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QUESTION:

Individual and market supply

Suppose that Kevin and Maria are the only suppliers of bobblehead dolls in some hypothetical market. Their annual supply schedules are given by the following table:
PriceKevin's Quantity SuppliedMaria's Quantity Supplied
(Dollars per bobblehead)(Bobbleheads)(Bobbleheads)
206
4812
61216
81420
101622
On the following graph, plot Kevin's supply of bobblehead dolls using the green points (triangle symbol). Next, plot Maria's supply of bobblehead dolls using the purple points (diamond symbol). Finally, plot the market supply of bobblehead dolls using the orange points (square symbol).
Note: Line segments will automatically connect the points. Remember to plot from left to right.

ANSWER:

Note: Line segments will automatically connect the points. Remember to plot from left to right.
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
Each point on an individual's supply curve corresponds to one of the entries in the individual’s supply schedule. For example, when the price of bobbleheads is $10, Kevin supplies 16 bobbleheads per year and Maria supplies 22 bobbleheads per year. Therefore, the point (16, 10) lies on Kevin's supply curve, and the point (22, 10) lies on Maria's supply curve.
You can find the points for the market supply curve by adding up the quantity supplied by each individual in the market. For example, when the price of bobbleheads is $10, Kevin supplies 16 bobbleheads and Maria supplies 22 bobbleheads; therefore, total market supply is 16+22=38 bobbleheads per year. Repeating this process, you can construct the following market supply schedule:
PriceKevin's Qty Supplied+Maria's Qty Supplied=Market Qty Supplied
(Dollars per bobblehead)(Bobbleheads)(Bobbleheads)(Bobbleheads)
2066
481220
6121628
8142034
10162238
Visually, this corresponds to a horizontal summation of the supply curves. In other words, although each point on an individual's supply curve refers to a price and a quantity, it's best to think of that point as the quantity the individual would sell at that price rather than as the price the individual would be willing to accept for that quantity. Therefore, to find the total quantity supplied in a market at a given price, add up the quantity supplied by each individual at that price—that is, you add the horizontal component of each point on each individual's supply curve.

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