Elasticity of Demand and Supply

663 Words3 Pages
Cross elasticity of demand measures the proportionate response of quantity demanded of one good, to the proportionate change in price of another good. The bus operator understands that the current cross elasticity of demand with respect to rail fares is +3.21. This is very good for the bus operator because, as the train and bus are close substitutes (as long as they are both offering the same destination), it means that even if the train fair only increases by 5%, the bus operator is likely to receive an increase in quantity demanded of over 16% (as 16.05 divided by 5 = a cross elasticity of demand of 3.21). This indicates that the bus operator should not change his current fare and continue with the bus service, because his revenue will increase due to the 16% approximate increase in quantity demanded, potentially allowing the operator to make a profit. Income elasticity of demand measures the change in demand in relation to the change in consumer's incomes. A negative value for income elasticity of demand indicates that when consumer's incomes rise, quantity demanded for the bus service decreases. This is most likely to do with the fact that they may change to using a car of their own, instead of using the bus. This is not good for the bus operator because he may lose customers (his demand may decrease) if their incomes rise. It could therefore be said that an increase in the incomes of consumers could cause the bus operators revenue to decrease due to a fall in demand. This would indicate that the bus driver should close the service. Price elasticity of supply measures the proportionate response to changes in quantity supplied to a proportionate price change. A price elasticity of supply value of +1.15 means that the bus service has a more than proportionate response in supply to a change in price. The positive sign basically shows that higher prices will
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