Tower Inc. sells a product that is a close substitute for a product offered by Westco. Historically, management of Tower has observed a coefficient of cross-elasticity of 1.5 between the two products. If management of Tower anticipates a 5% increase in price by Westco, how would this action by Westco’s management be expected to affect the demand for Tower’s product?
A. A 5% decrease.
B. A 7.5% increase.
C. A 7.5% decrease.
D. A 5% increase.
Answer:B
B is corrent. A coefficient of cross-elasticity of 1.5 would mean that a 5% increase in the price of the substitute would result in a 7.5% (5% X 1.5) increase in demand for Tower’s product.
A is incorrect. This would result in an increase in demand.
A is incorrect. This would result in an increase in demand.
D is incorrect. This would be true if the cross elasticity was 1.0.