To what extent is (third degree) price discrimination beneficial to consumers and producers?

Third degree price discrimination refers to when a profit-maximising firm has two different prices for different demand groups, for example, a cinema would charge the student group less than what they charge the adult group. Firms can do this because different groups have various price elasticity (the more elastic a group is, the more profit the firm would make by lowering prices).
This would mean that consumers will lose out on consumer surplus because some of their surplus has been transferred to the producer due to the varying prices. Meanwhile, the area of producer surplus would have increased. This is better shown on a demand and supply curve.

AT
Answered by Acacia T. Economics tutor

3038 Views

See similar Economics A Level tutors

Related Economics A Level answers

All answers ▸

Explain a policy that may reduce inequality in the United Kingdom


Using the data in Extract A, calculate, to one decimal place, the percentage change in the total net trade balance in goods with the UK’s top five trade partners from February - April 2012 to February–April 2013.


What are public goods and how do they lead to the 'free-rider' problem?


Evaluate the usefulness a knowledge of perfect competition theory in analysing the behaviour of firms. [15]


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning