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Encyclopedia > Price elasticity of demand

In economics and business studies, the price elasticity of demand (PED) is an elasticity that measures the nature and percentage of the relationship between changes in quantity demanded of a good and changes in its price. Face-to-face trading interactions on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. ... In economics, elasticity is the ratio of the proportional change in one variable with respect to proportional change in another variable. ...

Contents

Interpretation of elasticity

Value Meaning
n = 0 Perfectly inelastic.
0 < n < 1 Relatively inelastic.
n = 1 Unitary elastic.
1 < n < ∞ Relatively elastic.
n = ∞ Perfectly elastic.


For all normal goods and most inferior goods, a price drop results in an increase in the quantity demanded by consumers. The demand for a good is relatively inelastic when the quantity demanded does not change much with the price change. Goods and services for which no substitutes exist are generally inelastic. Demand for an antibiotic, for example, becomes highly inelastic when it alone can kill an infection resistant to all other antibiotics. Rather than die of an infection, patients will generally be willing to pay whatever is necessary to acquire enough of the antibiotic to kill the infection. In economics, normal goods are any goods for which demand increases when income increases. ... In consumer theory, an inferior good is a good that decreases in demand when the consumers income falls, unlike normal goods, for which the opposite is observed. ... Staphylococcus aureus - Antibiotics test plate. ...


Various research methods are used to calculate price elasticity:

Consumer research redirects here. ... See also: Conjoint analysis, Conjoint analysis (in healthcare) Conjoint analysis is a statistical technique used in market research to determine how people value different features that make up an individual product or service. ...

Mathematical definition

The formula used to calculate the coefficient of price elasticity of demand for a given product is

This simple formula has a problem, however. It yields different values for Ed depending on whether Qd and Pd are the original or final values for quantity and price. This formula is usually valid either way as long as you are consistent and choose only original values or only final values.


A more elegant and reliable calculation uses a midpoint calculation, which eliminates this ambiguity. Another benefit of using the following formula is that when Ed = 1, it means there will be no change in revenue when the price changes from P1 (the original price) to P2.


Qav means the average of the original and final values of quantity demanded, and likewise for Pav.

Or, using the differential calculus form:

This can be rewritten in the form:

Elasticity and revenue

See also: Total revenue test
A set of graphs shows the relationship between demand and total revenue. As elasticity decreases in the elastic range, revenue increases, but in the inelastic range, revenue decreases.

When the price elasticity of demand for a good is inelastic (|Ed| < 1), the percentage change in quantity demanded is smaller than that in price. Hence, when the price is raised, the total revenue of producers rises, and vice versa. There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Image File history File links A graph showing the relationship between elasticity and revenue. ... Image File history File links A graph showing the relationship between elasticity and revenue. ... A good or commodity in economics is any object or service that increases utility, directly or indirectly, not to be confused with good in a moral or ethical sense (see Utilitarianism and consequentialist ethical theory). ...


When the price elasticity of demand for a good is elastic (|Ed| > 1), the percentage change in quantity demanded is greater than that in price. Hence, when the price is raised, the total revenue of producers falls, and vice versa.


When the price elasticity of demand for a good is unit elastic (or unitary elastic) (|Ed| = 1), the percentage change in quantity is equal to that in price.


When the price elasticity of demand for a good is perfectly elastic (Ed is undefined), any increase in the price, no matter how small, will cause demand for the good to drop to zero. Hence, when the price is raised, the total revenue of producers falls to zero. The demand curve is a horizontal straight line. A banknote is the classic example of a perfectly elastic good; nobody would pay £10.01 for a £10 note, yet everyone will pay £9.99 for it. For other uses, see Infinity (disambiguation). ...


When the price elasticity of demand for a good is perfectly inelastic (Ed = 0), changes in the price do not affect the quantity demanded for the good. The demand curve is a vertical straight line; this violates the law of demand. An example of a perfectly inelastic good is a human heart for someone who needs a transplant; neither increases nor decreases in price affect the quantity demanded (no matter what the price, a person will pay for one heart but only one; nobody would buy more than the exact amount of hearts demanded, no matter how low the price is).


Point-price elasticity

  • Point Elasticity = (% change in Quantity) / (% change in Price)
  • Point Elasticity = (∆Q/Q)/(∆P/P)
  • Point Elasticity = (P ∆Q) / (Q ∆P)
  • Point Elasticity = (P/Q)(∆Q/∆P) Note: In the limit (or "at the margin"), "(∆Q/∆P)" is the derivative of the demand function with respect to P. "Q" means 'Quantity' and "P" means 'Price'.

  • Example
    Demand curve: Q = 1,000 - 0.6P
    a.) Given this demand curve determine the point price elasticity of demand at P = 80 and P = 40 as follows.
    i.) obtain the derivative of the demand function when it's expressed Q as a function of P.

    ii.) next apply the above equation to the sought ordered pairs: (40, 976), (80, 952)

    e = -0.6(40/976) = -0.02
    e = -0.6(80/952) = -0.05

See also

The supply and demand model describes how prices vary as a result of a balance between product availability at each price (supply) and the desires of those with purchasing power at each price (demand). ... In economics, elasticity is the ratio of the proportional change in one variable with respect to proportional change in another variable. ... In economics, the price elasticity of supply measures the responsiveness of the quantity supplied of a good to its price. ... In economics, the income elasticity of demand measures the responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good to the income of the people demanding the good. ... In economics, the cross elasticity of demand or cross price elasticity of demand measures the responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good to a change in the price of another good. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Yield elasticity of bond value is the percentage change in bond value divided by a one per percentage change in the yield to maturity of the bond. ...

External links

  • Approx. PED of Various Products (U.S.)

References

Notes

General references

  • Case, Karl E. & Fair, Ray C. (1999). Principles of Economics (5th ed.). Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-961905-4.

  Results from FactBites:
 
Price Elasticity of Demand (892 words)
The economic measure of this response is the price elasticity of demand.
Price elasticity of demand is calculated by dividing the proportionate change in quantity demanded by the proportionate change in price.
The price elasticity of demand can be applied to a variety of problems in which one wants to know the expected change in quantity demanded or revenue given a contemplated change in price.
Elasticity Outline (688 words)
Elasticity is a measure of sensitivity of change in one variable as a result of the change in another variable.
The determinants of the price elasticity of demand are: (a) number and availability of close substitutes; (b) Proportion of consumers' budgets; (c) Length of the period; (d) Whether the good is a necessity or a luxury; and (e) How narrowly or broadly the good is defined.
Price elasticity of demand can be classified as: (a) elastic (coefficient is greater than 1); (b) inelastic (coefficient is less than 1(; (c) unit or unitary elastic (coefficient is equal to 1); (d) perfectly elastic (coefficient is undefined or infinity); and (e) perfectly inelastic (coefficient is equal to zero).
  More results at FactBites »


 

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