Definition of a Giffen Good. A good where a higher price causes an increase in demand (reversing the usual law of demand). The increase in demand is due to the income effect of the higher price outweighing the substitution effect. The concept of a Giffen good is limited to very poor communities with a very limited …
Definition: The Life-cycle hypothesis was developed by Franco Modigliani in 1957. The theory states that individuals seek to smooth consumption over the course of a lifetime – borrowing in times of low-income and saving during periods of high income. The graph shows individuals save from the age of 20 to 65. As a student, it …
For the past 40 years, China has been one of the strongest performing economies – transforming itself from a developing economy to an unprecedented level of prosperity. However, in recent years, there have been concerns the rapid rate of growth in China is beginning to slow down and over the next few years, economic challenges …
Definition of allocative efficiency This occurs when there is an optimal distribution of goods and services, taking into account consumer’s preferences. A more precise definition of allocative efficiency is at an output level where the Price equals the Marginal Cost (MC) of production. This is because the price that consumers are willing to pay is …
An indifference curve is a line showing all the combinations of two goods which give a consumer equal utility. In other words, the consumer would be indifferent to these different combinations. Example of choice of goods which give consumers the same utility Table plotted as indifference curve Diminishing marginal utility The indifference curve is convex …
Question number 3 from What would Keynes do? – If I enjoy drinking beer. How much should I drink? Key quote “My only regret in life is that I did not drink more champagne.” John Maynard Keynes. If something is good to do – does it mean it is good to do it to excess? This …
Readers Question: what is meant by consumer surplus? Can firms reduce or eliminate consumer surplus? Consumer Surplus is the difference between the price that consumers pay and the price that they are willing to pay. On a supply and demand curve, it is the area between the equilibrium price and the demand curve For example, …
A progressive tax takes a higher percentage of tax from people with higher incomes. It means that the more a person earns, the higher his average rate of tax will be. In this case, the person earning £10,000 is paying 20% of their income in tax (total tax of £2,000) The person earning £20,000 is …