Answer:
Arc price elasticity of demand = -0.273
Explanation:
This problem is solved as follows:
1. Identify the data.
Outpatient visit Price / visit
Tokyo 1.25 / month 20y
Hokkaido 1.5 / month 10y
Outpatient visits equal the quantities demanded of the service. Therefore, we can say that:
Qt (Outpatient visits in Tokyo) = 1.25 / month
Qh (Outpatient visits in Hokkaido) = 1.5 month.
With the following prices:
Pt (Price in Tokyo) = 20y
Ph (Price in Hokkaido) = 10 y
2. Apply the formula to calculate arc-elasticity of demand:
[tex]Ep^{arc} = \frac{Pt+Ph}{Qt+Qh} *\frac{Qh-Qt}{Ph-Pt}[/tex]
We replace the data:
[tex]Ep^{arc} = \frac{20+10}{1.25+1.5} *\frac{1.5-1.25}{10-20}[/tex]
[tex]Ep^{arc}= \frac{30}{2.75} *\frac{0.25}{-10} = 10.91 *-0.025[/tex]
[tex]Ep^{arc} = -0.27275[/tex]
Final answer: -0.27275 or -0.273