In: Economics
Ans) Willingness to pay is the highest amount that a consumer is willing to pay for any product. If he/she is able to buy the product at a price below its willingness to pay, he/she is benefitted. This benefit is known as consumer surplus.
Consumer surplus = Willingness to pay - market price
Suppose, there are two friends Jack and Jill. They want to buy a jacket. Jack is willing to pay $80 while Jill is willing to pay $75. The market price of that jacket is $50. So the consumer surplus of Jack is $30 while consumer surplus of Jill is $25.
Further, suppose you want to buy a shirt. And you are willing to pay $50. The price of that shirt is $35. Your consumer surplus will be $15. But few days later, that shirt comes in discount and now it's price becomes $20. And if you buy that shirt, your consumer surplus will be $30.
So, we see that if price is high, consumer surplus is low. And if price is low, consumer surplus is high. That is, consumer surplus varies indirectly with price.
Option b.