62 Examples of Elastic and Inelastic Demand
Learning Objectives
- Analyze why the demand for some goods is either elastic or inelastic
Now that you have a general idea of what elasticity is, let’s consider some of the factors that can help us predict whether demand for a product is more or less elastic. The following are important considerations:
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- Substitutes: Price elasticity of demand is fundamentally about substitutes. If it’s easy to find a substitute product when the price of a product increases, the demand will be more elastic. If there are few or no alternatives, demand will be less elastic.
- Necessities vs. luxuries: A necessity is something you absolutely must have, almost regardless of the price. A luxury is something that would be nice to have, but it’s not absolutely necessary. Consider the elasticity of demand for cookies. A buyer may enjoy a cookie, but it doesn’t fulfill a critical need the way a snow shovel after a blizzard or a life-saving drug does. In general, the greater the necessity of the product, the less elastic, or more inelastic, the demand will be, because substitutes are limited. The more luxurious the product is, the more elastic demand will be.
- Share of the consumer’s budget: If a product takes up a large share of a consumer’s budget, even a small percentage increase in price may make it prohibitively expensive to many buyers. Take rental housing that’s located close to downtown. Such housing might cost half of one’s budget. A small percentage increase in rent could cause renters to relocate to cheaper housing in the suburbs, rather than reduce their spending on food, utilities, and other necessities. Therefore the larger the share of an item in one’s budget, the more price elastic demand is likely to be. By contrast, suppose the local grocery store increased the price of toothpicks by 50 percent. Since toothpicks represent such a small part of a consumer’s budget, even a significant increase in price is likely to have only a small effect on demand. Thus, the smaller the share of an item in one’s budget, the more price inelastic demand is likely to be.
- Short run versus long run: Price elasticity of demand is usually lower in the short run, before consumers have much time to react, than in the long run, when they have greater opportunity to find substitute goods. Thus, demand is more price elastic in the long run than in the short run.
- Competitive dynamics: Goods that can only be produced by one supplier generally have inelastic demand, while products that exist in a competitive marketplace have elastic demand. This is because a competitive marketplace offers more options for the buyer.
Try It
With these considerations in mind, take a moment to see if you can figure out which of the following products have elastic demand and which have inelastic demand. It may be helpful to remember that when the buyer is insensitive to price, demand is inelastic.
- Gasoline
- College textbooks
- Coffee
- Airline tickets
- Concert tickets
- Soft drinks
- Medical procedures
Inelastic Demand |
Elastic Demand |
Gasoline
|
Gas from a Particular Station
|
Traditional Textbooks
|
New Textbook Distribution Channels
|
Specialty Coffee Drinks
|
Black Coffee
|
Concert Tickets
|
Airline Tickets
|
Medical Procedures
|
Soft Drinks
|
Try It
Glossary
- elastic demand:
- a high responsiveness of quantity demanded or supplied to changes in price
- inelastic demand:
- a low responsiveness by consumers to price changes