Microeconomics: Principles, Applications, and Tools (8th Edition)

Published by Prentice Hall
ISBN 10: 0-13294-886-9
ISBN 13: 978-0-13294-886-9

Chapter 5 - Elasticity: A Measure of Responsiveness - Exercises - 5.1 The Price Elasticity of Demand - Page 121: 1.8

Answer

Demand is relatively elastic if the product has MANY substitutes, a LONG time passes, and the consumer spends a LARGE fraction of his or her budget on the product.

Work Step by Step

There are many factors that affect the elasticity of a product. The three most important ones are how many substitutes there are, the time period in which the elasticity is measured, and the amount of budget that is spent on the item. Products with substitutes tend to have higher demand since buyers can easily switch between the product and the substitute. The more substitutes, the more elastic the demand is for the product. Furthermore, since the elasticity of demand often depends on consumers being able to find a substitute, the elasticity during a longer period will be greater than it would be during a short time. The longer consumers have, the more likely they will be able to find a substitute or change their habits. Finally, if a product consumer a large portion of a consumers budget, it will tend to have a larger elasticity. Since the good has such a high cost, consumers will tend to look for substitutes that will cost less.
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