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Course: Microeconomics > Unit 3
Lesson 3: Income elasticity of demand and cross-price elasticity of demandLesson Overview - Cross Price Elasticity and Income Elasticity of Demand
Summary
In a previous lesson we learned about price elasticity of demand, but there are many other types of elasticity that measure how agents respond to variables other than the change in a good's price. Two of these are Cross Price Elasticity of Demand and Income Elasticity of Demand. The sign of each of these conveys important information about the good.
As we learned previously, inferior goods have an inverse relationship between income and demand, which results in a negative income elasticity of demand. On the other hand, normal goods have a positive relationship between income and demand which is reflected in a positive income elasticity of demand.
We determine whether goods are complements or substitutes based on cross price elasticity - if the cross price elasticity is positive the goods are substitutes, and if the cross price elasticity are negative the goods are complements.
Cross price elasticity of demand
Cross price elasticity of demand measures the how a change in the price of one good will affect the quantity demanded of another good. The formula for XED is:
Unlike the always negative price elasticity of demand, the value of the cross price elasticity can be either negative or positive, and the sign provides important information about whether the goods are complements and substitutes. The magnitude of the elasticity tells the degree to which the goods are complementary or substitutable.
We can interpret the cross-price elasticity of demand as summarized in the table below:
If the sign of | and the elasticity is | the goods are |
---|---|---|
negative | perfectly elastic | perfect complements that must be consumed in fixed proportions |
negative | elastic | highly complementary goods |
negative | inelastic | somewhat complementary goods |
unrelated goods (neither complements nor substitutes) | ||
positive | inelastic | somewhat substitutable |
positive | elastic | very substitutable |
positive | perfectly elastic | perfect substitutes |
We can visualize these along a number line:
Income elasticity of demand
Income Elasticity of Demand measures how a change in buyers income will lead to a change in the demand for a good. The formula for is:
Where is the income consumers of a good.
We can interpret the income elasticity of demand as summarized in the table below:
If the sign of | and the elasticity is | the goods are |
---|---|---|
negative | elastic or inelastic | inferior good |
perfectly inelasatic | absolute necessity | |
positive | inelastic | normal necessity |
positive | elastic | normal luxury |
We can visualize these along a number line:
Key Terms
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Cross price elasticity of demand | Also written as |
Substitutes | Goods that can be consumed instead of one another. The |
Complements | Goods that are usually consumed together. The |
Income elasticity of demand | Also written as |
Normal good | Sometimes called a superior good, A good with a direct relationship between income and demand. |
Inferior good | A good with an inverse relationship between income and demand. |
Luxury | A normal good with a relatively elastic |
Necessity | A normal good with a relatively inelastic |
Key equations - calculating and
The formula for calculating both XED and YED is essentially the same as that for calculating the price elasticity of demand. The only difference is what goes on the bottom of the equation.
As with price elasticity of demand, if percentage changes in income, the price of related goods and quantity of the good in question are not given, and we know the initial prices, they can be calculated using the formulas below:
Where people buy units of good A when the price of good B is , and people buy units of good A when the price of good B is .
Income elasticity can be calculated as follows:
Where is the consumer's original income and is the consumers new income.
Things to consider and common mistakes
- The signs in your calculations of
and are particularly important. If the price and quantity change in opposite directions when calculating then the goods must be complements and the coefficient will be negative. If income and quantity change in opposite directions when calculating then the good must be inferior and the coefficient will be negative. A positive coefficient means goods are substitutes and a positive coefficient means the good is normal. - The absolute value of
and tell you about the elasticity. - A note on terminology: When describing the price elasticity of demand for a good it is simple enough to say "demand is elastic" or "demand is inelastic". But when describing the cross and income elasticities of demand special attention should be paid to your use of the terminology. For
you must specify that demand is cross-price elastic or inelastic with respect to another good. For you must specify that demand for a good is either income elastic or income inelastic. - It can be tempting to make normative judgments about the qualities of a good, but it is important to remember that these are objective measures. What makes a good normal or inferior, or two goods complements or substitutes, depends on how we respond to these conditions changing, not any assumption we make about the good beforehand.
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- Hello, could you tell me when I should use the midpoint method to calculate the percentage change? I am a little confused, because in some videos you use the midpoint method, and in others the regular one.(11 votes)
- These videos are so helpful. So much information to learn in one week classes.(4 votes)
- Under - "Income elasticity of demand" - It says "Where
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YY is the income consumers of a good."
This statement should be re-written and clarified.(2 votes) - In the Table Under "Income Elasticity and Demand," inelastic is incorrectly spelled "inelasatic."(1 vote)