Subsidies involve the government paying part of the cost to the firm; this reduces the price of the good and should encourage more consumption. A subsidy shifts the supply curve to the right and can be justified for goods which offer benefits to the rest of society. What is the justification for subsidising goods with …
Income elasticity of demand (YED) measures the responsiveness of demand to a change in income. For example, if your income increase by 5% and your demand for mobile phones increased 20% then the YED of mobile phones = 20/5 = 4.0 Definition of Inferior Good This occurs when an increase in income leads to a …
Externalities occur when producing or consuming a good cause an impact on third parties not directly related to the transaction. Externalities can either be positive or negative. They can also occur from production or consumption. For example, just driving into a city centre, will cause external costs of more pollution and congestion to those living …
Definition: Scarcity refers to resources being finite and limited. Scarcity means we have to decide how and what to produce from these limited resources. It means there is a constant opportunity cost involved in making economic decisions. Scarcity is one of the fundamental issues in economics. Examples of scarcity Land – a shortage of fertile …
Economic growth is an increase in real GDP; it means an increase in the value of goods and services produced in an economy. The rate of economic growth is the annual percentage increase in real GDP. There are several factors affecting economic growth, but it is helpful to split them up into: Demand-side factors (e.g. …
Dynamic pricing is a method firms use to constantly adjust the price of goods/services depending on demand. For example, if there is a surge in demand, firms respond to the market data by increasing price. New technology has increased the scope for more variable dynamic pricing, and it is increasingly used by companies, such as …
Price skimming is a business strategy to set a high price on entry to the market and then reduce the price over time. The logic of price skimming is to take advantage of customers who have inelastic demand and are willing to pay the high price. When these consumers have bought the good, the firm …
Definition of the Free Rider Problem This occurs when people can benefit from a good/service without paying anything towards it. It also occurs, if people can get away with making only a token contribution (Something less than their overall benefit) If enough people can enjoy a good without paying for the cost – then there …