What does the word elasticity?

Answer 1

The term inelastic refers to the economic principles of elasticity of supply or demand. Elasticity of demand refers to the rate at which a change in price changes the rate at which consumers demand a product. Elasticity of supply refers to the rate at which a change in price changes the rate at which suppliers are willing to supply a good or service.

In most cases elasticity can be calculated by dividing the percent change in supply or demand by the percent change in price. In more advanced cases the calculation of elasticity may require partial derivatives.

If elasticity is less than 1, then the price change is inelastic. This means the price change was relatively greater than the change in supply or demand. If demand elasticity is less than 1, a business will generally increase the price of its good or service because it knows it can make more money by charging a hire price even after accounting for the customers it would lose because of the price increase.

if elasticity is greater than 1, then the price change is elastic. This means the change in demand or supply is relatively greater than the change in price.

if elasticity equals 1, then the price change is unit elastic. This means the change in demand or supply is relatively equal to the change in price. Profit maximizing firms generally charge a price the has a unit elastic demand because charging anymore would mean not profit maximizing because they are losing too many customers and charging any less would mean not maximizing profit due to the price being too low.

If elasticity equals 0, then the price change is perfectly inelastic. This means that no matter the price, the demand will always be the same (in the case of demand elasticity) or the supply will always be the same (in the case of supply elasticity). Goods that fall into this category are rarer than the first three categories. A good with a perfectly inelastic demand has to be something that the consumers in the market could not live without (literally or figuratively). Two examples are life saving medical treatments and illegal drugs.

If elasticity equals infinity (change in price is 0), then the good is perfectly elastic. In this case, even the slightest change in price sends the demand or supply for a good or service plummeting to 0. An (albeit not perfect) example is bottled water. If a bottled water company changes its price from $1 to $1.05 and another company has the same product still readily available for $1, then demand for the $1.05 water will plummet.

Answer 2

The ability to deform and regain physical shape.