Chapter 4:

Elasticity
Chapter Outline/Learning Objectives
Section Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you will be able to

4.1 Price Elasticity 1. explain what price elasticity of demand is and how
of Demand it is measured.
2. explain the relationship between total expenditure
and price elasticity of demand.
4.2 Price Elasticity 3. explain what price elasticity of supply is and how
of Supply it is measured.

4.3 Elasticity Matters for 4. see how elasticity of demand and supply determine the
Excise Taxes effects of an excise tax.

4.4 Other Demand 5. measure the income elasticity of demand and be able
Elasticities to distinguish between normal and inferior goods.
6. measure cross elasticity of demand and be able to
distinguish between substitute and complement goods.
4.1 Price Elasticity of Demand

Demand is elastic when quantity demanded is quite responsive to

changes in price.

When quantity demanded is relatively unresponsive to changes in

price, demand is inelastic.

The more elastic is demand, the less the change in equilibrium price
and the greater the change in equilibrium quantity resulting from
any given shift in the supply curve.
Fig. 4-1(i) The Effects of a Supply Shift (relatively elastic demand)
Fig. 4-1(ii) The Effects of a Supply Shift (relatively inelastic demand)
The Measurement of Price Elasticity
Elasticity (Greek letter eta:) is defined as:
Percentage change in quantity demanded
 =
Percentage change in price

 Q / Qave
 =
 p / pave

where pave and Qave are the average price and average quantity.

A demand curve has a negative slope, so the percentage changes in

price and quantity have opposite signs. Although demand elasticity is
a negative number we ignore the negative sign and report the
elasticity of demand as a positive number.
A Numerical Example of Price Elasticity

Product Original New Average Original New Average

Price Price Price Quantity Quantity Quantity
Pair of
fuzzy $9.00 $8.00 $8.50 2000 3000 2500
slippers

= (3 000 – 2 000)/(3 000 + 2 000)/2

(8 - 9)/(8 + 9)/2

= (1 000)/(2 500)
(1)/(8.5)

= 0.4
0.1176 = 3.40
Fig. 4-2 Elasticity Along a Linear Demand Curve

A negatively sloped linear demand curve has a constant slope but

does not have constant elasticity.
Fig. 4-3 Three Demand Curves with Constant Elasticity

D1 shows perfectly
inelastic demand

D2 shows perfectly
elastic demand

D3 shows unit elastic

demand
What Determines Elasticity of Demand?

Availability of Substitutes
Products with close substitutes tend to have elastic demands;
products with no close substitutes tend to have inelastic demands.

Narrowly defined products have more elastic demands than do more

broadly defined products.
What Determines Elasticity of Demand?

Short Run and Long Run

The response to a price change, and therefore the measured price
elasticity of demand will tend to be greater the longer the time span.

A short-run demand curve shows the immediate response of

quantity demanded to a change in price.

A long-run demand curve shows the response of quantity demanded

to a change in price after enough time has passed to develop or
switch to substitute products.
Fig. 4-4 Short-Run and Long-Run Equilibrium
Following an Increase in Supply

The changes depend on

the time that consumers
have to respond.

In the long run, demand

is more elastic.
Elasticity and Total Expenditure

Total expenditure = Price X Quantity

How does total expenditure change when the price falls?

When price falls, quantity demanded increases.

If demand is elastic, the quantity change dominates and total revenue

rises.

If demand is inelastic, the price change dominates and total revenue

falls.

If demand is unit elastic, the percentage change in quantity demanded

equals the percentage change in price and total revenue remains
unchanged.
Fig. 4-5 Total Expenditure and Quantity Demanded

When demand is elastic,

total revenue increases when
price falls.

When demand is inelastic,

total revenue decreases when
price falls.

Total revenue reaches a

maximum when demand is unit
elastic.
4.2 Price Elasticity of Supply

Price elasticity of supply is a measure of the responsiveness of

quantity supplied to a change in the product’s own price.

It is denoted by s and is defined as:

Percentage change in quantity supplied

S =
Percentage change in price

S =  Q / Qave
 p / pave
Fig. 4-6 Computing Price Elasticity of Supply
Determinants of Supply Elasticity

Ease of Substitution
If the price of a product rises, how much more can be produced
profitably depends on how easy it is for producers to shift from the
production of other products to the one whose price has risen.
Determinants of Supply Elasticity

Short Run and Long Run

The short-run supply curve shows the immediate response of
quantity supplied to a change in price given producers’ current
capacity to produce the good.

The long-run supply curve shows the response of quantity supplied

to a change in price after enough time has passed to allow producers
to adjust their productive capacity.
Fig. 4-7 Short-Run and Long-Run Equilibrium
Following an Increase in Demand
4.3 Elasticity Matters for Excise Taxes

Fig. 4-8 The Effect of a Gasoline Excise Tax

An excise tax raises

the price paid by
consumers but reduces
the price received by
producers.
4.3 Elasticity Matters for Excise Taxes

An excise tax is a tax on the sale of a particular product.

Who actually bears the burden of this tax?

The question of who bears the burden of a tax is called the question
of tax incidence.

The burden of an excise tax is distributed between consumers and

sellers in a manner that depends on the relative elasticities of supply
and demand.
Fig. 4-9 Elasticity and the Incidence of an Excise Tax

With an excise tax, the price paid by the consumer is pc and the price
received by the seller is ps. The consumer price and the seller price
differ by the amount of the tax, t.
4.4 Other Demand Elasticities

Income Elasticity of Demand

Y = Percentage change in quantity demanded

Percentage change in income

If Y > 0, the good is a normal good.

If Y < 0, the good is an inferior good.

Normal Goods

If income elasticity is positive but less than one, demand is income

inelastic.

If income elasticity is positive and greater than one, demand is

income elastic.

Products for which the income elasticity of demand is positive but

less than 1 are necessities.

Products for which the income elasticity of demand is positive and

greater than 1 are luxuries.

The more necessary an item is in the consumption pattern of

consumers, the lower is its income elasticity.
Cross Elasticity of Demand

XY = Percentage change in quantity demanded of good X

Percentage change in price of good Y

If XY > 0, then X and Y are substitutes.

If XY < 0, then X and Y are complements.

Cross Elasticity of Demand

The change in the price of good Y causes the demand curve for good
X to shift.

If X and Y are substitutes, an increase in the price of Y leads to an

increase in the demand for X. The demand curve for X shifts
rightward.

If X and Y are complements, an increase in the price of Y leads to a

decrease in the demand for X. The demand curve for X shifts
leftward.