Principles of Microeconomics / Unit 2 MIC 0138 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Demand as Marginal Benefit, Supply as Marginal Cost
Captions available
The idea
Demand curve height is marginal benefit, the most a buyer would pay for that unit; supply curve height is marginal cost, the least a seller takes.
In practice
At equilibrium the last unit's benefit equals its cost, unit one's rule.
Where people slip
Hence efficiency: left of equilibrium, units worth more than they cost go unmade; right of it, units worth less than they cost get made.
Your place on the trail
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