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Elasticity of Demand

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The purpose of this essay is to define elasticity of demand, cross-price elasticity, income elasticity, and explain the elastic coefficients for each. I will explain the contrast of and significance of difference between the three. I will also explain whether demand would tend to be more or less elastic for availability of substitutes, share of consumer income devoted to a good, and consumer’s time horizon, and give examples of each. Then, I will explain the logical impacts to business decision making that result from each. Last, I will differentiate between perfectly inelastic demand and perfectly inelastic demand, and illustrate the difference between the terms. Elasticity of demand, also known as price demand elasticity, is defined as …show more content…

The coefficient for elasticity of demand measures the relationship between two variables. A formula for figuring out the coefficient of elasticity of demand is: (percentage change in quantity) / (percentage change in price). The coefficient will be the percentage change in quantity demanded in response to a one percent change in price, and will determine is if the demand for a good is elastic (eod>1) or inelastic (eod<1). Knowing the coefficient for the demand of a product gives a business the edge because they will know when to make adjustments to price in order to increase the demand for a product. Cross-price elasticity, Income elasticity, and Elasticity of demand all have different coefficient formulas. The difference between cross-price elasticity and income elasticity is that cross-price elasticity measure the percentage of change in demand of a product in relation to change in price, while income elasticity measures changes in demand in relation to changes in income. The difference between these two and elasticity of demand is that elasticity of demand measures the responsiveness of demand to a change in price. Elasticity of demand determines whether a company can increase or reduce their price on a product, and is therefore detrimental to a company that is trying to maximize their profits. Cross-price

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