Verified Document

Price Elasticity As A Means Of Identifying Essay

¶ … price elasticity as a means of identifying a brand's competitors. The possibility of using the concept of price elasticity to identify a brand's competitors implies a relationship between the two brands (substitution), and between their relative elasticity (cross price elasticity). This essay explores those relationships. It has been said of the law of demand -- that the higher the price of a good, the less that consumers will purchase -- that it is the "most famous law in economics, and the one that economists are most sure of." This law is so certain and so consistently observed because it effectively predicts consumer behavior. The law of demand is in fact one of the basic principles of microeconomics (Anderson, McClellan, Overton and Wolfram, 1997).

The law of demand also makes it possible to measure how the price of a product or brand affects the demand for it. The most commonly used method to measure consumers' sensitivity to price is known as price elasticity of demand, and is simply defined as the proportionate change in demand given a change in price...

When the price of a product goes up, and the demand for it falls off, demand for the product is elastic. Conversely, when the price goes up and demand remains unchanged, that demand is said to be inelastic.
Given the relationship between a brand's price and its elasticity, the single most important factor that influences elasticity is the availability of substitutes (Investopedia, 2011). When consumers perceive that product X can be used in place of product Y, the products are substitutes for each other. Therefore, they are considered to be competing products, because substitute one for the other.

So what determines price elasticity of demand? The more close substitutes there are in the market, the more elastic is the demand for a product; consumers can more easily switch their demand if the price of one product changes relative to another (A S. Markets, n.d.). Again, there is the law of demand affecting not just consumption of one brand, but consumption of substitutes, that is, competing brands.

Price elasticity of demand also…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

AS Markets (n.d.). Cross price elasticity of demand. Retrieved July 25, 2011 from http://tutor2u.net/economics/revision-notes/as-markets-crossprice-elasticity-of-demand.html

Anderson, P.L., McClellan, R.D., Overton, J.P. & Wolfram, G.L. (1997). Price elasticity of demand. Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Retrieved July 25, 2011 from http://www.mackinac.org/1247

EconPort. (2006). Cross price elasticity. Experimental Economics Center. Retrieved July 25, 2011 from http://www.econport.org/content/handbook/Elasticity/Cross-Price-Elasticity.html

Ellis-Christensen, T. (2011). What is price elasticity of demand? Retrieved July 25, 2011 from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-price-elasticity-of-demand.htm
Investopedia. (2011). Economics basics: Elasticity. Retrieved July 25, 2011 from http://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/economics4.asp
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Price Elasticity and Budgeting
Words: 1717 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Food Capital Budgeting Strategy for Price Elasticity Major effects of government policies on production and employment Government Regulations for fairness in the low-calorie, frozen microwavable food industry Major Complexities in Expansion via Capital Projects & Key Actions Convergence between the Interests of Stockholders and Managers Strategy for Price Elasticity The Price Elasticity is a tool that is used by economists and business to measure exactly the quantity response that is needed to adjust to a change in

Price and Quantity of Milk
Words: 4351 Length: 14 Document Type: Essay

The interest of certain categories of public in promoting this trend has significantly intensified. Therefore, the demanded quantity of organic products is likely to increase. 2. There are several factors that influence the organic products supply. The most important factors are represented by prices, costs of production, prices of traditional products, weather, and technology. In the case of the influence of prices, if they increase the supplied quantity of organic

Price Discrimination in Practice
Words: 700 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Case 12.1: Price discrimination in Practice1. Why do drug firms give discounts voluntarily?Drug companies mainly offer discounts in the form of rebates. In a rebate arrangement, the purchaser buys the drugs at the list price, but the seller later refunds the purchaser the rebate amount (Stomberg, 2021). In most cases, the rebate amount is tied to the volume of drugs purchased, purchase loyalty, prompt payment, and increased breadth of purchases

Elasticity and Government Policies in
Words: 928 Length: 3 Document Type: Thesis

The article gives the example of China, where as much as $360 billion were allocated by the government towards the process of stimulating demand on the market. The process did not target only the car manufacturers, but rather all industries, while the instruments of actually putting the money to use ranged from fee vouchers to direct stimuli for the businesses. Countries such as Germany or the U.S. put in more

Mcdonalds Lifting Prices in Working-Class
Words: 3261 Length: 12 Document Type: Research Paper

As such, there are relatively few substitute goods (other types of foods are more expensive and, as a result, cannot be considered as substitute goods), the level of necessity is high (fast food is, for many of the poorer communities, the only source of food and, because of this, people are willing to pay a higher price without changing their volume of consumption), but also because of habits: people who

Second Degree Price Discrimination
Words: 613 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Second Degree Price Discrimination Many companies may practice second-degree price discrimination without realizing it by offering volume discounts or charging more for higher quality products or services. To determine what second-degree price discrimination is in real-world settings and to identify appropriate examples of the practice, this paper reviews the relevant literature concerning second-degree price discrimination, followed by an analysis of its important aspects from an economic theoretical perspective. An examination concerning

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now