midterm 2 Flashcards
what is the price elasticity of demand (PED)?
it measures how responsive the quantity demanded is to a change in price
what does PED>1 indicate?
elastic demand
what does elastic demand mean?
consumers are very responsive to price changes (eg. luxury goods, non-essential items)
what does (PED<1) indicate?
inelastic demand
what does inelastic demand mean?
consumers are less responsive to price changes (eg.necessities)
what does (PED=1) indicate?
unitary elastic demand
what does unitary elastic demand mean?
a price change results in an equal percentage change in quantity demanded
what is total revenue (TR)?
the total amount of money received by a firm from selling its product
what is the equation to solve for TR?
TR = Price x Quantity
how does elastic demand impact TR?
lowering the price would increase TR
how does inelastic demand impact TR?
raising the price would increase TR
how does unitary elastic demand impact TR?
TR is unchanged when the price changes
what is cross elasticity?
measures how the quantity demanded of one good responds to a price change of another good
what does positive cross elasticity indicate?
goods are substitutes (eg. tea and coffee)
what does negative cross elasticity indicate?
goods are complements (eg. cars and gas)
what is income elasticity?
measures how the quantity demanded changes as consumer income changes
what impact do normal goods have on income elasticity?
positive income elasticity
what impact do inferior goods have on income elasticity?
negative income elasticity
what does positive income elasticity mean?
demand increases as income rises
what does negative income elasticity mean?
demand decreases as income rises
what is elasticity of supply?
measures how responsive the quantity supplied is to price change
what does an elastic supply indicate?
firms can easily increase production in response to price changes
what does an inelastic supply indicste?
firms find it difficult to increase production in response to price changes
what is allocation?
refers to how goods and services are distributed in the market
what is market allocation?
goods are allocated based on prices (supply and demand)
what is non-market allocation?
government or other entities control the distribution (eg. rationing)
what is consumer surplus?
the difference between what producers are willing to accept for a good and the price they actually receive
`what does consumer surplus represent?
the benefit consumers get from participating in the market
what equation solves for consumer surplus?
consumer surplus = willingness to pay - price paid
what is producer surplus?
the difference between what producers are willing to accept for a good and the price they actually receive