In: Economics
Suppose that the current market price of VCRs is $300, that the average consumer disposable income is $30,000, and that the price of DVDs (a substitute for VCRs) is $500. Under these conditions annual U.S. demand for VCRs is 5 million per year. Statistical studies have shown that for VCRs the own-price elasticity of demand is –1.3. The income elasticity of demand for VCRs is 1.7. The cross-price elasticity of demand for VCRs with respect to DVDs is 0.8.
Use this information to predict the annual number of VCRs sold under the following conditions:
(a) Increasing competition from Asia causes VCR prices to fall to $270 with income and the price of
DVDs is unchanged.
(b) Income tax reductions raise average disposable personal income to $31,500 with prices unchanged.
(Do not use $31.5 for $31,5000!)
(c) An inventor in Menlo Park invents a cheaper way to produce DVDs, reducing the price of a DVD to
$400, with the price of VCRs and income unchanged.
(d) All of the events described in parts (a)-(c) occur simultaneously.