Question

Economist A believes that the elasticity of investment is 1.47 while economist B believes that the elasticity of investment is 0.76. Which economist, A or B, is more likely to believe that a change in the interest rate will change the current economic environment?

Answer 1

Answer:

Economist A

Explanation:

Elasticity is a measure of investment sensitivity. If the investment is elastic, a slight increase in price (interest rate) will decrease the amount of investment. Conversely, if the investment is inelastic, a change in interest rates will not considerably affect the investment rate. The calculation of elasticity consists of the change in the investment rate divided by the change in the interest rate. If the calculation of elasticity is less than 1, it is considered ineastic, while investments with elasticity above 1 are considered elastic. Thus, economist A believes that the investment rate is elastic to the interest rate, while economist B believes the opposite. So for economist A the rise in interest rates will affect the investment rate of the economy (and hence the macroeconomic environment) because in his view investment is elastic. Economist B does not believe that interest rate fluctuations will affect demand for investments.