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Supply Demand Elasticity

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Supply, Demand and Price Elasticity
Anjni Kumar
Jennifer Marciel
Me Mai Nou Yang
Rosina Hughey Eco/212
December 14, 2010
Zack Zardo

Supply, Demand and Price Elasticity
Consumers and economists use the concept of elasticity to measure how an economic variable responds to changes in another economic variable (Hubbard & O’Brien, 2010, p. 168). Supply and demand go together and play an important part in price elasticity. “Price elasticity of demand is the responsiveness of the quantity demanded to a change in price, measured by dividing the percentage change in the quantity demanded of a product by the percentage change in the product’s price” (Hubbard & O’Brien, 2010, p. 168). Price of elasticity of supply is similar …show more content…

When there is no increases in the quantity of product demanded, equilibrium prices slide lower to clear the market and consumers will buy more at lower prices. Similarly, shift in demand during holidays, such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Christmas will influence the market price upward temporarily.
Chocolate is a luxury and not a necessity. There are no health benefits or necessity in consuming chocolate like vegetables, rice, beans, or any other commodity that provides nutrients for our bodies. Since chocolate is made out of the cacao and there is currently no substitute for chocolate, it is a very precious commodity. Cacao is not replaceable when it comes to chocolate. Economists have predicted a shortage in just twenty years.
The price of chocolate in twenty years will be the price and luxury of caviar. The reason for the prediction by economist is the shortage of product and the lack of an alternative product. It is such a concern for the chocolate industry that Mars, Inc., IBM and the Ag Departments have joined to create a sequence of the cacao tree to try and avoid what economist are predicting. If the predictions do happen and no substitute is available and the price elasticity of the product will be similar to the prices of gas in late 70’s turn of the decade when people could not afford gasoline. That is unfamiliar for a consumer to grasp since chocolate is available everywhere in the United States. Nestle Chocolate is a brand name that is consumed in every

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