This chapter has analyzed supply and demand in a single market. Although our discussion has centered around the market for ice cream, the lessons learned here apply in most other markets as well. Whenever you go to a store to buy something you are contributing to the demand for that item. Whenever you look for a job you are contributing to the supply of labor services. Because supply and demand are such pervasive economic phenomena the model of supply and demand is a powerful tool for analysis. We will be using this model repeatedly in the following chapters. One of the Ten Principles of Economics discussed in Chapter 1 is that markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity. Although it is still too early to judge whether market outcomes are good or bad in this chapter we have begun to see hoe markets work. In any economic system scarce resources have to be allocated among competing uses. Market economics harness the forc...