Demand: Concept Function Use of demand analysis in business decision Elasticity of demand Types and measurement
Introduction
In a market economy, individual consumers make plans of consumption and individual firms make plans of production based on the changes in market prices. Economists use the term invisible hand to describe the frequent exchanges in the market The price system works in a market economy only if there is free choice within the market The following sections explain how the market price is determined by the interaction of consumers (demand) and producers (supply).
Meaning of Demand
Meaning and Definition of Demand According to Benham: The demand for anything, at a given price, is the amount of it, which will be bought per unit of time, at that price. According to Bobber, By demand we mean the various quantities of a given commodity or service which consumers would buy in one market in a given period of time at various prices. Requisites: a. Desire for specific commodity. b. Sufficient resources to purchase the desired commodity. c. Willingness to spend the resources. d. Availability of the commodity at (i) Certain price (ii) Certain place (iii) Certain time.
Cont.
The word demand consists of 4 main concepts: It refers to both the ability to pay and a willingness to buy by the consumer (s). Demand is sometimes called effective demand. Demand can be shown by a demand schedule which shows the maximum quantity demanded (willing & able to buy) at all prices. Demand is a flow concept. Our willingness and ability to buy is subjected to a time period. At different times, we may have different demand schedules. Quantity Demanded : refers to the amount (quantity) of a good that buyers are willing to purchase at alternative prices for a given period.
Determinants of Demand
Products Own Price Consumer Income Prices of Related Goods Tastes & Preferences Expectations Number of Consumers Advertising Expenditure
Price
Law of Demand
The law of demand states that, other things equal (ceteris paribus), the quantity demanded of a good falls when the price of the good rises.
Income
As income increases, the demand for a normal good will increase. As income increases, the demand for an inferior good will decrease.
Others
Tastes & preferences Expectations Re-saleability Advertising
Demand Schedule
Price of Ice-cream Cone ($)
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00
10
12
Increas e in demand
Decrease in demand
D2
D1 D3
Quantity of Ice-Cream Cones
$4.00
A tax that raises the price of cigarettes results in a movements along the demand curve.
A
$2.00
D1
12
20
Law of Demand
Exceptions: Inferior goods Articles of snob appeal. (exception: Veblen goods, eg., diamonds) Expectation regarding future prices (shares, industrial materials) Emergencies Change in fashion, habits, attitudes, etc.. Importance: Price determination. To Finance Minister To farmers In the field of Planning.
Qd f ( P, M , PR , T , Pe , N )
Price expectations and tastes and preferences are often dropped due to the difficulty of measuring or estimating them.
Qd f ( P, M , PR , N )
Linear Demand
Q=a+bP+cM+dPR+eN
Coefficient b yields the change in Q in response to a 1 unit increase in Price(b should be negative) Coefficient c can be positive(normal) or negative(inferior). It yields the change in Q in response to a 1 unit increase in incoMe. Coefficient d can be positive(substitutes) or negative(complements). It yields the change in Q in response to a 1 unit increase in the Price of a Related good. Coefficient e should be positive and yields the change in Q in response to a 1 unit increase in Number of buyers( proxy is often population)
Income Elasticity
Log-linear Demand
Q=aPbMc(PR)dNe Converted into logs yields lnQ = ln a + b ln P + c ln M + d ln PR + e ln N Elasticites are constant and equal to the estimated coefficients
px
quantity of x demanded rises.
px px px
U1 U2 x1 x2 x3
U3
I = px + py
I = px + py
Quantity of x
I = px + py
Quantity of x
Select quantities of goods to maximize utility subj the constraint that you cannot spend more than yo income max
x1 , x2
s.t.
U x1 , x2
x1 p1 x2 p2 M
L( x1, x2 , ) U x1, x2 x1 p1 x2 p2 M
take derivatives with respect to each of the varia and set them equal to zero.x1 , x2 and
L x1 , x2 , =0 x2
L x1 , x2 , =0
Partial derivatives derivative holding the other variables constant. Solve this system of 3 equations
The Solutions
x1 x1 ( p1 , p2 , M ) x2 x2 ( p1 , p2 , M )
Elasticity of demand
Definition: Elasticity of demand is defined as the responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good to changes in one of the variables on which demand depends. These variables are price of the commodity, prices of the related commodities, income of the consumer & other various factors on which demand depends. Thus, we have Price Elasticity, Cross Elasticity, Elasticity of Substitution & Income Elasticity. It is always price elasticity of demand which is referred to as elasticity of demand A.Price Elasticity Measures how much the quantity demanded of a good changes when its price changes. Or It may be defined as Percentage Change in Quantity demanded over percentage change in price
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Price Elasticity
Price Elasticity Elastic Demand or more than 1 When quantity demanded responds greatly to price changes Inelastic Demand or less than 1 When quantity demanded responds little to price changes. Unitary Elastic When quantity demanded responds equally to the price changes. Perfectly inelastic or 0 elastic demand Perfectly elastic or infinite elastic demand
Economic factors determine the size of price elasticity for individual goods. Elasticity tends to be higher when the goods are luxuries, when substitutes are available and when consumer have more time to adjust their behavior.
Income elasticity
Types: Zero Negative Positive (i) low (ii) unitary (iii) high
Empirical evidence suggests that income elasticity falls as income rises. Income elasticity and business decisions 1. If ei is >0 but <1, sales will increase but slower than the general economic growth; 2. If ei is >1, sales will increase more rapidly than general economic growth Corollary: in a growing economy while farmers suffer as their products have low income elasticity, industrialists gain as their products have high income elasticity.
Cross Elasticity: A change in the demand for one good in response to a change in the price of another good represents cross elasticity of demand of the former good for the latter good. If two goods are perfect substitutes for each other cross elasticity is infinite and if the two goods are totally unrelated, cross elasticity between them is zero. Goods between which cross elasticity is positive can be called Substitutes, the good between which the cross elasticity is negative are not always complementary as this is found when the income effect on the price change is very strong.
1. Perfectly Elastic
Y Ed = p
d1
2. Perfectly Inelastic
Y
p1 p
Ed = 0
3. Unitary Elastic
Y
p1 p
Ed = 1
d1
Ed > 1
d1
Ed < 1
d1
Figure 7.3 Elastic and inelastic demand Demand curves differ in their relative elasticity. Curve D1 is more elastic than curve D2, in the sense that consumers on curve D1 are more responsive to a given price change (P2 to P1) than are consumers on curve D2.
Figure 7.4 Changes in the elasticity coefficient The elasticity coefficient decreases as a firm moves down the demand curve. The upper half of a linear demand curve is elastic, meaning that the elasticity coefficient is greater than one. The lower half is inelastic, meaning that the elasticity coefficient is less than one. This means that the middle of the linear demand curve has an elasticity coefficient equal to one.
2. Total Outlay (Expenditure) Methods TO=TQ * P ; where, TO=total outlay; TQ=total quantity; P=price of the commodity 3. Geometric (Point) method at any given point on the curve Pe = lower segment of demand curve upper segment of demand curve