Price Elasticity of Supply

Price elasticity of supply (PES or Es) is a measure used in economics to show the responsiveness, or elasticity, of the quantity supplied of a good or service to a change in its price.

When the coefficient is less than one, the said good can be described as inelastic; when the coefficient is greater than one, the supply can be described as elastic. An elasticity of zero indicates that quantity supplied does not respond to a price change: it is "fixed" in supply. Such goods often have no labor component or are not produced, limiting the short run prospects of expansion. If the coefficient is exactly one, the good is said to be unitary elastic.

The quantity of goods supplied can, in the short term, be different from the amount produced, as manufacturers will have stocks which they can build up or run down.

Read more about Price Elasticity Of Supply:  Determinants, Graphical Representation, Selected Supply Elasticities

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