Chapter 5: Elasticity

SOLUTIONS TO TEXT PROBLEMS:

Questions for Review
1. The price elasticity of demand measures how much quantity demanded responds to a change in
price. The income elasticity of demand measures how much quantity demanded responds to
changes in consumer income.
2. The determinants of the price elasticity of demand include how available close substitutes are,
whether the good is a necessity or a luxury, how broadly defined the market is, and the time
horizon. Luxury goods have greater price elasticities than necessities, goods with close
substitutes have greater elasticities, goods in more narrowly defined markets have greater
elasticities, and the elasticity of demand is greater the longer the time horizon.
3. The main advantage of using the mid-point formula is that it uses a constant base whether the
change in price or quantity demanded is an increase or a decrease.
4. An elasticity greater than one means that demand is elastic. When the elasticity is greater than
one, the percentage change in quantity demanded exceeds the percentage change in price.
When the elasticity equals zero, demand is perfectly inelastic. There is no change in quantity
demanded when there is a change in price.
5. Figure 1 presents a supply-and-demand diagram, showing the equilibrium price, the equilibrium
quantity, and the total revenue received by producers. Total revenue equals the equilibrium
price times the equilibrium quantity, which is the area of the rectangle shown in the figure.

Figure 1
6. If demand is elastic, an increase in price reduces total revenue. With elastic demand, the
quantity demanded falls by a greater percentage than the price rises. As a result, total revenue
declines.
7. A good with income elasticity less than zero is called an inferior good because as income rises,
the quantity demanded declines.
8. The price elasticity of supply is calculated as the percentage change in quantity supplied
divided by the percentage change in price. It measures how much quantity supplied responds to
changes in price.
9. The price elasticity of supply of Picasso paintings is zero, because no matter how high price
rises, no more can ever be produced.

10. The price elasticity of supply is usually larger in the long run than it is in the short run. Over
short periods of time, firms cannot easily change the sizes of their factories to make more or
less of a good, so the quantity supplied is not very responsive to price. Over longer periods,
firms can build new factories or close old ones, so the quantity supplied is more responsive to
price.
11. Because the demand for drugs is likely to be inelastic, an increase in price will lead to a rise in
total expenditure. Therefore, drug users may resort to theft or burglary to support their habits.
Problems and Applications
1. a. Mystery novels have more elastic demand than required textbooks, because mystery novels
have close substitutes and are a luxury good, while required textbooks are a necessity with
no close substitutes. If the price of mystery novels were to rise, readers could substitute
other types of novels, or buy fewer novels altogether. But if the price of required textbooks
were to rise, students would have little choice but to pay the higher price. Thus, the quantity
demanded of required textbooks is less responsive to price than the quantity demanded of
mystery novels.
b. Beethoven recordings have more elastic demand than classical music recordings in general.
Beethoven recordings are a narrower market than classical music recordings, so it is easy to
find close substitutes for them. If the price of Beethoven recordings were to rise, people
could substitute other classical recordings, like Mozart. But if the price of all classical
recordings were to rise, substitution would be more difficult. (A transition from classical
music to rap is unlikely!) Thus, the quantity demanded of classical recordings is less
responsive to price than the quantity demanded of Beethoven recordings.
c. Subway rides during the next five years have more elastic demand than subway rides during
the next six months. Goods have a more elastic demand over longer time horizons. If the
fare for a subway ride was to rise temporarily, consumers could not switch to other forms of
transportation without great expense or great inconvenience. But if the fare for a subway
ride was to remain high for a long time, people would gradually switch to alternative forms
of transportation. As a result, the quantity demanded of subway rides during the next six
months will be less responsive to changes in the price than the quantity demanded of
subway rides during the next five years.
d. Root beer has more elastic demand than water. Root beer is a luxury with close substitutes,
while water is a necessity with no close substitutes. If the price of water were to rise,
consumers have little choice but to pay the higher price. But if the price of root beer were to
rise, consumers could easily switch to other sodas. So the quantity demanded of root beer is
more responsive to changes in price than the quantity demanded of water.
2. a. For business travelers, the price elasticity of demand when the price of tickets rises from
$200 to $250 is [(2,000 1,900)/1,950]/[(250 200)/225] = 0.05/0.22 = 0.23. For
vacationers, the price elasticity of demand when the price of tickets rises from $200 to $250
is [(800 600)/700] / [(250 200)/225] = 0.29/0.22 = 1.32.
b. The price elasticity of demand for vacationers is higher than the elasticity for business
travelers because vacationers can choose more easily a different mode of transportation
(like driving or taking the train). Business travelers are less likely to do so because time is
more important to them and their schedules are less adaptable.
3. a. The percentage change in price is equal to (2.20 1.00)/2.00 = 0.2 = 20%. If the price
elasticity of demand is 0.2, quantity demanded will fall by 4% in the short run [0.20 0.20].
If the price elasticity of demand is 0.7, quantity demanded will fall by 14% in the long run
[0.7 0.2].
b. Over time, consumers can make adjustments to their homes by purchasing alternative heat
sources such as natural gas or electric furnaces. Thus, they can respond more easily to the
change in the price of heating oil in the long run than in the short run.

4. If quantity demanded fell, price must have risen. If total revenue rose, then the percentage
increase in the price must be greater than the percentage decline in quantity demanded.
Therefore, demand is inelastic.
5. Both Billy and Valerie may be correct. If demand increases, but supply is totally inelastic,
equilibrium price will rise but the equilibrium quantity will remain the same. This would also
occur if supply decreases and demand is totally inelastic. Marian is incorrect. If supply and
demand both rise, equilibrium quantity will increase, but the impact on equilibrium price is
indeterminate.
6. a. If your income is $10,000, your price elasticity of demand as the price of compact discs rises
from $8 to $10 is [(40 32)/36]/[(10 8)/9] =0.22/0.22 = 1. If your income is $12,000, the
elasticity is [(50 45)/47.5]/[(10 8)/9] = 0.11/0.22 = 0.5.
b. If the price is $12, your income elasticity of demand as your income increases from $10,000
to $12,000 is [(30 24)/27]/[(12,000 10,000)/11,000] = 0.22/0.18 = 1.22. If the price is
$16, your income elasticity of demand as your income increases from $10,000 to $12,000 is
[(12 8)/10]/[(12,000 10,000)/11,000] = 0.40/0.18 = 2.2.
7. Yes, an increase in income would decrease the demand for good X because the income elasticity
is less than zero, indicating that good X is an inferior good. A decrease in the price of good Y will
decrease the demand for good X because the two goods are substitutes (as indicated by a
cross-price elasticity that is greater than zero).
8. a. If Maria always spends one-third of her income on clothing, then her income elasticity of
demand is one, because maintaining her clothing expenditures as a constant fraction of her
income means the percentage change in her quantity of clothing must equal her percentage
change in income.
b. Maria's price elasticity of clothing demand is also one, because every percentage point
increase in the price of clothing would lead her to reduce her quantity purchased by the
same percentage.
c. Because Maria spends a smaller proportion of her income on clothing, then for any given
price, her quantity demanded will be lower. Thus, her demand curve has shifted to the left.
Because she will again spend a constant fraction of her income on clothing, her income and
price elasticities of demand remain one.
9. a. If quantity demanded falls by 4.3% when price rises by 20%, the price elasticity of demand
is 4.3/20 = 0.215, which is fairly inelastic.
b. Because the demand is inelastic, the Transit Authority's revenue rises when the fare rises.
c. The elasticity estimate might be unreliable because it is only the first month after the fare
increase. As time goes by, people may switch to other means of transportation in response
to the price increase. So the elasticity may be larger in the long run than it is in the short
run.
10. Tom's price elasticity of demand is zero, because he wants the same quantity regardless of the
price. Jerry's price elasticity of demand is one, because he spends the same amount on gas, no
matter what the price, which means his percentage change in quantity is equal to the
percentage change in price.
11. a. With a price elasticity of demand of 0.4, reducing the quantity demanded of cigarettes by
20% requires a 50% increase in price, because 20/50 = 0.4. With the price of cigarettes
currently $2, this would require an increase in the price to $3.33 a pack using the midpoint
method (note that ($3.33 $2)/$2.67 = .50).

b. The policy will have a larger effect five years from now than it does one year from now. The
elasticity is larger in the long run, because it may take some time for people to reduce their
cigarette usage. The habit of smoking is hard to break in the short run.
c. Because teenagers do not have as much income as adults, they are likely to have a higher
price elasticity of demand. Also, adults are more likely to be addicted to cigarettes, making it
more difficult to reduce their quantity demanded in response to a higher price.
12. In order to determine whether you should raise or lower the price of admissions, you need to
know if the demand is elastic or inelastic. If demand is elastic, a decline in the price of
admissions will increase total revenue. If demand is inelastic, an increase in the price of
admissions will cause total revenue to rise.
13. a. As Figure 2 shows, the increase in supply reduces the equilibrium price and increases the
equilibrium quantity in both markets.
b. In the market for pharmaceutical drugs (with inelastic demand), the increase in supply leads
to a relatively large decline in the equilibrium price and a small increase in the equilibrium
quantity.

Figure 2
c. In the market for computers (with elastic demand), the increase in supply leads to a
relatively large increase in the equilibrium quantity and a small decline in the equilibrium
price.
d. Because demand is inelastic in the market for pharmaceutical drugs, the percentage
increase in quantity will be lower than the percentage decrease in price; thus, total
consumer spending will decline. Because demand is elastic in the market for computers, the
percentage increase in quantity will be greater than the percentage decrease in price, so
total consumer spending will increase.
14. a. As Figure 3 shows, the increase in demand increases both the equilibrium price and the
equilibrium quantity in both markets.
b. In the market for beachfront resorts (with inelastic supply), the increase in demand leads to
a relatively large increase in the equilibrium price and a small increase in the equilibrium
quantity.
c. In the market for automobiles (with elastic supply), the increase in demand leads to a
relatively large increase in the equilibrium quantity and a small increase in equilibrium price.

d. In both markets, total consumer spending rises, because both equilibrium price and
equilibrium quantity rise.

Figure 3
15. a. Farmers whose crops were not destroyed benefited because the destruction of some of the
crops reduced the supply, causing the equilibrium price to rise.
b. To tell whether farmers as a group were hurt or helped by the floods, you would need to
know the price elasticity of demand. It could be that the total revenue received by all
farmers as a group actually rose.
16. A worldwide drought could increase the total revenue of farmers if the price elasticity of demand
for grain is inelastic. The drought reduces the supply of grain, but if demand is inelastic, the
reduction of supply causes a large increase in price. Total farm revenue would rise as a result. If
there is only a drought in Kansas, Kansas production is not a large enough proportion of the
total farm product to have much impact on the price. As a result, price does not change (or
changes by only a slight amount), while the output by Kansas farmers declines, thus reducing
their income.
17. The quantity demanded at various prices is shown in the table below:
Price
1
2
3
4
5
6

Quantity
Demanded
60
30
20
15
12
10

Figure 4
The demand curve is shown in Figure 4. When price rises from $1 to $2 (a 66.67 % increase),
quantity demanded falls from 60 to 30 (a 66.67% decrease). Therefore, the price elasticity of
demand is equal to one. When price rises from $5 to $6 (an 18.18% increase), quantity demanded
falls from 12 to 10 (an 18.18% decline). Again the price elasticity is equal to one. A linear demand
curve has a price elasticity that declines in absolute value as price falls. This demand curve has a
constant elasticity equal to one.