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Supply and Demand

Economics
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The relationship between available goods and consumers' desire for them.

Detailed Definition
Supply and demand describes how the quantity of goods available and the desire to buy them influence prices and production. In poetry, the phrase can illuminate the impersonal forces behind familiar costs, from bread and fuel to housing and medicine. It can also be used ironically when applied to love, attention, or art, revealing the discomfort of treating human longing as a market signal.
Example
Example in poetry:
A market poem shows supply and demand when scarce winter oranges become expensive; A speaker notes that many workers seek few jobs, illustrating how labor supply and demand can affect wages; In a love poem, high demand for attention and a limited supply of time create tension between partners; A satire about fashionable goods can show demand rising because people want what is rare, not because they need it
Additional Notes
Supply and demand help explain prices: scarce goods with high demand often cost more, while excess supply can place downward pressure on prices.
Also Known As
Law of Supply and Demand Supply-Demand
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