Read the following statements carefully.
Statement 1: If the good is price-elastic, the expenditure on the good would change in the opposite direction as the price change.
Statement 2: If the good is price inelastic, the expenditure on the good would change in the same direction as the price change.
Statement 3: If the good is unit-elastic, the expenditure on the good would remain unchanged.
Which statement/s is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is option 1: All three statements are true.
The relationship between price elasticity of demand and total expenditure (price × quantity) depends on the elasticity of the good:
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Statement 1: If the good is price-elastic, the expenditure on the good would change in the opposite direction as the price change. – True
- A price-elastic good means that demand is highly responsive to price changes.
- If price decreases, demand increases significantly, leading to higher total expenditure.
- If price increases, demand decreases significantly, leading to lower total expenditure.
- Thus, total expenditure moves in the opposite direction of price changes.
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Statement 2: If the good is price inelastic, the expenditure on the good would change in the same direction as the price change. – True
- A price-inelastic good means that demand is not very responsive to price changes.
- If price increases, demand falls slightly, but since the price is higher, total expenditure increases.
- If price decreases, demand rises slightly, but since the price is lower, total expenditure decreases.
- Thus, total expenditure moves in the same direction as price changes.
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Statement 3: If the good is unit-elastic, the expenditure on the good would remain unchanged. – True
- In a unit-elastic demand situation, a percentage change in price leads to an equal percentage change in quantity demanded.
- As a result, the increase in price is exactly offset by the fall in quantity demanded, leaving total expenditure unchanged.