The wrist watch industry in a country is not very competitive. There are limited brands available and the existing firms use their market power to keep prices high. Envy, one of the leading brands in the market, is planning to increase the price from $1,000 to $1,100 per watch. The firm is expecting the quantity demanded to fall by only 7 percent. However, after the price is increased to $1,100, quantity demanded actually declined by 12 percent. Sonia, a student of economics, knows that the average income level in this country has increased over the last year. When actual sales of Envy watches turn out to be lower than anticipated, she concludes that the income elasticity of demand for Envy watches is negative. Her conclusion is flawed because

Question

Laurel

Business

11 September, 18:42

The wrist watch industry in a country is not very competitive. There are limited brands available and the existing firms use their market power to keep prices high. Envy, one of the leading brands in the market, is planning to increase the price from $1,000 to $1,100 per watch. The firm is expecting the quantity demanded to fall by only 7 percent. However, after the price is increased to $1,100, quantity demanded actually declined by 12 percent. Sonia, a student of economics, knows that the average income level in this country has increased over the last year. When actual sales of Envy watches turn out to be lower than anticipated, she concludes that the income elasticity of demand for Envy watches is negative. Her conclusion is flawed because

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Madilynn Thornton · Answer 1

B. she is confusing between price elasticity of demand and income elasticity of demand.

Explanation:

Income elasticity of demand measures the change of quantities demanded for a particular good to a change in its income.

It is therefore calculated as the ratio of the percentage change in quantity demanded to the percentage change in income.

Price elasticity of demand is a measure of the change in the quantity demanded or purchased of a product in relation to its price change.

Mathematically:

Price Elasticity of Demand = % Change in Quantity Demand / % Change in Price.

From the above definitions stated about income and price elasticity of demand, the income in that year increased but the quantity of goods demanded decreased further by 5% from the predicted 7% (12 %)