The benefit that accrues to a buyer or seller as a result of trading one good for another is referred to as what?

The term that describes the benefit that accrues to a buyer or seller as a result of trading one good for another is known as "gains from trade." This concept is rooted in the idea that when individuals or parties engage in voluntary exchanges, both sides typically end up better off. The buyer values the good they acquire more than the money they spend, and the seller values the money received more than the good they relinquish.

Gains from trade illustrate how trade allows individuals to specialize in producing goods and services for which they have a comparative advantage, leading to increased overall efficiency and satisfaction. When participants in a market trade, they are able to access a wider variety of goods and services, resulting in mutual benefits and enhanced economic welfare.

The other options pertain to different economic concepts: price elasticity refers to the responsiveness of demand or supply to changes in price, market equilibrium is the state where supply equals demand, and marginal cost represents the change in total cost that arises from producing one additional unit of a good or service. Each of these concepts is important in the study of economics, but they do not specifically address the benefits derived from trade.