Micro L12 - 18 Flashcards
Price elasticity of demand/supply
Measures the responsiveness of demand/supply given a change in price
Price elastic
Change in price causes a proportionately larger change in demand/supply
Price inelastic
A change in price causes a proportionately smaller change in demand/supply
Determinants of PED:
- Number of substitutes
- Necessity/Luxury
- Addictiveness
- Time
- Proportion of income spent on product
How does the number of substitutes affect PED?
Greater the number of substitutes, greater degree of consumer switching during a price change (more elastic)
How does whether the product is a luxury/necessity affect PED?
If a product is a necessity people will buy it regardless of the price change, therefore more inelastic
How does addictiveness affect PED?
The more addictive a product is the more inelastic demand will be
How does time affect PED?
Consumers are given the opportunity to find alternatives making price more elastic
How does the proportion of income spent on a product affect PED?
Greater the proportion of income spent, the less able consumers will be to afford any further price increases, therefore more elastic
Determinants of PES:
- Time required to produce product
- Level of spare capacity
- Number of stocks of finished goods/services
- Time
- Perishability of product
How does time required to produce the product affect PES?
Greater amount of time needed, slower firm will be able to respond to price changes therefore price inelastic
How does level of spare capacity affect PES?
Greater the spare capacity, quicker firms will be able to respond by utilising available factors of production therefore more price elastic
How does the number of stocks/finished goods affect PES?
Greater this number, quicker firms will be able to respond by releasing these stocks, therefore price elastic
How does time affect PES?
Greater time period, firms are given opportunity to expand/reduce production, more price elastic
How does perishability of product affect PES?
More perishable a product, harder it is to build stocks, therefore more price inelastic
Calculation for PED:
% change in quantity demanded/percentage change in price
Calculation for PES:
% change in quantity supplied/% change in price
What is PED/PES defined as at different values and what are these?
- Below 1 is elastic
- Between 0 and 1 is inelastic
- Equal to 1 is unitary
Derived demand:
Demand for a good/service which is the consequence of demand for something else eg. Demand for Labour is derived from demand for goods + services
Effective demand:
Demand for good/service which occurs when purchasers are constrained in a different market eg. Demand for the cheaper bread brand increases due to lower disposable income preventing the purchase of the more expensive bread
Joint demand:
Demand of one good/service is directly and positively relative to another good/service eg. if demand of good X increases, demand of good Y increases
Composite demand:
Good/service has more than one use so the increase in demand for one use eg. oil for plastics leads to fall in supply for another use eg. oil for petrol
What law of demand do Veblen goods follow?
- Veblen goods = Goods perceived to be of better quality if they cost more.
- They are exceptions to the law of demand: as price increases, demand increases
Speculative goods
Goods which are purchased because consumers believe the price will rise after
Giffen goods
Goods where a rise in price actually leads to an increase in demand eg. basic food staples
Consumer surplus:
- Extra amount of money consumers are prepared to pay for good/service above what they actually pay
- Extra utility gained from good/service for amount paid for it
Producer surplus:
- Extra amount of money consumers paid to producers above what they’re willing to accept to supply a good/service
- Profit gained by a producer above the minimum required for them to supply the good/service
As price falls, what happens to consumer and producer surplus?
- Consumer surplus increases
- Producer surplus decreases