elastic
(adjective)
Sensitive to changes in price.
Examples of elastic in the following topics:
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Definition of Price Elasticity of Supply
- The state of these factors for a particular good will determine if the price elasticity of supply is elastic or inelastic in regards to a change in price.
- Supply is "perfectly elastic."
- An increase in price for an elastic good has a noticeable impact on consumption.
- The elasticity of a good will be labelled as perfectly elastic, relatively elastic, unit elastic, relatively inelastic, or perfectly inelastic.
- Differentiate between the price elasticity of demand for elastic and inelastic goods
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Income Elasticity of Demand
- A positive income elasticity is associated with normal goods.
- A negative income elasticity is associated with inferior goods.
- In all, there are five types of income elasticity of demand :
- Zero income elasticity of demand (YED=0): A change in income has no effect on the quantity bought.
- Income elasticity of demand measures the percentage change in quantity demanded as income changes.
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Tax Incidence and Elasticity
- Tax incidence or tax burden does not depend on where the revenue is collected, but on the price elasticity of demand and price elasticity of supply.
- The key concept is that the tax incidence or tax burden does not depend on where the revenue is collected, but on the price elasticity of demand and price elasticity of supply.
- If the consumer is elastic, the consumer is very sensitive to price.
- Because the consumer is elastic, the quantity change is significant.
- Explain how elasticity influences the relative tax burden between suppliers and consumers (demand).
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Measuring the Price Elasticity of Supply
- The price elasticity of supply is the measure of the responsiveness of the quantity supplied of a particular good to a change in price.
- The price elasticity of supply is directly related to consumer demand.
- The elasticity of a good provides a measure of how sensitive one variable is to changes in another variable.
- When calculating the price elasticity of supply, economists determine whether the quantity supplied of a good is elastic or inelastic.
- PES = infinity: Supply is perfectly elastic.
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Calculating Elasticities
- The basic elasticity formula has shortcomings which can be minimized by using the midpoint method or calculating the point elasticity.
- Two alternative elasticity measures can be used to avoid or minimize the shortcomings of the basic elasticity formula.
- The midpoint method calculates the arc elasticity, which is the elasticity of one variable with respect to another between two given points on the demand curve .
- The arc elasticity is obtained using this formula:
- As elasticity is often expressed without the negative sign, it can be said that the demand for hot dogs has an elasticity of 0.4.
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Interpretations of Price Elasticity of Demand
- When PED is greater than one, demand is elastic.
- The first is when demand is perfectly elastic.
- Perfectly elastic demand is represented graphically as a horizontal line .
- At the midpoint, E1, elasticity is equal to one, or unit elastic.
- Perfectly elastic demand is represented graphically by a horizontal line.
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Measuring the Price Elasticity of Demand
- The price elasticity of demand (PED) is calculated by dividing the percentage change in quantity demanded by the percentage change in price.
- The own-price elasticity of demand is often simply called the price elasticity.
- The following formula is used to calculate the own-price elasticity of demand:
- However, economists often disregard the negative sign and report the elasticity as an absolute value.
- Similarly, at high prices and low quantities, PED is more elastic .
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Determinants of Price Elasticity of Demand
- A good's price elasticity of demand is largely determined by the availability of substitute goods.
- The price elasticity of demand (PED) is a measure of how much the quantity demanded changes with a change in price.
- Degree of necessity: The greater the necessity for a good, the lower the elasticity.
- Luxury products, on the other hand, tend to have greater elasticity.
- Breadth of definition of a good: The broader the definition of a good, the lower the elasticity.
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Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand
- The cross-price elasticity of demand measures the change in demand for one good in response to a change in price of another good.
- The cross-price elasticity of demand shows the relationship between two goods or services.
- The value of the cross-price elasticity for complementary goods will thus be negative .
- A positive cross-price elasticity value indicates that the two goods are substitutes.
- In the case of perfect substitutes, the cross elasticity of demand will be equal to positive infinity .
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Applications of Elasticities
- In economics, elasticity refers to how the supply and demand of a product changes in relation to a change in the price.
- In economics, elasticity refers to the responsiveness of the demand or supply of a product when the price changes.
- For elastic demand, when the price of a product increases the demand goes down.
- Whether or not a product is elastic or inelastic is directly related to consumer needs and preferences.
- Give examples of inelastic and elastic supply in the real world