Supply vs. Quantity Supplied: What’s the Difference?
The main difference between supply and quantity supplied is that supply is a long-term concept that considers the entire market whereas quantity supplied is a short-term concept focused on a specific quantity offered in response to a given price.
Before we move to more differences, let’s first understand Supply and Quantity Supplied:
- Supply: Supply represents the overall relationship between price and the quantity of a particular good or service that producers are willing to offer for sale in the market.
- Quantity Supplied: Quantity supplied refers to the specific amount of a good or service that a producer is willing and able to offer for sale at a particular price.
Now, let’s get to Supply vs Quantity Supplied:
Major differences between Supply and Quantity Supplied
| Supply | Quantity Supplied |
|---|---|
| Supply considers multiple factors that influence production and market conditions, such as production costs, technology, and government regulations. | Quantity supplied assumes all other factors remain constant. |
| Supply represents a relationship between price and quantity, showing how the quantity supplied changes as prices vary. | Quantity supplied focuses on a specific quantity associated with a particular price. |
| Supply is usually depicted graphically as a supply curve, showing the relationship between price and quantity supplied. | Quantity supplied is a specific point on that curve. |
| Supply is influenced by long-term factors that affect production capacity, such as investments in capital, research, and development. | Quantity supplied relates to short-term adjustments to price changes. |
| Supply is an important determinant of market equilibrium. | Quantity supplied is only one component of market equilibrium. |
So, these are the main differences between the entities.
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