Producer Surplus

The Producer Surplus sums the difference between how much producers sell a product and the minimum amount they are willing to get for producing it.

Example

The inverse supply for bananas is `P = 1 + 2 Q_s`.

If a banana is sold for $5, producers will produce `Q_s = \frac{5 - 1}{2} = 2`.

The Producer Surplus is `\text{PS} = \frac{\left( 5 - 1 \right) \times 2}{2} = \frac{4 \times 2}{2} = $4`.

Question

The supply for bananas is `Q_S = \frac{P - 200}{25}`.

What is the Producer Surplus when the price is $1400?

Step 1: Quantity Supplied

At price $1400, the quantity demanded is `Q_S = \frac{P - 200}{25} = \frac{1400 - 200}{25} = 48`.

Step 2: Inverse Supply

$$ \begin{align*} Q_S &= \frac{P - 200}{25} \\ 25 Q_S &= P - 200 \\ 200 + 25 Q_S &= P \end{align*} $$

So the inverse supply curve follows the equation `P = 200 + 25 Q_S`.

Step 3: Draw the graph

Step 4: Calculate the Producer Surplus

`\text{PS} = \frac{(1400 - 200) \times 48}{2} = 28800.0`