When government laws regulate prices instead of letting market forces determine prices it is known as price control.
Effect of price floor on consumer surplus.
They may be worse off or no different.
Creates a dead weight loss.
The result is a surplus of the good due to unsold goods.
Supply and demand analysis.
Raises the price of good to the mandated price.
Reasons for setting up price floors.
When a price floor is set above the equilibrium price quantity supplied will exceed quantity demanded and excess supply or surpluses will result.
The total economic surplus equals the sum of the consumer and producer surpluses.
The effect of a price floor on consumers is more straightforward.
Producers may be better off no different or worse off as a result of the measure.
Price floors prevent a price from falling below a certain level.
Typically producers are better off.
If the price floor was set above the equilibrium.
If the price floor was set below the equilibrium price then the removal of this price floor would have no effect on producer and consumer surplus.
Price floor is enforced with an only intention of assisting producers.
However price floor has some adverse effects on the market.
This has the effect of binding that good s market.
Consumer surplus always decreases when a binding price floor is instituted in a market above the equilibrium price.
To understand how the price floors work you should have an understanding of the following.
The effect of a price floor on producers is ambiguous.
A price floor may lead to market failure if the market is not able to allocate scarce resources in an efficient manner.
Consumer and producer surplus.
Consumer surplus will only increase as long as the benefit from the lower price exceeds the costs from the resulting shortage.
But if price floor is set above market equilibrium price immediate supply surplus can be observed.
Reduces the quantity produced and consumed.
If price floor is less than market equilibrium price then it has no impact on the economy.
Consumers never gain from the measure.
Consumers are made worse off.