purchase all the steel that they wanted from world markets at $610 per
metric ton; show the quantity of imported steel.