Elasticity Flashcards
What are the 4 elasticities?
-price elasticity of demand
-price elasticity of supply
-income elasticity of demand
-cross elasticity
What is price elasticity of demand?
-the responsiveness of demand to changes in price
How do you calculate price elasticity of demand ?
% change in quantity demanded / % change in price
When is it inelastic?
If the answer is between 0 and -1
When it is elastic?
If the answer is between -1 and Infinity
What type of answer is price elasticity?
Always a negative answer
What would happen if demand price is elastic?
-increasing price would reduce TR (total revenue)
-reducing price would increase TR
What would happen if demand price is inelastic?
-increasing price would increase TR
-reducing price would reduce TR
How is something unitary elastic?
-if it =1
-when % change in quantity demanded is the same as % change in price)
How is something perfectly inelastic?
-if it =0
-when % change in quantity demanded stays the same no matter the change in price)
How is something perfectly elastic?
-if it = infinite
-when % change quantity demanded drops completely if there is any change in price
What are the likely determinants of elasticity of demand?
-time period
-number and closeness of substitutes
-the proportion of income taken up by the product
-luxury or necessity
-habit forming
What is price elasticity of supply?
The responsiveness of supply to a change in price
Will price elasticity of supply be positive or negative?
Always positive
Is an elastic supply a steep line on a graph or a shallow line?
Elastic supply = shallow line