<p>This is very fundamental and I'd recommend that if you're still not crystal clear about this you should talk to your TA or course instructor, since you'll have a hard time going through the course without fully grasping this.</p>

<p>The demand graph represents the relationship between price and quantity, <strong>holding everything else constant</strong>. So it's saying that as price goes up, everything else being equal, quantity demanded will go down.</p>

<p>When <em>something else</em> is changing (income, preferences, etc.), then there is usually a <strong>shift</strong> in the demand curve.</p>

<p>Bottom line: if price is the only thing that's changing (everything else is constant), it's a shift along the curve. If something else is changing, then the curve would shift.</p>

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2019-10-02T16:16:58.553Z
2019-10-02T16:16:58.553Z
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<p>Today in class, we learned about aggregate demand. However, while I understand the shifters, I am an unable to understand what actual movement along the curve represents. Why doesn't a change in price level merely shift the graph to the left or right? What even is the difference between movement along the curve vs. shifting the curve?</p>

<macroeconomics>
Aggregate Demand
Dude156
# Aggregate Demand

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-10-02)

Today in class, we learned about aggregate demand. However, while I understand the shifters, I am an unable to understand what actual movement along the curve represents. Why doesn't a change in price level merely shift the graph to the left or right? What even is the difference between movement along the curve vs. shifting the curve?

**Tags:** macroeconomics


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-10-02. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

This is very fundamental and I'd recommend that if you're still not crystal clear about this you should talk to your TA or course instructor, since you'll have a hard time going through the course without fully grasping this.

The demand graph represents the relationship between price and quantity, **holding everything else constant**. So it's saying that as price goes up, everything else being equal, quantity demanded will go down.

When *something else* is changing (income, preferences, etc.), then there is usually a **shift** in the demand curve.

Bottom line: if price is the only thing that's changing (everything else is constant), it's a shift along the curve. If something else is changing, then the curve would shift.


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