EXCESS SUPPLY: A disequilibrium condition in a competitive market in which the quantity supplied is greater than the quantity demanded, hence there's "extra" supply. Pointy-headed economists generally use the more technical term surplus rather than excess supply. The reason, of course, is that surplus has two syllables and excess supply has four. The time saved in pronouncing two syllables rather than four is a definite efficiency plus for the entire economy. See also | market | surplus | disequilibrium | competitive market | quantity demanded | quantity supplied | price |
