When the value of income
elasticity of demand is
higher, the income-
demand curve will be
Answers
In economics, the income elasticity of demand is the responsiveness of the quantity demanded for a good to a change in consumer income. It is measured as the ratio of the percentage change in quantity demanded to the percentage change in income. If a 10% increase in Mr. Ruskin Smith's income causes him to buy 20% more bacon, Smith's income elasticity of demand for bacon is 20%/10% = 2.
Interpretation Edit
Inferior goods' demand QX falls as consumer income I increases.
A negative income elasticity of demand is associated with inferior goods; an increase in income will lead to a fall in the demand and may lead to changes to more luxurious substitutes.
A positive income elasticity of demand is associated with normal goods; an increase in income will lead to a rise in demand. If income elasticity of demand of a commodity is less than 1, it is a necessity good. If the elasticity of demand is greater than 1, it is a luxury good or a superior good.
A zero income elasticity of demand occurs when an increase in income is not associated with a change in the demand of a good.
Income elasticity of demand can be used as an indicator of future consumption patterns and as a guide to firms' investment decisions. For example, the "selected income elasticities" below suggest that an increasing portion of consumers' budgets will be devoted to purchasing automobiles and restaurant meals and a smaller share to tobacco and margarine.[1]
Income elasticities are closely related to the population income distribution and the fraction of the product's sales attributable to buyers from different income brackets. Specifically, when a buyer in a certain income bracket experiences an income increase, their purchase of a product changes to match that of individuals in their new income bracket. If the income share elasticity is defined as the negative percentage change in individuals given a percentage increase in income bracken the income-elasticity, after some computation, becomes the expected value of the income-share elasticity with respect to the income distribution of purchasers of the product. When the income distribution is described by a gamma distribution, the income elasticity is proportional to the percentage difference between the average income of the product's buyers and the average income of the population