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Exercises · Q11

Q.Which of the following best describes a Giffen good?

(i) A good with zero price elasticity of demand
(ii) An inferior good whose quantity demanded falls when its price falls
(iii) A luxury good with high income elasticity
(iv) A good with a positive cross elasticity with its substitute. Choose the correct option and justify your choice.
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Examining each option against the definition of a Giffen good:

  1. Zero price elasticity of demand describes PERFECTLY INELASTIC demand — quantity demanded does not change AT ALL as price changes (e.g. an essential drug with no substitute). This is a different concept from a Giffen good, whose quantity demanded actually moves in the "wrong" direction, not zero direction. Incorrect.
  2. An inferior good whose quantity demanded falls when its price falls is exactly the defining behaviour of a Giffen good: it is a strongly inferior good, forming a large part of a poor consumer's budget, where a price FALL raises the consumer's real income enough that they buy LESS of the inferior good and switch to a superior alternative. Correct.
  3. A luxury good with high income elasticity describes a good with Ey>1E_y > 1 under NORMAL demand behaviour (price falling would still raise its quantity demanded as usual) — this is unrelated to the Giffen exception. Incorrect. …

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