Two goods X and Y are such a combination that, when the price of good Y increases, the demand for good X increases. How are goods X and Y related?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → substitute goods
When the price of Y rises, buyers move away from Y to X, so the demand for X rises. Goods that can be used in place of each other are substitutes. Tea and coffee are an example: if tea becomes dearer, people buy more coffee.
Option (1) complementary goods — Incorrect. Complementary goods are consumed together, such as tea and sugar. When sugar becomes dearer, the demand for tea falls. So demand moves opposite to the price of the other good.
Option (2) substitute goods — Correct. The demand for a good moves in the same direction as the price of its substitute.
Option (3) inferior goods — Incorrect. An inferior good is one whose demand falls when the consumer’s income rises. This is a link with income, and tells nothing about the price of another good.
Option (4) supplementary goods — Incorrect. ‘Supplementary’ means added to something else. That idea is close to goods used together, for which the demand would fall, and here it rises.
Note: A same/similar question was asked in CUET (UG) in the papers below.
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
| – | 16-05 S1 | – | 29-05 S3* | – |
* A similar question.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.4.3 Normal and Inferior Goods … For most goods, the quantity that a consumer chooses, increases as the consumer’s income increases and decreases as the consumer’s income decreases. Such goods are called normal goods. Thus, a consumer’s demand for a normal good moves in the same direction as the income of the consumer. However, there are some goods the demands for which move in the opposite direction of the income of the consumer. Such goods are called inferior goods.… 2.4.4 Substitutes and Complements … Goods which are consumed together are called complementary goods.… In general, the demand for a good moves in the opposite direction of the price of its complementary goods. In contrast to complements, goods like tea and coffee are not consumed together. In fact, they are substitutes for each other. Since tea is a substitute for coffee, if the price of coffee increases, the consumers can shift to tea, and hence, the consumption of tea is likely to go up. On the other hand, if the price of coffee decreases, the consumption of tea is likely to go down. The demand for a good usually moves in the direction of the price of its substitutes.” |