Salt: The Good with Most Inelastic Demand

Answered using GPT-4o mini by AI Answer Generator

Question:

Which of the following goods might be expected to have the most inelastic demand curve?

women's blouses from Walmart

salt

Tylenol

potato chips

Answer:

Inelastic demand refers to a situation where the quantity demanded of a good does not change significantly when its price changes. Goods that are considered necessities or have few substitutes tend to have more inelastic demand.

Among the options provided:

  1. Women's blouses from Walmart - This is a clothing item that can have many substitutes and is not a necessity, so its demand is likely to be more elastic.

  2. Salt - This is a basic necessity with very few substitutes, and people will buy it regardless of price changes, making its demand very inelastic.

  3. Tylenol - While it is a common pain reliever, there are other pain relief options available, which can make its demand somewhat elastic.

  4. Potato chips - This is a snack food with many substitutes, so its demand is likely to be more elastic.

Given these considerations, salt would be expected to have the most inelastic demand curve among the options listed.