Session:5 Elasticity
Answer Key
Principles of Microeconomics 3e | Leadership Development – Micro-Learning Session
Rice University 2020 | Michael Laverty, Colorado State University Global Chris Littel, North Carolina State University| https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-microeconomics-3e
1. From point B to point C, price rises from $70 to $80, and Qd decreases from 2,800 to 2,600. So:
% change in quantity% change in priceElasticity of Demand========2600–2800(2600+2800)÷2× 100–2002700× 100–7.4180–70(80+70)÷2× 1001075× 10013.33–7.41%13.33%0.56
The demand curve is inelastic in this area; that is, its elasticity value is less than one.
Answer from Point D to point E:
% change in quantity% change in priceElasticity of Demand========2200–2400(2200+2400)÷2× 100–2002300× 100–8.7100–90(100+90)÷2× 1001095× 10010.53–8.7% 10.53%0.83
The demand curve is inelastic in this area; that is, its elasticity value is less than one.
Answer from Point G to point H:
% change in quantity% change in priceElasticity of Demand========1600–18001700× 100–2001700× 100–11.76130–120125× 10010125× 1008.00–11.76% 8.00%–1.47
The demand curve is elastic in this interval.
2. From point J to point K, price rises from $8 to $9, and quantity rises from 50 to 70. So:
% change in quantity% change in priceElasticity of Supply========70–50(70+50)÷2× 1002060× 10033.33$9–$8($9+$8)÷2× 10018.5× 10011.7633.33%11.76%2.83
The supply curve is elastic in this area; that is, its elasticity value is greater than one.
From point L to point M, the price rises from $10 to $11, while the Qs rises from 80 to 88:
% change in quantity%change in priceElasticity of Demand========88–80(88+80)÷2× 100884× 1009.52$11–$10($11+$10)÷2× 100110.5× 1009.529.52%9.52%1.0
The supply curve has unitary elasticity in this area.
From point N to point P, the price rises from $12 to $13, and Qs rises from 95 to 100:
% change in quantity% change in priceElasticity of Supply========100–95(100+95)÷2×100597.5×1005.13$13–$12($13+$12)÷2× 100112.5× 1008.05.13%8.0% 0.64
The supply curve is inelastic in this region of the supply curve.
8.
Percentage change in quantity demandedPercentage change in income========[(change in quantity)/(original quantity)] × 100[22 – 30]/[(22 + 30)/2] × 100–8/26 × 100–30.77[(change in income)/(original income)] × 100[38,000 – 25,000]/[(38,000 + 25,000)/2] × 10013/31.5 × 10041.27
In this example, bread is an inferior good because its consumption falls as income rises.
9. The formula for cross-price elasticity is % change in Qd for apples / % change in P of oranges. Multiplying both sides by % change in P of oranges yields:
% change in Qd for apples = cross-price elasticity X% change in P of oranges
= 0.4 × (–3%) = –1.2%, or a 1.2 % decrease in demand for apples.