What is excess supply?

Excess supply is a form of allocative inefficiency where the supply of a good or service becomes greater than the demand for this good or service in the market. This often happens because the price for a good is set too high and thus the demand for the good falls down, as people may choose to buy alternative goods that are cheaper in price, or may forego buying the good altogether. This concept can be diagrammatically drawn on the excess supply curve.

CB
Answered by Chenab B. Economics tutor

2699 Views

See similar Economics GCSE tutors

Related Economics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Name four changes that would cause an increase in an individual consumer's demand for a good or service.


Explain the concept of price elasticity


The elasticity of supply of frozen pizzas is likely to be more elastic than the supply of fresh vegetables. Do you agree with this statement?


Which factors affect supply and demand?


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