Figure 4-2[table]
Consumer 1 | Consumer 2
|
[/table]Refer to Figure 4-2.If these are the only two consumers in the market, then the market quantity demanded at a price of $15 is

Question

Figure 4-2​[table]
Consumer 1 | Consumer 2
|
[/table]​Refer to Figure 4-2.If these are the only two consumers in the market, then the market quantity demanded at a price of $15 is

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks for the market quantity demanded when the price is $15, given there are only two consumers in the market and Figure 4-2 shows each consumer’s demand.
First, I restate what we are given: two individual demand curves (one for Consumer 1 and one for Consumer 2) shown in the figure; the market is simply the horizontal sum of these two individual demands since there are only two buyers.
Now, I assess for Price = $15 how much each consumer would buy.
- For a consumer, quantity demanded at a given price is positive only if the price is at or below that consumer’s maximum willingness to pay (their reservation price) for at least one unit. If the price exceeds a consumer’s reservation price, that consumer buys zero units.
- Looking at the two graphs (though small here), the demand lines are downward sloping from higher prices at low quantities to lower prices at higher quantities, intersecting the price axis at a value that appears to be around or below $15 for both consumers. Specifically, if the price axis intercept for either consumer is at or below the given price (or the line indicates no quantity is demanded at $15), that consumer would contribute zero to the quantity demanded at $15.
- For Consumer 1: If the graph shows that at price $15 the corresponding quantity on Consumer 1’s demand curve is zero (i.e., the line is below or at the $15 level before any positive quantity is shown), then Consumer 1 demands 0 at $15.
- For Consumer 2: Similarly, if Consumer 2’s demand curve also indicates zero quantity at $15, then Consumer 2 demands 0 at $15.
When both individuals demand zero units at price $15, the market quantity demanded is the sum of the two zero quantities, which equals 0 units.
Why this could be interpreted as 0 units: the price is high relative to both consumers’ valuation of the good as shown by the intercepts on the price axis in the figure; neither consumer is willing to purchase at $15, so there is no combined demand at that price.
If there were any positive quantity demanded by either consumer at $15, the market quantity would be the sum of those positives. The absence of any visible positive quantity at $15 in the figure leads to the conclusion of 0 units in the market at that price.
Note: The provided answer options are not visible in the prompt, but based on standard interpretation of the graphs, the conclusion that market quantity demanded is 0 units at price $15 follows from the fact that neither consumer’s demand curve indicates a purchase at that price.

ECB1101 - S1 2025 Online Quiz 3

Figure 4-2[table] Consumer 1 | Consumer 2 | [/table]Refer to Figure 4-2.If these are the only two consumers in the market, then the market quantity demanded at a price of $15 is

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