Question

a. Tara buys only shoes and socks. When the price of shoes goes up, Tara continues buying exactly the same number of socks as before. True or False: Socks could not possibly be an inferior good for Tara.

Answer 1

Answer: False

Explanation:

Shoes and socks are complementary goods. A complementary good is a good that the demand for the good increases when there is reduction in price of its complement. Complementary goods have a negative cross elasticity of demand i.e. the demand for the good rises when the price of the other good decreases. Assuming "A" is a complement to "B" , a rise in the price of "A" will have a negative effect on the demand for "B".

A reduction in the price of A leads to a positive outcome on the demand for B resulting in an outward shift of its demand curve. The quantity demanded of one good has a direct relationship on the quantity demanded of the other good as they are linked together. When the price of shoes increases, less of socks will be demanded and vice versa.