Home > Terms > English (EN) > demand
demand
One of the two words economists use most; the other is supply. These are the twin driving forces of the market economy. Demand is not just about measuring what people want; for economists, it refers to the amount of a good or service that people are both willing and able to buy. The demand curve measures the relationship between the price of a good and the amount of it demanded. Usually, as the price rises, fewer people are willing and able to buy it; in other words, demand falls (but see Giffen goods, normal goods and inferior goods). When demand changes, economists explain this in one of two ways. A movement along the demand curve occurs when a price change alters the quantity demanded; but if the price were to go back to where it was before, so would the amount demanded. A shift in the demand curve occurs when the amount demanded would be different from what it was previously at any chosen price, for example, if there is no change in the market price, but demand rises or falls. The slope of the demand curve indicates the elasticity of demand. For approaches to modeling demand see revealed preference. Policymakers seek to manipulate aggregate demand to keep the economy growing as fast as is possible without pushing up inflation. Keynesians try to manage demand through fiscal policy; monetarists prefer to use the money supply. Neither approach has been especially successful in practice, particularly when attempting to manage short-term demand through fine tuning.
- Part of Speech: noun
- Synonym(s):
- Blossary:
- Industry/Domain: Economy
- Category: Economics
- Company: The Economist
- Product:
- Acronym-Abbreviation:
Other Languages:
Member comments
Terms in the News
Billy Morgan
Sports; Snowboarding
The British snowboarder Billy Morgan has landed the sport’s first ever 1800 quadruple cork. The rider, who represented Great Britain in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, was in Livigno, Italy, when he achieved the man-oeuvre. It involves flipping four times, while body also spins with five complete rotations on a sideways or downward-facing axis. The trick ...
Marzieh Afkham
Broadcasting & receiving; News
Marzieh Afkham, who is the country’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will head a mission in east Asia, the state news agency reported. It is not clear to which country she will be posted as her appointment has yet to be announced officially. Afkham will only be the second female ambassador Iran has had. Under the last shah’s rule, Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, a ...
Weekly Packet
Language; Online services; Slang; Internet
Weekly Packet or "Paquete Semanal" as it is known in Cuba is a term used by Cubans to describe the information that is gathered from the internet outside of Cuba and saved onto hard drives to be transported into Cuba itself. Weekly Packets are then sold to Cuban's without internet access, allowing them to obtain information just days - and sometimes hours - after it ...
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Banking; Investment banking
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution established to address the need in Asia for infrastructure development. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia needs $800 billion each year for roads, ports, power plants or other infrastructure projects before 2020. Originally proposed by China in 2013, a signing ...
Spartan
Online services; Internet
Spartan is the codename given to the new Microsoft Windows 10 browser that will replace Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer. The new browser will be built from the ground up and disregard any code from the IE platform. It has a new rendering engine that is built to be compatible with how the web is written today. The name Spartan is named after the ...
Featured Terms
pyromancy
Pyromancy (from Greek pyros, "fire," and manteia, "divination") is the art of divination by means of fire. Due to the importance ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
Browers Terms By Category
- Biochemistry(4818)
- Genetic engineering(2618)
- Biomedical(4)
- Green biotechnology(4)
- Blue biotechnology(1)
Biotechnology(7445) Terms
- Ballroom(285)
- Belly dance(108)
- Cheerleading(101)
- Choreography(79)
- Historical dance(53)
- African-American(50)
Dance(760) Terms
- Hats & caps(21)
- Scarves(8)
- Gloves & mittens(8)
- Hair accessories(6)
Fashion accessories(43) Terms
- Dating(35)
- Romantic love(13)
- Platonic love(2)
- Family love(1)
Love(51) Terms
- Alcohol & Hydroxybenzene & Ether(29)
- Pigments(13)
- Organic acids(4)
- Intermediates(1)