inelastic supply and demand

Meaning

1. 1phrasefixed phrasetechnicalbusiness

   a situation in economics where the amount of a good that people want to buy or that producers are willing to sell changes very little when its price changes.

   Grammar: Used as a noun phrase; you can say 'supply is inelastic' or 'demand is inelastic' separately.

   Patterns

   • inelastic supply and demand for something
   • have inelastic supply and demand

   The market for insulin shows inelastic supply and demand because patients need it regardless of price.

   Economists study inelastic supply and demand to understand why some prices are very stable.

   In the short run, the supply of oil is often inelastic because it takes time to drill new wells.

Common combinations

highly inelastic

The demand for salt is highly inelastic because people buy roughly the same amount no matter the price.

perfectly inelastic

A life-saving drug with no substitutes might have perfectly inelastic demand.

relatively inelastic

In the short term, the supply of housing is relatively inelastic.

inelastic demand for

There is inelastic demand for basic food items.

Synonyms and how they differ

rigid

Used in everyday language to mean not changing easily; in economics, 'inelastic' is the precise term.

unresponsive

A general word meaning not reacting; 'inelastic' specifically refers to quantity not reacting to price changes.

Opposites

Word family

inelasticity noun

The quality of being inelastic.

elastic adjective

When quantity changes a lot when price changes.

Commonly confused: inelastic supply and demand or elastic?

Practice

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