The marketing consultants describe a "typical" market as one in which the price of Liquid Ozarka is $3.50 per gallon, average household income is $45,000, the price of rival bottled water is $3 per gallon, and the population is 75,000. Answer the following questions for this "typical" market scenario.
1. What is the estimated elasticity of demand for Liquid Ozarka? Is demand elastic or inelastic? What would be the percentage change in price required to increase sales of Liquid Ozarka by 10 percent?
2. What is the estimated income elasticity of demand? Is Liquid Ozarka a normal or inferior good? A 6 percent increase in average household income would be predicted to cause what percentage change in sales of Liquid Ozarka?
3. What is the estimated cross-price elasticity of demand for Liquid Ozarka with respect to changes in price of its rival brand of bottled water? Does the estimated cross-price elasticity have the expected algebraic sign? Why or why not? If the price of the rival brand of water rises by 8 percent, what is the estimated percentage change in sales of Liquid Ozarka?