What is Cross Elasticity of Demand?

Cross elasticity of demand refers to an economic concept that usually measures the responsiveness in the demanded quantity of one good when the price of another product changes. Also referred to as the cross-price elasticity of demand, the measurement is calculated by taking the percentage difference in the demanded quantity of one good and then diving it by the percentage difference in the price of another product.

Back to:ECONOMIC ANALYSIS & MONETARY POLICY

How is Cross Elasticity of Demand Used?

Cross elasticity on demand also measures the sensitivity of the demand for a product or service to the variation of the price of a different good or service. As such, the subject seeks to determine how much the consumption of product changes when the value and cost of a different product also changes. For instance, how much increase in the price of vehicles there is when the price of gasoline declines. Or better yet, how much the decrease in the purchase of printers there will be if the price of the printer tub goes up. The cross elasticity of demand can be calculated with any products or services. Below, you'll learn more about how the relationship between the products impacts whether they are substitutes, complementariness, or independent.

Calculation of cross elasticity

To calculate the cross elasticity, it was evaluated in the following way: X, Y = Percentage Variation of the quantity demand of X/Percentage variation of the price of product Y. In arithmetic terms, the following formula will be used: Where: Qx = amount of x Qy = amount of y Px = price of x Py = price of y = variation

Substitute Goods

When the cross-elasticity of demand is positive, the product, Y, is substituted for X. In this case, before experiencing an increase in price Y, the quantity demand of X will increase. The above illustration implies that consumers can be a great substitute such that when the price of product Y increases, they reduce the purchasing power of Y to replace them to a more significant purchase amount of X.

Example

Let us look at this example closely: butter can substitute margarine. This is at least for many people. In this instance, if the price of butter goes up, the amount of margarine demanded is expected to increase as well.

Complementary Goods

When the cross-elasticity is negative, the products, as well as services, are complementary. This implies that they are consumed together- for instance, bread and butter. Because most individuals like to consume the products, they will reduce the purchase of these items thereby reducing the purchase of bread.

Independent goods

When the cross elasticity is zero, the goods, as well as services, are interconnected and independent. That implies that buyers don't consider these goods as substitutes or complements. Therefore, their demands are independent. Check out this example. Shoes and milk are goods that satisfy entirely different needs. There's no expected reaction in the industry of shoes prior to a variation in the milk industry.

Related Topics

• Elasticity
• Perfect, Zero, Infinite, and Constant Elasticity
• Elasticity of Demand
• Elasticity of Supply
• Price Elasticity of Supply and Demand
• Tax Incidence
• Cross Elasticity of Demand
• Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand
• Raising Prices Affect Revenue
• Price Sensitivity
• What is Elasticity and Tax Incidence?
• Short Run
• Elasticity of Savings
• Income Elasticity of Demand