chapter 4 Flashcards
Elasticity
Why do some buyers decrease purchases significantly when prices increase, while others only slightly reduce their purchases?
It depends on how much the demand for a product changes when its price changes
Price elasticity of demand
This measures how people react when the price of something changes, without anything else changing.
how to calc price elasticty of demand
(% change in quantity demanded) / (% change in price)
When price of a product increase
quantity demanded usually decreases
Because a price increase leads to a decrease in demand
price elasticity of demand is represented
by negative number
To compare demand elasticities…
, we focus on the magnitude + ignore the minus sign.
how can Demand can be categorized
inelastic, unit elastic, or elastic, ranging from zero to infinity.
perfectly inelastic demand
If quantity demanded remains unchanged when price changes which means is also price elasticity of demand is zero
Example of a good that has a perfectly inelastic demand
the demand curve is vertical line
A good has a Unit elastic demand…
If percentage change in quantity demanded equals percentage change in price→ the price elasticity of demand equal 1
price elasticity of demand is infinite.
When the quantity demanded changes a lot in response to a tiny change in price meaning
ercentage change in quantity demanded is smaller than percentage change in price:
price elasticity of demand is less than 1 → shows its inelastic demand for the good
percentage change in the quantity demanded is greater than percentage change in price:
price elasticity of demand is greater than 1 → elastic demand for the good
Factors that influence elasticity of demand
Closeness of substitutes
Proportion of income spent on the good
Time that’s gone by since a price change
At mid point of demand curve
demand is unit elastic