--%>
Assignment Help - homework help

Income Elasticities of Demand

Question:

(a)  Suppose the income elasticity of demand for pre-recorded music compact disks is +4 and the income elasticity of demand for a cabinet maker's work is +0.4.  Compare the impact on pre-recorded music compact disks and the cabinet maker's work of a recession that reduces consumer incomes by 10 per cent.

(b)  How might you determine whether the pre-recorded music compact discs and MP3 music players are in competition with each other?

(c)   Interpret the following Income Elasticities of Demand (YED) values for the following and state if the good is normal or inferior; YED= +0.5 and YED= -2.5

(d)   Interpret the following Cross-Price Elasticities of Demand (XED) and explain the relationship between these goods. XED= + 0.64 and XED= -2.6

Answer:

a) A positive elasticity means that an increase in income will lead to an increase in the consumption and fall in income will lead to a fall in consumption. If the income of the consumer declines by 10%, then there will be a 40% (4 x 10) fall in the consumption of pre-recorded music CDs and 4%(10 x 0.4) decline in the demand of cabinet maker's work.

b) This can be determined by the cross elastic of the two goods. If the cross elasticity of demand is negative then the goods will be complements to each other and hence they will not be in competition. However, if the cross elasticity of demand is positive then the goods are substitutes and they are in competition.

c) For first good the income elasticity of demand is 0.5 which means that if income increases by 1% then the demand will increase by 0.5%. This makes the food a normal good.

For the second good, the income elasticity of demand is -2.5, which means that an increase in income by 1% will lead to a fall in demand by -2.5%. This means that the good is inferior good.

d) A positive elasticity means that increase in price of one good leads to an increase in demand of the other good. This is the case of substitute goods.

A negative cross elasticity of demand, on the other hand, means that an increase in price of one good leads to a decrease in the demand for the other good. This happens in the case of complements.

   Related Questions in Microeconomics

  • Q : Pre-tax and pre transfer income

    From 1950, the pre-tax and pre transfer income distribution comprises: (w) become more equitably distributed. (x) remained about constant. (y) become less equitably distributed. (z) moderated because the rich and the poor both lost income to the middl

    		•
  • Q : Effect of Increase in per capita income

    Rises in per capita income in the United States would be most probable to reduce the: (i) Demands for lard, pinto beans, and utilized tires. (ii) Excesses in the federal govt. budget. (iii) Supply of untrained labor relative to skilled labor. (iv) Tot

    		•
  • Q : Effects of high probability of

    Since of the high probability of bankruptcy and default of a latest corporation, new corporations: (i) Encompass little trouble selling bonds. (ii) Would prefer to the issue stock. (iii) Encompass more trouble selling bonds than the established corporations. (iv) Woul

    		•
  • Q : Decisions of oligopoly firm on price

    Within an oligopoly each firm: (w) ignores the pricing strategies of rival firms. (x) faces a horizontal demand curve. (y) should make decisions on price and output based on expected or actual actions of its rival. (z) has little control over the mark

    		•
  • Q : What is change in quantity demanded

    Change in quantity demanded: When change in demand takes place due to price alone, it is termed as change in quantity demanded.

    		•
  • Q : Substitution effect on supply curves

    One of the reasons for positive relationship among relative price and quantity supplied is the: (1) Technology effect, whereby bigger firms generate at lower average costs than the smaller firms. (2) Substitution effect, whereby firms switch among for

    		•
  • Q : What is the equilibrium price For each

    For each case listed below, first state whether the change results in an increase or a decrease in demand, or in an increase or a decrease in supply.  Second, determine the direction of change in both the equilibrium price and the equilibrium quantity. a.     

    		•
  • Q : Determining national income Suppose an

    Suppose an economy is in equilibrium condition. Its consumption function is C = 300 +0.8Y and investment is 700 find out its national income.

    		•
  • Q : Production possibilities curves Give me

    Give me answer of this question. The production possibilities curves following suggest that: A) West Mudville should specialize in, and export, baseball bats. B) West Mudville should specialize in, and export, both baseballs and baseball bats. C) East Mudville should

    		•
  • Q : Enter an industry by barriers to entry

    Barriers to entry: (w) make this complicated or impossible for new firms to profitably enter an industry. (x) uniformly violate U.S. antitrust statutes. (y) are fundamentally technological instead of economic. (z) stimulate aggressive competition.

    		•