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why do expensive items have an elastic demand

by Andrew Donnelly Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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If the good has plenty of competitive substitutes, elasticity tends to be greater because consumers can easily make a switch when prices rise too much. More expensive goods also tend to be more elastic since consumers are more sensitive to purchases that take up larger proportions of their income.

High-priced products often are highly elastic because, if prices fall, consumers are likely to buy at a lower price. Goods with many alternatives or competitors are elastic because, as the price of the good rises, consumers shift purchases to substitute items.

Full Answer

Why is elasticity of demand higher in more expensive goods?

If the good has plenty of competitive substitutes, elasticity tends to be greater because consumers can easily make a switch when prices rise too much. More expensive goods also tend to be more elastic since consumers are more sensitive to purchases that take up larger proportions of their income.

What is an example of elastic unit demand?

Unit elastic demand occurs when changes in price cause an equally proportional change in quantity demanded. For example, a good with inelastic unit elastic demand might see its price increase by 30%, and demand would also drop by 30%.

Are luxury goods price inelastic or elastic?

Luxury goods are price inelastic. As income rises by ,say , x% proportionately more than x% (x+ dx)% of a luxury good will be purchased. The opposite is true for falling income.(so income elastic) Some luxury goods might even be perverse goods ,in that ,as price rises ,more of if is demanded.

What is the difference between elastic demand and inelastic demand?

Elastic demand occurs when a product or service's demanded quantity changes by a greater percentage than changes in price. The opposite of elastic demand is inelastic demand, which occurs when consumers buy largely the same quantity regardless of price. The demand curve shows how the quantity demanded responds to price changes.

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Why do luxury goods have elastic demand?

Demand for luxuries is highly elastic because if the price of a luxury commodity increases the quantity demanded will be not be same, the change in quantity demanded will be more than the change in price and vice versa.

Do expensive items generally have elastic demand?

The price elasticity of demand measures the sensitivity of the quantity demanded to changes in the price. Demand is inelastic if it does not respond much to price changes, and elastic if demand changes a lot when the price changes. Necessities tend to have inelastic demand. Luxuries tend to have elastic demand.

Are expensive items more elastic or inelastic?

In general, necessities and medical treatments tend to be inelastic, while luxury goods tend to be most elastic.

Are more expensive items more elastic?

Availability of Competitive Substitutes More expensive goods also tend to be more elastic since consumers are more sensitive to purchases that take up larger proportions of their income.

Why is Nike inelastic?

The company's products are considered to be inelastic due to the weak connection between changes in price and changes in demand. The recommendation suggested to ensure further development of NIKE Inc. is to primarily maintain its cult status and popularity, which are the reasons for its inelastic demand.

What makes a product elastic?

A product is considered to be elastic if the quantity demand of the product changes more than proportionally when its price increases or decreases. Conversely, a product is considered to be inelastic if the quantity demand of the product changes very little when its price fluctuates.

Which goods have more elastic demands?

An example of products with an elastic demand is consumer durables. These are items that are purchased infrequently, like a washing machine or an automobile, and can be postponed if price rises. For example, automobile rebates have been very successful in increasing automobile sales by reducing price.

Does elasticity depend on price?

The price elasticity of a product describes how sensitive suppliers and buyers are to changes in price. It doesn't change in relation to supply and demand, but it defines the slope of each curve. A product with high price elasticity of demand will see demand fall sharply when prices rise.

What affects price elasticity demand?

The Price Elasticity of Demand is affected by many factors. 5 crucial factors among them are: Availability of goods, Price Levels, Income Levels, Time Period, and Nature of goods.

What is high price elasticity?

This product would be considered highly elastic because it has a score higher than 1, meaning the demand is greatly influenced by price change. A score between 0 and 1 is considered inelastic, since variation in price has only a small impact on demand.

What does it mean when a demand is elastic?

An elastic demand is one in which the change in quantity demanded due to a change in price is large. An inelastic demand is one in which the change in quantity demanded due to a change in price is small.

How does necessities and luxuries affect elasticity?

In general, the greater the necessity of the product, the less elastic, or more inelastic, the demand will be, because substitutes are limited. The more luxurious the product is, the more elastic demand will be.

Which type of goods have elastic demand?

An example of products with an elastic demand is consumer durables. These are items that are purchased infrequently, like a washing machine or an automobile, and can be postponed if price rises. For example, automobile rebates have been very successful in increasing automobile sales by reducing price.

Are designer clothes elastic or inelastic?

High-end designer fashion brands are usually more inelastic, for instance, because buyers have strong preferences and are often willing to pay whatever is asked to get what they want. This is why there are exceptions to elasticity of demand for certain attire.

Which product is most likely to be the most price elastic?

China and glassware are most likely to be the most price elastic. The price elasticity of demand measures the demand for goods concerning the price. China and glassware have many substitutes in the market, and consumers will get attracted to those goods which are less expensive.

Is perfume elastic or inelastic demand?

elasticGoods such as perfume and meals at restaurants, on the other hand, are considered elastic because consumers would be deterred from purchasing them if the cost of buying the product became too high.

How to calculate price elasticity of demand?

It is calculated by dividing the percent change in consumption by the percent change in price. For example, if the price of a name-brand microwave increases 20% and consumer purchases of this product subsequently drop by 25%, the microwave has a price elasticity of demand of 25% divided by 20%, or 1.25. This product would be considered highly elastic because it has a score higher than 1, meaning the demand is greatly influenced by price change .

What is price elasticity?

In economics, price elasticity is a measure of how reactive the marketplace is to a change in price for a given product. However, price elasticity works two ways. While price elasticity of demand is a reflection of consumer behavior as a result of price chance, price elasticity of supply measures producer behavior.

What are some examples of low elasticity of demand?

Many household items or bare necessities have very low price elasticity of demand, because people need these items regardless of price. Gasoline is an excellent example. Luxury items, such as big-screen televisions or airline tickets, generally have higher elasticity since they are not essential to day-to-day living.

Is it feasible to increase the supply of handmade furniture?

However, a small business that sells handmade furniture may have a harder time ramping up production or dealing with increased shipping and delivery activity, so an increase in supply may not be feasible, regardless of price elasticity. Take the Next Step to Invest. Advertiser Disclosure.

Is woolen socks a complicated product?

Woolen socks, for example, are not an overly complicated product to manufacture. Production requires few raw materials, and the item is lightweight and easy to ship. Therefore, if a company knows it can stimulate a 30% increase in sales by reducing the price by 20%, it is likely to increase production to reap the maximum profit. However, a small business that sells handmade furniture may have a harder time ramping up production or dealing with increased shipping and delivery activity, so an increase in supply may not be feasible, regardless of price elasticity.

How does demand elasticity work?

In other words, demand elasticity or inelasticityfor a product or good is determined by how much demand for the product changes as the price increases or decreases.

Why are luxury goods elastic?

Therefore the price elasticity of clothes demand are elastic because a slightly changes in price may cause a huge changes in quantity demanded.

What is the difference between inelastic and inelastic demand?

Inelastic demand means the slight or no change in quantity demanded when the price of the commodity gets changed (either reduced or increased). The demand for a product is considered price elastic whenever the ratio of percentage change of demand divided by percentage change in price is less than one. Here, the Demand determinants impact will be low or negligible due to the nature of consumption.

What does PED mean in a good?

When a good is inelastic, there is little change in the quantity of demand even with the change of the good’s price. Price elasticity of demand (PED) measures the change in the quantity demanded relative to a change in price for a good or service. It is very clear from the issue above, consumer do have a choice on clothes.

How does tax affect inelastic demand?

Impact of Tax on inelastic demand. Most goods and services are elastic because they are not unique and have substitutes. If the price of a plane ticket increases, fewer people will fly. A good would need to have numerous substitutes to experience perfectly elastic demand. A perfectly elastic demand curve is depicted as a horizontal line ...

What is elastic change?

The change that is observed for an elastic good is an increase in demand when the price decreases and a decrease in demand when the price increases. For example, when demand is perfectly inelastic, by definition consumers have no alternative to purchasing the good or service if the price increases, so the quantity demanded would remain constant. Hence, suppliers can increase the price by the full amount of the tax, and the consumer would end up paying the entirety. As a result, firms cannot pass on any part of the tax by raising prices, so they would be forced to pay all of it themselves. By way of contrast, an elastic good or service is one for which a 1 percentprice change causes more than a 1 percent change in the quantity demanded or supplied.

Why is demand for necessity commodities inelastic?

Demand for necessity commodities is inelastic due to a frequent purchase of these commodities for basic need by the consumer. The demand of quantity will not get much affected much by the decrease or increase in the price of these commodities. An inelastic demand of the commodity will not lead the more changes in the revenues due to ...

What would happen if demand was elastic?

A good with perfectly elastic demand would have a PED of infinity, where even minuscule changes in price would cause an infinitesimally large change in demand.

What is elastic demand?

Elastic demand occurs when changes in price cause a disproportionately large change in quantity demanded. For example, a good with elastic demand might see its price increase by 10%, but demand falls by 30% as a result.

What is the PED of a good with perfectly inelastic demand?

A good with perfectly inelastic demand would have a PED of 0, where even huge changes in price would cause no change in demand.

How does price elasticity of supply work?

Price elasticity of supply (PES) works in the same way that PED does. Equations to calculate PES are the same (except that the quantity used is the quantity supplied instead of quantity demanded).

What does unit elastic PES mean?

Unit elastic PES would mean that increases in the price will lead to proportionately equal increases in quantity supplied.

What is the PED of a good?

The PED of the good is 4.2 , which is considered to be elastic. A good with perfectly elastic demand would have a PED of infinity, where even minuscule changes in price would cause an infinitesimally large change in demand.

Why is it not ideal to use the price elasticity formula?

Using this formula is not ideal because the direction of the change in price or quantity can affect the number calculated for price elasticity.

What is elastic demand?

Elastic Demand refers to situation when % change in quantity demanded is greater than % change in price of own commodity.

Why do luxury goods have a high elasticity of demand?

For example, luxury goods have a high elasticity of demand because they are sensitive to price changes. Suppose the prices of LED televisions decrease in price by 50%. The demand increases, because they are more a. Luxury good is a good for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises.

How does change affect consumers?

Change in the economic conditions , will affect different consumers in different ways , where one may consider a good a luxury , another will find it a comfort or lifestyle enhancement .The demand for inelastic goods don’t change but the quantity consumed or purchased will , and elastic goods will have less demand .

Why are luxury goods more easily substituted for each other?

It is simply because such goods are luxuries and not necessities. As the price increases, the willingness or purchase decreases and as income increases the amount purchased of such goods tends to increase disproportionately. Luxury goods are also more easily substituted for each other, meaning that some price sensitivity is presumed.

What is the normal price / quantity?

The “normal” price / quantity only applies in that the demand curve has a steep downward slope and is highly price inelastic

What is luxury good?

Luxury good is a good for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises. Many factors determine the demand elasticity for a product, including price levels, the type of product or service, income levels, and the availability of any potential substitutes.

Why are luxury goods less in demand?

Some luxury goods have a natural scarcity or an artificial scarcity. Even when there is a downturn in the economy, the demand always outstrips the supply.

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