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Economy and Finance

Economy and Finance

Price elasticity of supply

01 Sep 2023 Zinkpot 245
Price elasticity of supply
  1. Price elasticity of supply records the reaction of the quantity supplied of a commodity to a change in its price. It measures the sensitivity of the quantity supplied to a change in price.
  2. It is an important parameter in determining how the supply of a particular product is affected by fluctuations in its market price. It also gives an idea about the profit that could be made by selling that product at its price difference.
  3. To describe various degrees of price elasticity of supply, economists have grouped them into five different categories:
  4. Perfectly elastic supply: Infinite or perfectly elastic supply represents a case in which the quantity supplied of a commodity responds by an infinite amount of change to a very small change in price. 
  5. It refers to a situation when any amount will be supplied at a going price but nothing will be supplied at a lower price. This type of case rarely exists in actual practice, but it serves as a very useful benchmark.
    • Perfectly inelastic supply: In perfectly inelastic supply, there is no supply response, no matter how large a price change takes place. The actual examples of perfectly inelastic supply are old paintings, stamps, coins, etc. 
    • Unitary elastic supply: It refers to a situation when the percentage change in the quantity supplied of a commodity is exactly equal to the percentage change in its price.
    • Elastic supply: Supply is said to be elastic when the percentage change in the quantity supplied of a commodity is greater than the percentage change in its price.
    • Inelastic supply: Supply is said to be inelastic when the percentage change in the quantity supply of a commodity is less than the percentage change in its price.
  6. Behaviour of the cost of production, nature of the commodity, availability of facilities for expanding output, nature of inputs, nature of techniques of production, factor mobility, risk-taking, and expectations about future prices are some of the determinants of price elasticity of supply.
     

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