Maximum willingness-to-pay is to _________, as consumer surplus is to ___________.

The correct answer emphasizes the relationship between maximum willingness-to-pay and consumer surplus, which are both key concepts in microeconomics. Maximum willingness-to-pay refers to the highest amount a consumer is willing to spend for a good or service, effectively representing the total value or total benefit that the consumer perceives from purchasing that item. It quantifies the full extent of the consumer's valuation of the good.

On the other hand, consumer surplus is the difference between what consumers are actually willing to pay for a good and what they actually pay—essentially the net value or net benefit that consumers derive from their transactions. When consumers pay less than their maximum willingness-to-pay, the resulting consumer surplus reflects this additional benefit.

In this way, maximum willingness-to-pay relates to the overall value a consumer assigns to a product, while consumer surplus connects to the financial benefit obtained by paying less than that maximum amount. This highlights how these concepts interrelate within the framework of consumer behavior in economics.

Other options address different aspects of economic theory but do not align as accurately with the definitions and relationships between maximum willingness-to-pay and consumer surplus.