Elasticity Flashcards
What does a steep demand curve represent in terms of a consumers sensitivity to prices?
Consumers are not very price sensitive and won’t change their quantity demanded much in response to a price change
What does a shallow supply curve represent in terms of a producers sensitivity to prices?
Producers are more price sensitive, there will be big movements in the quantity supplied as the price changes
Define elasticity.
Elasticity is the ratio of the percentage change in one value to the percentage change in another
Define price elasticity of demand.
Price elasticity of demand is the ratio of the percentage change in quantity demanded resulting from a given percentage change in price
What symbols represents price elasticity of demand and supply?
ED, ES
Are slope and elasticities the same?
No
Whats the equation for the elasticity between Y and X?
EXY = X/Y ∆Y/∆X
What are two disadvantages of using slopes instead of elasticities?
- ) Slopes depend on the units of measurements
2. ) Can’t compare slopes across different products,
What is the formula for price elasticity of demand?
Price elasticity of demand = (% change in quantity demanded)/(% change in price)
What is the formula for price elasticity of supply?
Price elasticity of supply = (% change in quantity supplied)/(% change in price)
How does a high demand price sensitivity relate to price elasticities?
A high price sensitivity means a small change in price will lead to large changes in quantity demanded, this means the numerator of the elasticity expression will be large compared to the denominator and so will be large in magnitude
Why is elasticity of demand usually a negative number?
As price increases, quantity demanded decreases, as price decreases, quantity demanded increases
Why do we usually use the magnitude of the elasticity of demand?
Being it is usually negative
Define price elastic.
A price elasticity with an absolute value greater than 1
Define price inelastic.
A price elasticity with an absolute value less than 1
Define unit elastic.
A price elasticity with an absolute value equal to 1
When is a good called perfectly inelastic?
When they have a price elasticity that is equal to zero, there is no change in change demanded or supplied for any change in price
When is a good called perfectly elastic?
When they have a price elasticity that is infinite, any change in price leads to an infinite change in quantity demanded demanded or supplied
What is meant by ED > 1?
The percentage change in quantity demanded is greater than the percentage change in price
What is meant by ED < 1?
The percentage change in quantity demanded is less than the percentage change in price
What is meant by ED = 1?
The percentage change in quantity demanded is equal to the percentage change in price
What is the equation for the price elasticity of demand for a linear demand curve?
ED = ∆Q/∆P * P/Q