Principles of Microeconomics / Unit 4 MIC 0306 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Elasticity Is Not Slope
Captions available
The idea
Slope is the change in price over the change in quantity, in units; elasticity is a ratio of percentages. On a straight line slope is constant and elasticity is not.
In practice
A one-dollar cut is a big percentage at a low price, small at a high one.
Where people slip
A steep curve is not always inelastic: steepness depends on the units chosen; elasticity does not.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it