📚 Learning Guide
Cross Price Elasticity of Demand
hard

If the cross price elasticity of demand between two goods is positive, what can we infer about the relationship between these goods? Additionally, how would this relationship be graphically represented in terms of demand curves?

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Choose the Best Answer

A

The goods are substitutes and the demand curves shift rightward when the price of one increases.

B

The goods are complements and the demand curves shift leftward when the price of one increases.

C

The goods are unrelated and the demand curves remain unchanged regardless of price changes.

D

The goods are substitutes and the demand curves shift leftward when the price of one increases.

Understanding the Answer

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Answer

If the cross price elasticity of demand between two goods is positive, it means that when the price of one good increases, the demand for the other good also increases. This typically indicates that the two goods are substitutes, meaning that consumers can replace one with the other. For example, if the price of coffee goes up, more people might choose to buy tea instead, leading to an increase in tea's demand. Graphically, this relationship can be shown with demand curves, where the demand curve for the substitute good shifts to the right as its price increases, reflecting higher demand. In contrast, if the cross price elasticity were negative, it would suggest that the goods are complements, meaning they are often used together.

Detailed Explanation

When two goods are substitutes, an increase in the price of one leads to more demand for the other. Other options are incorrect because This answer confuses substitutes with complements; This option suggests the goods are unrelated, which is not true here.

Key Concepts

calculation formula
substitutes
graphical representation of elasticity.
Topic

Cross Price Elasticity of Demand

Difficulty

hard level question

Cognitive Level

understand

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