In: Economics
Careforall, The mayor of sickcity, claimed that his residents are very elastic and highly sensitive when the price of preventative care changes but not so sensitive when the price of inpatient care changes. To prove her point she referred back to the RAND studies. She claimed that the results of a replicated study in her town are shown below
Plan Average # of preventative care visits Average # of inpatient visits
Free 3.2 0.126
25% 2.54 0.122
50% 2.10 0.118
Find the price elasticity of demand for preventative care in Sickcity. round to 3 digits after the decimal
Plan Average number of preventive care visits
0 3.2
25% 2.54
50% 2.10
To find - Price elasticity of demand
we know Price elasticity of demand = %change in demand / % change in price
We have from 25% to 50% , %percentage change in price = 50 - 25 = 25%
% change in demand =( (2.10-2.54) / 2.1)* 100 = -20.95
Price elasticity of demand = -20.95 / 25 = - 0.838