Book cover for Economics

Economics

Michael Parkin

ISBN #9780133872279

12th Edition

839 Questions

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Summary

Learning Objectives

Key Concepts

Example Problems

Explanations

Common Mistakes

Summary

This section examines the concept of elasticity in economics, focusing on both demand and supply. It explains how elasticity measures the responsiveness of quantity demanded or supplied to changes in price, income, or the price of other goods, using percentage changes of average values for accurate measurement. Additionally, it highlights the total revenue test and factors influencing elasticity, such as closeness of substitutes, income proportion, and time frame. Understanding these concepts is essential for making informed pricing and production decisions.

Learning Objectives

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Key Concepts

CONCEPT

DEFINITION

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Example Problems

Example 1

Rain spoils the strawberry crop, the price rises from $\$ 4$ to $\$ 6$ a box, and the quantity demanded decreases from 1,000 to 600 boxes a week. a. Calculate the price elasticity of demand over this price range. b. Describe the demand for strawberries.

Example 2

If the quantity of dental services demanded increases by 10 percent when the price of dental services falls by 10 percent, is the demand for dental services inelastic, elastic, or unit elastic?

Example 3

The demand schedule for hotel rooms is a. What happens to total revenue when the price falls from $\$ 400$ to $\$ 250$ a room per night and from $\$ 250$ to $\$ 200$ a room per night? b. Is the demand for hotel rooms elastic, inelastic, or unit elastic?

Example 4

The figure shows the demand for pens. Calculate the elasticity of demand when the price rises from $\$ 4$ to $\$ 6$ a pen. Over what price range is the demand for pens elastic?

Example 5

In $2003,$ when music downloading first took off, Universal Music slashed the average price of a CD from $\$ 21$ to $\$ 15 .$ The company expected the price cut to boost the quantity of CDs sold by 30 percent, other things remaining the same. a. What was Universal Music's estimate of the price elasticity of demand for CDs? b. If you were making the pricing decision at Universal Music, what would be your pricing decision? Explain your decision.

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Common Mistakes

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