ECON 1050 Chapter 4: Economics-1 (1) (dragged) 2

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salmoneagle674

17 Sep 2016

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The factors that influence the elasticity of demand. The elasticity of demand for a good depends on: the closeness of substitutes, the proportion of income spent on the good, the time elapsed since a price change. The closer the substitutes for a good or service, the more elastic is the demand for the good or service. Necessities, such as food or housing, generally have inelastic demand. Luxuries, such as exotic vacation, generally have elastic demand. The greater the proportion of income consumers spend on a good, the larger is the elasticity of demand for that good. The more time consumers have to adjust to a price change, or the longer that a good can be stored without losing its value, the more elastic is the demand for that good. The figure alongside shows how the elasticity of demand changes along a linear demand curve. At the mid-point of the demand curve, demand is unit elastic.

Related Questions

Explain why the demand for the good or service provided by a firm is elastic or inelastic. How does the elastic or inelastic demand influence pricing decisions by the firm to maximize profit? What are the impacts of elastic demand and inelastic demand on total revenue?

Provide examples of how the availability of close substitutes affects the price elasticity of demand for a good or service.

Give specific examples of necessities or luxuries, and explain how they affect price elasticity of goods or services.

salmonlouse248

Discussion #1

The law of demand states that a fall in the price of a good raises the quantity demanded, and the increase in price leads to a decrease in quantity demanded. The price elasticity of demand measures the responsiveness of the quantity demanded to a change in price. Demand for a good is said to be elastic if the quantity demanded responds substantially to changes in the price, and the percentage change in quantity demanded is greater than the percentage change in price. Demand is said to be inelastic if the quantity demanded responds only slightly to changes in the price, which indicates that the percentage in price is greater than the percentage in quantity demanded.

However, the extent of responsiveness of quantity demanded to a change in price depends on the nature of a particular good or service in the market. The price elasticity of demand partly depends on the availability of close substitutes. When a large number of substitutes are available, consumers respond to a higher price of a good by buying more of the substitute goods and less of the relatively more expensive good. In addition, goods or services that are considered necessities tend to have less elastic (more inelastic) demand, whereas goods or services that are considered luxuries have more elastic (less inelastic) demands.

Explain why the demand for the good or service provided by the organization you work for is elastic or inelastic. How does this influence pricing decisions?
Provide examples on how the availability of close substitutes affects price elasticity of demand.
Give specific examples of necessities or luxuries, and explain how they affect price elasticity of goods or services.

Please answer ALL bulletins and place the answers under the correct bulletin.

Determinants of the price elasticity of demand Consider some determinants of the price elasticity of demand:

• Number of substitutes

• Whether the good is a necessity or a luxury

• Percentage of one's budget spent on the good

• Time horizon being considered

A. A good with many close substitutes is likely to have relatively ___________ demand since consumers can easily choose to purchase one of the close substitutes if the price of the good rises.

B. A good's price elasticity of demand depends in part on how necessary it is relative to other goods. If the following goods are priced approximately the same, which one has the least elastic demand?

1. Chemotherapy for cancer patients

2. Yacht

The price elasticity of demand for good also depends on how you define the good.

C. Organize the goods found in the following table by indicating which is likely to have the most elastic demand, which is likely to have the least elastic demand, and which will have demand that falls in between.