The Significance of PED (DP IB Economics)

Revision Note

Last updated

20 September 2024

PED & Total Revenue

The total revenue rule states that in order to maximise revenue, firms should increase the price of products that are price inelastic in demand and decrease prices on products that are elastic in demand

The benefits of this rule can be illustrated using a demand curve
- A shallow curve represents a price-elastic product
- A steep curve represents a price inelastic product

An illustration of price elastic demand where a small decrease in price from P₁→P₂causes a large increase in quantity demanded from Q₁→ Q₂

Diagram Analysis

When a good/service is price elastic in demand, there is a greater than proportional increase in the quantity demanded to a decrease in price
A small decrease in price leads to a larger increase in QD
TR is higher once the price has been decreased
- $(P_{2} \times Q_{2}) > (P_{1} \times Q_{1})$

An illustration of price inelastic demand where a large increase in price from P₁→P₂causes a small decrease in quantity demanded from Q₁→ Q₂

Diagram Analysis

When a good/service is price inelastic in demand, there is a smaller than proportional decrease in the quantity demanded to an increase in price
A large increase in price leads to a smaller decrease in QD
TR is higher once the price has been increased
- $(P_{2} \times Q_{2}) > (P_{1} \times Q_{1})$

The Implications of PED for Firms & Governments

Knowledge of PED is important to firms seeking to maximise their revenue
- If their product is price inelastic in demand, they should raise their prices
- If price elastic in demand, then they should lower their prices
- Firms can choose to use price discrimination to maximise their revenue i.e. lower prices for certain segments and higher prices for others
Knowledge of PED is important to Governments with regard to taxation and subsidies
- If governments tax price inelastic in-demand products, they can raise tax revenue without harming firms too much
  - Consumers are less responsive to price changes so firms will pass on the tax to the consumer
- If Governments subsidise price elastic in demand products, there can be a greater than proportional increase in the quantity demanded
  - This strategy is especially good for encouraging consumption of merit goods such as electric vehicles

The PED of Primary Commodities & Manufactured Products

The PED of primary commodities (agricultural products or raw materials) tends to be lower than that of manufactured products (washing machines, phones, cars etc) for several reasons
The best way to explain the reasons for the differences is to apply the factors that determine the price elasticity of demand ( see sub-topic 2.5.1)
- These can be summarised using the acronym SPLAT
  - Substitutes
  - Proportion of income
  - Luxury or necessity
  - Addictiveness
  - Time period

A Comparison of the PED of Primary Commodities & Manufactured Products

PED Factor	Primary Commodities - Inelastic (PED = 0-1)	Manufactured Goods - Elastic (PED = >1)
Availability of substitutes	Few substitutes as the required raw materials are defined by the product design	Usually many substitutes e.g. different types of smart phones
Price of product as a proportion of income	Each raw material component tends to be a fraction of the overall cost of the product which means demand if inelastic	Demand for manufactured goods such as cars or washing machines tend to take a larger proportion of the consumers income which makes the PED more elastic
Luxury or necessity	Commodities are necessities as they are raw materials used in the production of goods	Many manufactured goods tend to be luxuries e.g Swiss watches
Addictiveness of the product	Certain raw materials are highly sought after by manufacturers e.g. iridium is a rare earth metal used to help create the famous Apple Macbook shell	Some manufactured goods can be very addictive e.g. cigarette's However, the availability of substitutes makes them less inelastic than they otherwise would be
Time period	The time period to grow or extract primary commodities is much longer than that required to manufacture products	Many products are manufactured in a relatively short time period

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