Price Mechanism Part 2 Flashcards
Price Elasticity of Demand
Measures the degree of responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good to a change in its price, CETERIS PARIBUS
% change in qty demanded/ % change in price of good
[not to be used in explanation: PED is the change in qty/ change in price (opp of gradient if graph is price-qty)
Sign of PED
Normally negative due to inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded, according to law of demand
Price Inelastic Demand
Fall in price will lead to a less than proportionate increase in quantity demanded, CETERIS PARIBUS (|PED|<1)
Price Elastic Demand
Fall in price will lead to a more than proportionate increase in quantity demanded, CETERIS PARIBUS (|PED|>1)
Unitary Price Elastic Demand
Fall in price will lead to an equal proportionate increase in quantity demanded, CETERIS PARIBUS (|PED|=1)
Perfectly Price Inelastic Demand
Price changes have no effect on quantity demanded, occurs when consumers willing and able to pay any price for a given quantity of the good
Perfectly Price Elastic Demand
Price changes have huge effects on quantity demanded:
- At that exact price, consumers will buy any quantity of the good
- Fall of price will lead to infinite increase in qty demanded
- Rise in price will lead to qty demanded to fall to zero
Determinants of PED
- No. and closeness of substitutes
- Proportion of income spent on the good
- Habituality of consumption
- Time horizon
Number and closeness of substitutes
Greater number of closer substitutes available for a good, higher PED (if more close substitutes, consumers more likely to consider alternatives to the good so they can readily switch to them)
Depends on the way the market is define (easier to find close substitutes for narrowly defined markets)
Proportion of income
High proportion of income spent, higher PED (small increases take up more consumers’ available income and mean a much larger expenditure, causing more people to be forced to reduce consumption when price increases)
Habituality of consumption
If good is bought habitually/ consumer is addicted, lower PED (quantity demanded is not responsive to changes in price as consumers continue to buy a similar amount of good regardless of price changes)
Time horizon
Longer time period, higher PED (consumers take time to respond to price change, adjust consumption pattern and find alternatives, more likely to switch to other substitutes)
Applying PED to explain changes in price and qty
(Assuming supply decreases)
1. Since demand is price inelastic/ elastic,
2. when supply falls, shortage is created and is more persistent/ more readily eliminated
3. as quantity demanded does not/ does respond readily to price changes
4. prices have to/ do not have to rise by much to eliminate the shortage
5. Since |PED|</> 1, a rise in price will cause a less than/ more than proportionate fall in quantity demanded.
Applying PED to explain changes in total revenue
(Assuming supply decreases)
1. Since demand is price inelastic/ elastic
2. Rise in price will lead to a less than/ more than proportionate decrease in quantity demanded
3. Gain in revenue due to rise in price is more/ less than the loss in revenue resulting from the decrease in quantity demanded
4. Final revenue is greater/ smaller than initial revenue
5. Hence, rise in price will lead to an increase/ decrease in total revenue.
Applying PED to explain behaviour of firms
- Raise prices for goods with price inelastic demand demand and lower prices for goods with price elastic demand to increase revenue (use apply PED explain changes in total revenue)
- Focus on business strategies to make demand of their products more price inelastic by reducing substitutability of products to keep demand price inelastic in long run
- R+D around product development to improve product quality and reduce substitutability, allowing them to raise prices to increase revenue
Price Elasticity of Supply
Measure of degree of responsiveness of quantity supplied of a good to change in its price, ceteris paribus
Sign of PES
Positive because law of supply states that if there is increased price there will be a rise in quantity supplied
Price inelastic supply
Rise in price will lead to a less than proportionate increase in quantity supplied, CETERIS PARIBUS
|PES|<1
Price elastic supply
Rise in price will lead to a more than proportionate increase in quantity supplied, CETERIS PARIBUS
|PES|>1
Unitary Price Elastic Supply
Rise in price will lead to a proportionate increase in quantity supplied, CETERIS PARIBUS
|PES| = 1