What is a Giffen Good? Provide an example.
Question
What is a Giffen Good? Provide an example.
Solution
A Giffen Good is a product that people consume more of as the price rises and vice versa. This seemingly contradictory phenomenon is associated with inferior goods, or goods whose demand drops when people's incomes rise.
The concept is named after the Scottish economist Sir Robert Giffen, who is said to have observed this occurrence with bread in the 19th century. During a time of rising bread prices, poorer families couldn't afford to buy meat, so they bought more bread instead, even though its price was increasing.
This behavior contradicts the basic law of demand in economics, which states that quantity demanded and price move in opposite directions. However, Giffen goods are an exception to this rule.
An example of a Giffen good could be rice in China. If the price of rice were to rise, lower-income families might not be able to afford more expensive food items, so they would buy more rice, despite the price increase.
Similar Questions
What type of good is a Giffen good?A normal goodA luxury goodAn inferior goodA complementary good
What distinguishes a Giffen good from other inferior goods?The demand decreases with a decrease in priceThe demand increases with an increase in priceThe demand decreases with an increase in incomeThe demand increases with a decrease in income
_____ is a type of good for which demand increases as its price rises ?Giffen Good Capital Good Consumer Good none
______ is a type of good for which demand increases as its price rises ?Giffen Good Capital Good Consumer Good none
Which of the following statements is NOT true? An inferior good may either be ordinary or Giffen. An inferior good will be a Giffen good when the substitution effect outweighs the income effect. A Giffen good is always inferior. A normal good is always ordinary. An ordinary good may either be normal or inferior.
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