Your income is $50. Prices of erasers and chewing gum are $0.5 per unit. Suppose that facing such prices you choose the bundle that includes 60 chewing gums. Next, the price of erasers increases to $1 per unit. Your new choice involves a bundle with 40 erasers. Is an eraser a normal good, an inferior good, or is there insufficient information to answer this question? Explain using the concepts of income and substitution effects.
Income is= $50. Prices of erasers and chewing gum are $0.5 per unit. Initial bundle of gums is 60 chewing gums. Now the price of erasers increases to $1. Now due to substitution effect, the consumer will substitute erasers with chewing gums and hence consumption of erases will fall. Now, as the price of erasers increases, consumer's real income or purchasing power M/P falls and consumption of erasers fall to 40 erasers due to the income effect. Hence as real income falls demand for erasers decline. Hence an eraser is a normal good.
Get Answers For Free
Most questions answered within 1 hours.