1.2 - How Markets Work? Flashcards
What is rational decision making an area of?
Behavioural economics
What are aims for consumers and firms when making economic decisions?
Consumers - maximise their utility
Firms - maximise profits
What is a customers utility?
The total satisfaction received from consuming a good or service
What is demand?
The quantity of a food or service that consumers are able and willing to buy at a given price during a given period of time
How does demand vary?
With price.
- the lower the price the more affordable the good thus consumer demand with increase
When does a leftshift in demand occur?
When the quantity of goods demanded decreases
When does a rightshift in demand occur?
When the quantity of goods demanded increases
what are the factors that shift the demand curve? (7)
- population
- income
- related goods
- advertising
- tastes and fashions
- expectations
- seasons
What are the 3 types of demand?
- derived
- composite
- joint
What is derived demand?
The demand for one good is linked tot the demand for a related good
What is composite demand?
When the good demanded has more than one use.
What is joint demand?
When goods are bought together, thus complementary
What is diminishing marginal utility?
- downward sloping demand curve, showing the inverse relationship between price and quantity
-an extra unit of the good is consumed decreasing consumer satisfaction
What does PED stand for?
Price Elasticity of demand
What is the price elasticity of demand?
Responsiveness of a change in demand to a change in price
What is the equation for PED?
PED = % change in quantity demanded/ %change in price
What does it mean if a product has price elastic demand? 3
- Very responsive to a change in price
- the change in price leads to an even bigger change in demand
- PED is >1
What does it mean if a good has price inelastic demand?
- Demand is relatively unresponsive to a change in price
- PED <1
What does it mean if a good has unitary elastic demand?
- PED = 1
- demand curve is a curve as for a 1% decrease in the price there is a 1%increase in the quantity demanded.
What does it mean if a good has perfectly inelastic demand?
- does not change when the price changes
- PED = 0
What does it mean when a good has perfectly elastic demand?
- Demand falls to 0 when price changes
- PED = infinite
What are the 6 factors that influence the PED?
- Necessity
- Substitutes
- addictiveness or habitual consumption
- proportion of income spent on the good
- Durability of the good
- Peak and off peak demand
What is a necessity? And how does it influence the PED?
- good such as bread or electricity
- has a relatively inelastic demand.
If one the price of bread or electricity were to change the demand would not change with it thus it is inelastic, this is because it is a necessity
What is a substitute and how does it affect the PED?
If a good as more substitutes then the demand is more price elastic.
- if the price of white bread increased the demand may change as there are many substitutes for white bread. However bread in general is more price inelastic as there aren’t many substitutes for bread as a whole
How is PED effected in the long run?
Consumers have time to respond and find a substitutes so demand becomes more price elastic
How is PED affected in the short run?
Consumers don’t have time to change their mind or think about their decision thus are more likely to be more impulsive, so demand is more inelastic
How does addictiveness or habitual consumption effect the PED of a good?
Consumers may feel loyal to a brand or be addicted to a product thus continue to demand the product even if the price increases. Therefore the product is price inelastic
How does the proportion of income spent on a good effect the PED?
- If the good only takes up a small proportion of income, such as a magazine which may only have a 50p price increase, the demand is likely to be relatively price inelastic
- if the good takes up a large proportion of income, such as a car which may increase by £5,000 then it is likely to have a more price elastic demand.
How does the durability of a good affect the PED?
A good that lasts a long time has like a washing machine or mattress it has a more elastic demand because consumers wait to buy another one.
How does peak and off peak demand effect the PED of a product?
During peak times such as 9am and 5pm for trains, the demand for train tickets is more likely to be price inelastic as it may be the only method of transport to reach home from work or school, or to reach work or school.
What curve does indirect tax shift?
Supply curve.
When is a firm likely to put most of the indirect tax burden on the consumer?and why?(3)
- When the good has an inelastic PED
- because a price increase wont cause demand to fall significantly.
- this is most effective for raising government revenue
When is a firm likely to take the tax burden upon themselves?
- if the good has an elastic demand
Otherwise the demand will decrease and they will receive a decrease in revenue
What is a subsidy?
A payment from the government to firms to encourage the production of a good and to lower their average costs
How is the benefit of a subsidy divided?
To a producer in the form of increased revenue
To the consumer In the form of lower prices
What is the equation for total revenue?
Total revenue = price x quantity demanded and supplied
How is revenue affected if PED is inelastic?
A firm can raise their price without quantity sold falling significantly thus will increase total revenue.
How is revenue affected if PED is elastic?
If the firm raises their prices quantity sold will full thus will reduce the total revenue
What is income elasticity of demand?
Responsiveness of a change in demand to a change in income.
What is the equation for the YED?
YED = %change in quantity demanded / % change in income
What is an inferior good?
- Those goods which see a fall in demand as income increases.
- As income increases consumers witch to branded goods
- YED<0
What is a a normal good?
Demand increases as income increases
YED>0
What is a luxury good?
- An increase in income causes a bigger increase of demand.
- YED>1
A luxury good is also a normal good as they have an elastic income.
What is the XED?
Cross elasticity of demand, responsiveness of a change in demand of one good to a change in price of another good
What is the formula for XED?
XED = %change in quantity demanded of X / %change in price of Y
How are complimentary goods affected by the XED? What happens in close and weak compliments? 4
- have a XED<0
- if one good becomes more expensive, the quantity demanded for both goods with fall
Close compliments: a small fall in the price of good X leads to a large increase in QD of Y
Weak compliments: a larger fall in the price of good X to only a small increase in QD of Y