Question

You work for a marketing firm that has just landed a contract with Run-of-the-Mills to help them promote three of their products: guppy gummies, frizzles, and mookies. All of these products have been on the market for some time, but, to entice better sales, Run-of-the-Mills wants to try a new advertisement that will market two of the products that consumers will likely consume together. As a former economics student, you know that complements are typically consumed together while substitutes can take the place of other goods. Run-of-the-Mills provides your marketing firm with the following data: When the price of guppy gummies decreases by 20%, the quantity of frizzles sold decreases by 22% and the quantity of mookies sold increases by 7%. Your job is to use the cross-price elasticity between guppy gummies and the other goods to determine which goods your marketing firm should advertise together.

Complete the first column of the following table by computing the cross-price elasticity between guppy gummies and raskels, and then between guppy gummies and mookies.

Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand Complement or Substitute Recommend Marketing with Guppy Gummies
Raskels
Mookies

Answer 1

1.1 substitutes do not market together

-0.35 complements market together

Step-by-step explanation:

1.1

-0.35

Cross price elasticity of demand measures the responsiveness of quantity demanded of good A to changes in price of good B.

If cross price elasticity of demand is positive, it means that the goods are substitute goods.

Substitute goods are goods that can be used in place of another good.

if the price of a good increases, the demand for the substitute increases and if the price of the good reduces, the demand for the substitute increases.

If the cross-price elasticity is negative, it means that the goods are complementary goods.

Complementary goods are goods that are consumed together

Cross price elasticity = percentage change in quantity demanded of good A / percentage change in the price of good B

Frizzles = -22% / -20% = 1.1

Mookies = 7 / -20 = -0.35