|| Demand || Theory of Demand: desire, willingness and ability to pay for a commodity

Meaning of Demand


Demand is not the same as desire or need. Demand for a commodity means desire, willingness and ability to pay. For example, a poor man's desire and willingness to pay for a car is not demand since he does not have ability to pay. Similarly, a person's ability to pay for a car is not demand since he does not have willingness and desire to buy a car. The demand for any commodity is the desire for that commodity baked by willingness and ability to pay. Thus, demand means effective demand, in the sense of being able and willing to buy. Only this affects the volume of sales. 

According to Fredric Benham, "The demand for anything, at a given price is the amount of it which will be bought per unit of time at that price."

In the words of Pappas and Brigham, "The term demand is defined as the number of units of particular goods or service that consumers are willing to purchase during a specific period and under a given set of conditions."

According to Milton H. Spencer, "Demand is the quantity that will be purchased of particular commodity at various prices, at a given time and place."

Thus, demand is always defined with reference to a particular time and given values of variables on which it depends. Two things should be noted in the definition:

First, demand always means demand per unit of time. The time period might be a month or year. We must specify the period for which the commodity is being demanded. The statement that demand for ghee in Kathmandu is 1000kg at Rs. 50 per kg, has no significance unless we state clearly the period for which this quantity is being demanded.

Second, the condition on which the things is demanded should be specified. The conditions would include the price of the good in question, price and availability of competitive goods, expectations of price changes, income, tastes and preference, advertising expenditures and so on. The demand for the product depends on all these factors. For example, the term demand has no significance unless it is related to price. The statement that the weekly demand for ghee in Kathmandu is 1000kg is meaningless unless we specify the price at which the quantity is being demanded by the customers of Kathmandu. The demand may be fairly small if the price is high.

Derivation of Individual and Market Demand Curve

The process of derivation of individual and market demand curve has been explained as follows:

Derivation of Individual Demand Curve


The individual demand schedule is a schedule of prices of commodity and the demand for the commodity made by an individual. Similarly, individual demand curve is the schedule of different quantities of goods demanded by an individual at different prices. The demand schedule shows the relationship between the prices of the commodity and the quantity demanded. The individual demand (for sugar) schedule has been presented in table below:

Individual Demand Schedule
Price ($ Per kg)Quantity Demanded (kg per month)
2
4
6
8
10
12
14 
10
7
5
3
2

As shown in the table, the quantity demanded of sugar at price $2 per kg is 14 kg, at $4 is 10kg, at $6 is 7kg, and so on. It shows that the quantity demanded increase with fall in price.

The individual demand curve is derived on the basis of this demand schedule. The individual demand curve DD has been derived in the following figure on the basis of above table.


In the given figure, OY axis represents price of sugar and OX axis represents quantity demanded DD is the demand curve. It shows that the quantity demanded is 14kg at price $2, 10kg at $4, 7kg at $6, 5kg at $8 and so on. In this way, the demand curve shows the relationship between price of the commodity and quantity demanded. According to R. G. Lipsey, "The demand curve for a commodity shows the relation between its price and a quantity a household wishes to purchase per period of time."

The demand curve has the following characteristics:
  • Traditionally, the price level is shown along the vertical axis and the quantity demanded is shown along the horizontal axis.
  • The demand curve may show the demand of an individual or the group of consumers in the market.
  • The demand curve assumes that there is no change in the value of other relevant variables. This means that the prices of other goods, income of the consumers and taste of consumers are assumed to be constant.
  • In general, the demand curve has negative slope, or the demand curve slopes downwards. This means that people demand more at lower prices.

The law of demand implies this. But there are two exceptions to this:
a) The situation of snob appeal – as for example, the expensive jewelry are demanded more at higher prices, but demanded less at lower prices due to the fall in snob appeal. 

b) The situation in which consumers judge quality by price – as for example, if the consumers do not have ability to judge the quality of the products directly, they use price as the quality. Hence, demand may fall when price falls.

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Market Economy : Concept, Features and Functions of Market Economy

Concept of Market Economy

The resources are limited in the society. Hence, throughout history, every society has faced the fundamental economic problem of deciding what to produce, and for whom. According to R.G. Lipsey and C. Harbury, "the term economic system refers to a distinctive set of social and institutional arrangements within which answers are provided by determining how resources are allocated."

In the 20th century, two competing economic systems were used for the solution of these problems: command economies directed by a centralized government and market economies based on private enterprise. The market economies are prevalent in North America, Western Europe and Japan. The command economies were prevalent in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and parts of Asia over the past half-century.

At present in the last decade of 20th century, the command economy has been found to be a failure. It has "failed to sustain economic growth, to achieve a measure of prosperity, or even to provide economic security for its citizens."

The market economies are, by nature, decentralized, flexible, practical and changeable. The central fact about market economies is that there is no center. The 'invisible hand' works in the private market place. The market economies are based on the principle of individual freedom: freedom as a consumer to choose among competing products and services, freedom as a producer to start or expand business and share its risks and rewards, freedom to choose a job, join a labor union or change employers.

According to R.G. Lipsey and C. Harbury, "In a type of economic system all decisions about resource allocation are made without any central direction but, instead, as a result of innumerable independent decisions taken by individual producers and consumers: such a system is known as a market economy."

Functioning of Market Economy

The functioning of a market economy may be described as follows: 

Production


Decision in command economies the economic planners, production experts and political officials establish production levels of goods and designate which factories will produce them. The central planning committees establish the prices of the products and wages for the workers who produce them. It is the set of central decisions that determines the quantity, variety and prices of products. Due to this, there either shortages or surpluses of the products in the economy. The planning authorities are unable to make efficient decisions when number of people, products increase and the production technologies change rapidly.

The phenomenon of command economies does not happen in the market economy. In a market economy, government ministry, or planners do not decide the quantity, quality, and design of the products. Anyone individual or company, can decide and sell products. This leads to direct competition between different firms producing the products. Competition is the heart of market economies. Due to competition there are different products available to the consumers. 

Pricing Decision


Another key point about market economies is that the planning committee does not fix the prices of products. The sellers are free to raise or lower prices according to changing market conditions. When products become scarce, the price usually rises. The price increase accomplishes two things at the same time. 

The price rise makes the product more expensive compared to other products. Hence, some consumers will choose fewer of them. 

The higher price goes directly to the producers and sellers. Hence the higher price increases the profits of the firms enabling them to produce and sell more goods. Attracted by high price, other firms will also begin to make the popular product. 

Incentives


The higher prices give every consumer and producer incentive to respond. Because, they are allowed to reap the benefits of their own decisions while also bearing the associated risks and costs. For example, the consumers willing to pay the higher prices can get the popular product. But they have to give up more money and other goods and services to do so.

On the production side, the firms making popular products can sell them at competitive prices and earn profits. The producers who make unwanted products or produce inefficiently incur losses. Eventually, they must either learn to produce efficiently or will go out of business. In sum, the economic incentives work in a market economy. 

Efficient Resource Allocation


The consumers, producers and workers all work in their own self-interest in open and competitive markets. They use their economic resources in ways that have the greatest value to the national economy. They are useful in satisfying more of people's wants. The first person to point out this fact in a systematic way was the great classical economist Adam Smith. He published his famous book 'An Enquiry Into The Nature and Causes of Wealth of Nations,’ in 1776. He was first to describe how an economy based on a system of market could promote economic efficiency and individual freedom.

Smith described the feature of market economics in these words, "People are led as if by an invisible hand" to work and behave in ways that use resources efficiently, in terms of producing things that other people want and are willing to pay for, even though that may have been "no part of their original intentions". In market economies, with a decentralized system of private markets, resources are efficiently allocated to satisfy consumer demands.

Despite many benefits of market economy, it provides no magic solutions. "The market economies are by no means immune to issues such as inflation, unemployment, pollution, poverty and barriers to international trade". Hence, the government will have to play a critical role in helping correct problems that cannot be fully solved by a system of private markets.

Features of Market Economy


Two major types of economic system are command and market economies. In command economies, resources are allocated by decisions taken by central planners. In market economies, the allocation of resources is determined by decentralized decisions coordinated through the price mechanism.

The basic features of market economy are as follows:
  1. Decentralized decision-taking: In a market economy, decisions relating to basic economic issues are decentralized. But they are coordinated. The main coordinating device is the set of market-determined prices. 
  2. Freedom of enterprise: People are free to choose nay occupation or take up any business according to self-interest. 
  3. Profit motive: The economic activities are undertaken with the aim of earning profit. People themselves borne the risk and return of business. 
  4. Consumer's sovereignty: The consumer is the king in the sense that they have complete freedom in making choice of the products. 
  5. Price mechanism: The price mechanism guides producers and consumers in making production and consumption decisions. The price system is the coordinator of decisions. Every day millions of people independently make millions of decisions relating to consumption and production. Most of these decisions are not motivated by a desire to contribute to the social good, but by the consideration of self-interest. The price system coordinates these decentralized decisions. Due to this the whole system is sensitive to whishes of the individuals who compose it. Price is a signaling device, which give signals about scarcities and surpluses. 
  6. Perfect competition: There is perfect competition in the market between producers, consumers and consumers and producers. 
  7. Specialization in production: There is specialization in production. It is accompanied by freedom to exchange what is produced among individuals. 
  8. Market-determined prices: The most remarkable feature of the market economy is that it requires no planning authority to allocate resources. The key to the whole process is to be found in the role of prices. The prices perform the crucial function of providing signals that help to determine the allocation of resources. 
  9. Lack of conscious direction: The market economy fulfills its function of coordinating decisions without any one having to understand how it works. For example, a farmer need not know how many people eat rice and where they live. He needs to know only the cost of production and price of rice. By responding to such public signals as the costs and prices of what he buys and sells, the farmer helps the whole economy fit together, to produce what people want, and to provide it where and when they want it. 
  10. Laissez-faire: There is what is called laissez-faire in the market economy. This French expression describes the belief that the market economy would perform most efficiently if left free from government intervention. Adam Smith opined that the 'hidden hand' of market forces should be allowed to govern the economy.

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Most important components that affect to the buying behavior of a consumer

Most important components that affect to the buying behavior of a consumer

There are many major factors that affect consumer buying decision. The major components affecting consumer buying decisions are as follows:

A. Economic Factors: Buying decision primarily depends upon the several economic factors. They are as follows:
  1. Personal income: The ability of the consumers to pay money depends upon the level of their personal income. The higher the level of income, the higher will be the purchasing power and the lower the income, the lower will be the purchasing power.
  2. Income of other members of the family: In a joint family like Nepalese societies, change in income of one family may affect the buying capacity of another member of the same family.
  3. Expected future income: Expectation of future income determines the buying behavior of the consumer.
  4. Liquid assets: When a consumer posses adequate liquid assets, he will be able and willing to spend more on goods and services although his regular income is minimum. Bank balance, short term bank deposit, share, Government bonds, etc. are the examples of consumer liquid assets.
  5. Credit facility: If adequate credit facility is available to the consumer, he will tend to spend more on goods and services although his regular income is low. Refrigerators, cars, scooters and TV, washing machine are sold on an installment basis. Cellular phones are also provided on installment basis.

B. Demographic Factors: Buying decision is affected and determined by demographic factors also. They include the following factors:
  1. Age and life cycle stage: Consumer buys different goods and services over their life time. Consumption is also shaped by the stage of the family life cycle. For instance, a young person is usually fashion conscious, while a middle-aged person is usually status conscious.
  2. Occupation: A person’s buying behavioral pattern is also influenced by his occupation. For example, a company president will buy expensive suit, credit card membership etc.
  3. Gender (Sex): The product needs of male and a female significantly differ.
  4. Life style: Life style is defined as the patterns in which people live and spend time and money. Life style is concerned with the overt actions and behavior of consumers. The life-style categories are different from one person to the other.

C. Socio-cultural Factors:
a) Social factors: The major social factors that affect consumer behavior are as follows: 
  1. Reference group: It is a relatively small social group to which person belongs or aspires to belong and that provide guides to acceptable beliefs, values, attitudes and behavior. Well known athletes, players, musicians, actors, and professionally successful people are reference groups. They influence product and brand choice.
  2. Family: It is also considered as one of the strongest sources of group influence for the individual consumer. The joint family is the most common form family system in Nepal. From the marketers point of view the decision making role in the joint family system is being played by the oldest member of the family.
  3. Roles and status: A person participates in many groups throughout the life. The person’s position in each group can be defined in terms of roles and status. A role consists of activities that a person is expected to perform according to the persons around him. Each role carries a status. A manager has more status than a salesman. Marketers are aware of status symbol potential of products and brands. However, status symbol varies for social classes and also geographically. On the basis of roles and status marketers target their product.
b) Cultural Factors: The major cultural factors that affect consumer’s behavior are as follows:
  1. Culture: Culture is an important determinant of human behavior in the society. Marketers need to understand the major characteristics of culture such as: cultural values keep on changing through the passage of time and they are shared by the society as a whole.
  2. Sub-culture: Sub-cultures include nationality, ethnic group and geographical regions. Many sub cultures make up important market segments and marketers often design product and marketing programmes tailored to their needs. They influence food preferences, clothing choices, recreation etc.
  3. Social class: It is identified as relatively permanent homogeneous group of people having certain identifiable characteristics. There are three types of social classes:
    1. High class
    2. Middle class
    3. Lower class
The marketer has to study the behavioral patterns of these classes so as to formulate marketing strategy and promotional communication.

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Patterns of Target Market Selection

Patterns of Target Market Selection


After evaluating the segments on the basis of segment potential, competitor’s position and potential goal and objective achievement, the firm can select the segment that will be the target market(s). The firm can consider five patterns of target market selection. They are as follows: 

1. Single segment concentration: In the simplest case, the firm selects a single segment. It is also called as concentrated marketing (see following figure)

Single Segment Concentration

Through single segment concentration strategy, the firm achieves a strong market position in the segment owing to its greater knowledge of the segment’s needs and the special reputation it gains. Furthermore, the firm enjoys operating economies through specializing its production, distribution and promotion. As it captures leadership in the segment, the firm can earn a high return on its investment. At the same time, concentrated marketing involves higher than normal risks. The particular market segment can turn bitter.

2. Selective specialization: In this strategy, the firm selects a number of segments (see following figure), each objectively attractive and appropriate, given the firm’s objectives and resources. There may be little or no synergy between segments but each segment promises to be a money maker.

Selective Specialization

This strategy has the advantage of diversifying the firm’s risk. Even if one segment becomes unattractive, the firm can continue to earn money in other segments.

3. Product specialization: The firm makes a certain product that it sells to several segments (see following figure). An example would be a microscope manufacturer who sells to university, government, and commercial laboratories. The firm makes different microscopes for the different customer groups and builds a strong reputation in the specific product area. The downside risk is that the product may be supplanted by an entirely new technology.

Product Specialization

4. Market specialization: The firm concentrates on serving many needs of particular customer group (see following figure). An example would be a firm that sells an assortment of products only to university laboratories. The firm gains a strong reputation in serving this customer group and becomes a channel for addition products the customer group can use. The downside risk is that the customer group may suffer budget cuts.

Market Specialization

5. Full market coverage: When a company decides to enter all or at least most segments, full coverage market segmentations is used. This is a high sales strategy, since greater penetration into each segment is combined with broad coverage of a total market (see following figure).
Full Market Coverage

Extensive resources are required to implement the strategy because it affords limited opportunity for economies of scale. Full coverage market segmentation is therefore most likely to be adopted by a large organization.

6. Niche marketing: The niches are the market segment that has been neglected by large organizations. Market niches are identified by dividing the market segments into sub-segments or by identifying customer groups whose needs have not been met by the large organizations.

Niche Marketing

Many companies succeed by producing a specialized product aimed at a much focused segment of market (or ‘niche’). In this pattern an organization concentrates on niche market segments to exploit market opportunities.

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