You are advising a coffee shop manager who wants to estimate how much sales will change if the price of a latte rises. You tell him that he should measure the change in sales using the percentage change in quantity of coffee sold rather than the number of cups of coffee or the total ounces of coffee sold. Similarly, you tell him that he should measure the price increase in percentage terms rather than in terms of absolute dollars. Explain why he should measure elasticity in percentage terms rather than in terms of dollars and cups.

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Answer 1

Textbook Question

Chapter 4, Problem 1RQ

You are advising a coffee shop manager who wants to estimate how much sales will change if the price of a latte rises. You tell him that he should measure the change in sales using the percentage change in quantity of coffee sold rather than the number of cups of coffee or the total ounces of coffee sold. Similarly, you tell him that he should measure the price increase in percentage terms rather than in terms of absolute dollars. Explain why he should measure elasticity in percentage terms rather than in terms of dollars and cups.

Expert Solution & Answer

To determine

To advise the coffee shop manager the reason for using percentage method to calculate the elasticity.

Explanation of Solution

The elasticity of demand indicates the change in quantity demanded due to a change in price. However, the elasticity is unitless that means only magnitude of change is considered for example elasticity could be 1, 1.5, 1.7, etc. Here, elasticity is just a magnitude (numeric value). Thus, while calculating the elasticity, the absolute values like, dollars, units (number of teacup) does not matter. So, using the percentage method avoids the problem of different units of calculation and the problem of direction to change. Thus, it is advised to the manager to estimate the change in percentage term.

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Students have asked these similar questions

A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control looked at the relationship between the price of beer and the incidence of new cases of STD's. The report concluded that a beer tax increase of $.20 could reduce overall STD rates by 8.9%. Assume that a six pack cost $5.90 before the price increase. Calculate the cross price elasticity between beer and STD's. What is the sign of this cross-price elasticity? According to your estimate, are beer and STD's compliments or substitutes? Does your answer make sense? Explain.

A gas station owner sees a report on TV which states that the number of gallons of gasoline sold in the U.S. has barely dropped, even as the price per gallon has soared in recent weeks. The price elasticity of demand for gasoline is described in the report as “highly inelastic”. The gas station owner responds to this report by jacking up the prices at his station by 50 cents per gallon. Sales and revenues at his station plummet in the first month after the price increase, and drop even further in the second month. What factors did this gas station owner fail to consider when he responded to the TV report by aggressively raising his prices?

Congratulations! You have just landed your first job out of college as an economic analyst at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Your starting salary is $55,000 per year; an increase of 250% per year over the salary you made at the local coffee shop. The corresponding table gives the percentage change in your purchases of each good after your income increases. Use this information to estimate your income elasticity of demand for each of the items.

Answer 2

Textbook Question

Chapter 4, Problem 1RQ

You are advising a coffee shop manager who wants to estimate how much sales will change if the price of a latte rises. You tell him that he should measure the change in sales using the percentage change in quantity of coffee sold rather than the number of cups of coffee or the total ounces of coffee sold. Similarly, you tell him that he should measure the price increase in percentage terms rather than in terms of absolute dollars. Explain why he should measure elasticity in percentage terms rather than in terms of dollars and cups.

Expert Solution & Answer

To determine

To advise the coffee shop manager the reason for using percentage method to calculate the elasticity.

Explanation of Solution

The elasticity of demand indicates the change in quantity demanded due to a change in price. However, the elasticity is unitless that means only magnitude of change is considered for example elasticity could be 1, 1.5, 1.7, etc. Here, elasticity is just a magnitude (numeric value). Thus, while calculating the elasticity, the absolute values like, dollars, units (number of teacup) does not matter. So, using the percentage method avoids the problem of different units of calculation and the problem of direction to change. Thus, it is advised to the manager to estimate the change in percentage term.

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Answer 3

Textbook Question

Chapter 4, Problem 1RQ

You are advising a coffee shop manager who wants to estimate how much sales will change if the price of a latte rises. You tell him that he should measure the change in sales using the percentage change in quantity of coffee sold rather than the number of cups of coffee or the total ounces of coffee sold. Similarly, you tell him that he should measure the price increase in percentage terms rather than in terms of absolute dollars. Explain why he should measure elasticity in percentage terms rather than in terms of dollars and cups.

Expert Solution & Answer

To determine

To advise the coffee shop manager the reason for using percentage method to calculate the elasticity.

Explanation of Solution

The elasticity of demand indicates the change in quantity demanded due to a change in price. However, the elasticity is unitless that means only magnitude of change is considered for example elasticity could be 1, 1.5, 1.7, etc. Here, elasticity is just a magnitude (numeric value). Thus, while calculating the elasticity, the absolute values like, dollars, units (number of teacup) does not matter. So, using the percentage method avoids the problem of different units of calculation and the problem of direction to change. Thus, it is advised to the manager to estimate the change in percentage term.

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Answer 4

Textbook Question

Chapter 4, Problem 1RQ

You are advising a coffee shop manager who wants to estimate how much sales will change if the price of a latte rises. You tell him that he should measure the change in sales using the percentage change in quantity of coffee sold rather than the number of cups of coffee or the total ounces of coffee sold. Similarly, you tell him that he should measure the price increase in percentage terms rather than in terms of absolute dollars. Explain why he should measure elasticity in percentage terms rather than in terms of dollars and cups.

Expert Solution & Answer

To determine

To advise the coffee shop manager the reason for using percentage method to calculate the elasticity.

Explanation of Solution

The elasticity of demand indicates the change in quantity demanded due to a change in price. However, the elasticity is unitless that means only magnitude of change is considered for example elasticity could be 1, 1.5, 1.7, etc. Here, elasticity is just a magnitude (numeric value). Thus, while calculating the elasticity, the absolute values like, dollars, units (number of teacup) does not matter. So, using the percentage method avoids the problem of different units of calculation and the problem of direction to change. Thus, it is advised to the manager to estimate the change in percentage term.

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Answer 5

Textbook Question

Answer 6

Textbook Question

Answer 7

Expert Solution & Answer

To determine

To advise the coffee shop manager the reason for using percentage method to calculate the elasticity.

Explanation of Solution

The elasticity of demand indicates the change in quantity demanded due to a change in price. However, the elasticity is unitless that means only magnitude of change is considered for example elasticity could be 1, 1.5, 1.7, etc. Here, elasticity is just a magnitude (numeric value). Thus, while calculating the elasticity, the absolute values like, dollars, units (number of teacup) does not matter. So, using the percentage method avoids the problem of different units of calculation and the problem of direction to change. Thus, it is advised to the manager to estimate the change in percentage term.

Answer 8

Expert Solution & Answer

To determine

To advise the coffee shop manager the reason for using percentage method to calculate the elasticity.

Explanation of Solution

The elasticity of demand indicates the change in quantity demanded due to a change in price. However, the elasticity is unitless that means only magnitude of change is considered for example elasticity could be 1, 1.5, 1.7, etc. Here, elasticity is just a magnitude (numeric value). Thus, while calculating the elasticity, the absolute values like, dollars, units (number of teacup) does not matter. So, using the percentage method avoids the problem of different units of calculation and the problem of direction to change. Thus, it is advised to the manager to estimate the change in percentage term.

Answer 9

Expert Solution & Answer

Answer 10

Expert Solution & Answer

Answer 11

To determine

To advise the coffee shop manager the reason for using percentage method to calculate the elasticity.

Answer 12

Explanation of Solution

The elasticity of demand indicates the change in quantity demanded due to a change in price. However, the elasticity is unitless that means only magnitude of change is considered for example elasticity could be 1, 1.5, 1.7, etc. Here, elasticity is just a magnitude (numeric value). Thus, while calculating the elasticity, the absolute values like, dollars, units (number of teacup) does not matter. So, using the percentage method avoids the problem of different units of calculation and the problem of direction to change. Thus, it is advised to the manager to estimate the change in percentage term.

Answer 13

Ch. 4 - You are advising a coffee shop manager who wants...Ch. 4 - Prob. 2RQ Ch. 4 - You are working as a private math tutor to raise...Ch. 4 - You are working as a private math tutor to raise...Ch. 4 - You have been hired by the government of Kenya,...Ch. 4 - Prob. 6RQ Ch. 4 - Which will have a more price-elastic supply over...Ch. 4 - Certain skilled labor, such as hair cutting,...Ch. 4 - Although we could describe both the cross-price...Ch. 4 - Name two related goods you consume that would have...

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