Chapter 5: Q.14 (page 130)
Describe the general appearance of a demand or a supply curve with infinite elasticity.
Short Answer
A demand or supply curve with infinite elasticity is horizontal in shape.
Chapter 5: Q.14 (page 130)
Describe the general appearance of a demand or a supply curve with infinite elasticity.
A demand or supply curve with infinite elasticity is horizontal in shape.
All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.
Get started for freeA city has built a bridge over a river and it decides to charge a toll to everyone who crosses. For one year, the city charges a variety of different tolls and records information on how many drivers cross the bridge. The city thus gathers information about the elasticity of demand. If the city wishes to raise as much revenue as possible from the tolls, where will the city decide to charge a toll: in the inelastic portion of the demand curve, the elastic portion of the demand curve, or the unit elastic portion? Explain.
Say that a certain stadium for professional football has 70,000 seats. What is the shape of the supply curve for tickets to football games at that stadium? Explain.
Would you usually expect elasticity of demand or supply to be higher in the short run or in the long run? Why?
Suppose you are in charge of sales at a pharmaceutical company, and your firm has a new drug that causes bald men to grow hair. Assume that the company wants to earn as much revenue as possible from this drug. If the elasticity of demand for your companyโs product at the current price is 1.4, would you advise the company to raise the price, lower the price, or to keep the price the same? What if the elasticity were 0.6? What if it were 1? Explain your answer.
From the data in Table 5.5 about demand for smart phones, calculate the price elasticity of demand from: point B to point C, point D to point E, and point G to point H. Classify the elasticity at each point as elastic, inelastic, or unit elastic.
Points | P | Q |
A | 60 | 3,000 |
B | 70 | 2,800 |
C | 80 | 2,600 |
D | 90 | 2,400 |
E | 100 | 2,200 |
F | 110 | 2,000 |
G | 120 | 1,800 |
H | 130 | 1,600 |
What do you think about this solution?
We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.