ECON1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Demand Curve, Inferior Good, Normal Good
Lecture 5 - Demand in Perfectly Competitive Markets
Wednesday, 21 March 2018
10:00 AM
<<Chapter3_slides(1).pptx>>
Demand Curve for an Individual
ā¢ Utility represents the satisfaction that an individual derives from consuming a given good or
taking a certain action, measured in utils per unit of time
ā¢ Decreasing marginal utility captures the fact that the utility from consuming an extra unit of a
given good decreases with the number of units that have been previously consumed
ā¢ Always select the action that gives you the highest marginal utility for that extra good
ā¢ The quantity demanded by a consumer represents the quantity of a given good or service that
maximises the utility experienced by the individual consuming it
ā¢ The demand curve represents the relationship between the price of a good or service and the
quantity demanded of that good or service
ā¢ The law of demand states that a consumer will tend to demand more of a good or service
when the price of that good or service decreases
ā¢ Discussion of concepts effecting demand, same as ECON1020 Lecture 2
o Income effect
o Substitute/complement goods
o Consumer preferences
o Population and demographics
o Expectations of future prices
ā¢ Factors that shift demand curve to the right (higher quantity demanded at the same price):
o Successful marketing campaign
o Decrease in price of complements
o Increase in price of substitutes
o Increase in income for a normal good
o Decrease in income for an inferior good
o A positive shift in consumers' preferences for a good
o Expectation that the price will increase soon, so people buy now
o Population growth
ā¢ The price elasticity of demand represents the percentage change in the quantity demanded
resulting from a very small percentage change in price, also measures the responsiveness of
the demand to changes in price
ā¢
ā¢ Elastic demand is when the price elasticity of demand is greater than 1 in absolute terms
ā¢ Unit elastic demand is when the price elasticity of demand is equal to 1 in absolute terms
ā¢ Inelastic demand is when the price elasticity of demand is less than 1 in absolute terms
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