In: Economics
1. If the price of a good falls by 10 percent, identify the price elasticity demand from the following responses. Would the demand will elastic or inelastic?
a. 20 percent more is bought
b. 5 percent more is bought
Price Elasticity of Demand is the measure of the responsiveness of quantity demanded to a change in price.
Elasticity of Demand = % Change in Quantity Demanded / % Change in Price
Part a
When the price of good falls by 10%, quantity demanded increases by 20%
Elasticity of Demand = 20 / 10 = 2
Since Elasticity is greater than 2, it means demand is elastic. It means with a given percentage fall in price, there is larger percentage increase in quantity demanded and vice versa is also true.
Part b
When price of good falls by 10%, quantity demanded increases by 5%
Elasticity of Demand = 5 / 10 = 0.5
Since Elasticity is less than 1, it means demand is inelastic. This means with a given percentage fall in price there will be very less percentage increase in quantity demanded and vice versa is also true.
Note: While calculating elasticity of demand, absolute values are considered and minus sign is ignored.