Price Elasticity of Demand

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WHAT IS PRICE ELASTICITY OF DEMAND? According to McConnell, Brue & Flynn the law of demand states that other things being equal consumers will buy more of a product when its price declines and less when its price increases. The responsiveness of consumers to a price change is measured by a products price elasticity of demand. In economics, the demand for a certain good or service is represented by the demand curve. The demand curve is plotted on a graph with price labeled on the y-axis and quantity labeled on the x-axis. The resulting curve is downward-sloping; thus, increases in price result in a fall in demand for a given product. A measure of the relationship between a changes in the quantity demanded of a particular good and a change in its price. Price elasticity of demand is a term in economics often used when discussing price sensitivity. The degree to which demand for a good or service varies with its price is called price demand elasticity. Price elasticity of demand shows the relationship between price and quantity demanded and provides a precise calculation of the effect of a change in price on quantity demanded. Normally, sales increase with drop in prices and decrease with rise in prices. As a general rule, appliances, cars, confectionary and other non-essentials show elasticity of demand whereas most necessities (food, medicine, basic clothing) show inelasticity of demand (do not sell significantly more or less with changes in price). The Price Elasticity of Demand is also commonly known as just price elasticity it measures the rate of response of quantity demanded due to a price change. The formula for calculating price elasticity of demand is: Price Elasticity of Demand = % Change in Quantity Demanded / % Change in Price If a small change in price is accompanied by a large change in quantity demanded, the product is said to be elastic (or

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