Question

Label the following hypothetical demand scenarios. Use the midpoint method.

Answer 1

Answer:

Contain Yourself!, a plastic container company, raises the price of its signature "lunchbox" container from $3.00 to $4.00. As a result, the quantity sold drops from 20,000 to 15,000.

UNIT ELASTIC ⇒ when the price elasticity of demand is unit elastic, a change in price will result in a proportionally equal change in the quantity demanded.

PED = % change in quantity / % change in price = {(15 - 20) / [(15 + 20)/2]} / {($4 - $3) / [($4 + $3)/2]} = -0.2857 / 0.2857 = -1 or |1| in absolute terms

Economists working for the United States have determined that the elasticity of demand for gasoline is 0.5.

INELASTIC DEMAND ⇒ when the price elasticity of demand is inelastic, a change in price will result in a proportionally lower change in the quantity demanded.

CapCityMetro decides to increase bus fare rates from $2.00 to $2.21. Consequently, the number of passengers who decide to take the bus in Austin drops from an average of 70,000 riders a day to an average of 61,000 riders a day.

ELASTIC DEMAND ⇒ when the demand for a good is elastic, a change in price will result in a proportionally higher change in quantity demanded.

PED = % change in quantity / % change in price = {(61,000 - 70,000) / [(61,000 + 70,000)/2]} / {($2.21 - $2) / [($2.21 + $2)/2]} = -0.1374 / 0.1 = -1.374 or |1.374| in absolute terms