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Firms, Consumers and Elasticities of Demand

Calculating and interpreting price elasticity of demand

  • 3 things to know
  • Papers 2 and 3

Overview

The formula for price elasticity of demand and why it is negative, calculating it from price and quantity changes, interpreting values, perfectly inelastic demand and its curve, unit elasticity, elastic against inelastic demand, elasticity along a straight-line demand curve, the price cut needed for a sales target, and estimates from past data.

What you need to know

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Key term

What is the formula for price elasticity of demand?

Key term

Why is the price elasticity of demand negative for almost every good?

Numbers

A firm raises its price from £2.00 to £2.20 and weekly sales fall from 500 to 450 units. Calculate the price elasticity of demand.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is the formula for price elasticity of demand?

    Model answer

    Price elasticity of demand is the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price.

  2. 2

    Why is the price elasticity of demand negative for almost every good?

    Model answer

    Price and quantity demanded move in opposite directions, so one of the two percentage changes is positive while the other is negative.

  3. 3

    A firm raises its price from £2.00 to £2.20 and weekly sales fall from 500 to 450 units. Calculate the price elasticity of demand.

    Model answer

    Price rises by 10% and quantity falls by 10%, so the price elasticity of demand is −1.0.

  4. 4

    Quantity demanded falls by 4% when price rises by 8%. Calculate the price elasticity of demand and state what it shows.

    Model answer

    The price elasticity of demand is −0.5, which shows that demand is price inelastic.

  5. 5

    A firm cuts its price by 5% and the quantity sold rises by 15%. Calculate the price elasticity of demand.

    Model answer

    The price elasticity of demand is −3.0.

  6. 6

    What does a price elasticity of demand of −0.3 tell a firm about the response to a price rise?

    Model answer

    Demand is highly inelastic, because a 1% rise in price reduces quantity demanded by only 0.3%.

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