Question

Price elasticity for a good depends on the share of a consumer's budget spent on a good. Other things being equal, which of the following goods has the most elastic demand? Fish food Monthly cell phone bill Thumbtacks

Answer 1

Answer:

Monthly Cell Phone Bill

Explanation:

Other things being equal, the higher the price of a good relative to a consumer's income, the greater the price elasticity of demand. Hence, the price elasticity of demand for low-priced items, such as thumbtacks and fish food, tends to be lower than the price elasticity of demand for relatively expensive items, such as monthly cell phone bill, that represent a more significant fraction of a consumer's annual income.

Be sure to consider not just the price, however, but also the overall portion of a consumer's annual income spent on an item. For example, one latte costs only $3.00, but for daily coffee drinkers the annual expense could be around $1,000. The elasticity of demand for lattes is therefore likely to be higher than that for other low-priced items (such as thumbtacks) that may need to be purchased only a few times annually.