Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Elasticity |
ElasticityNoun1. The tendency of a body to return to its original shape after it has been stretched or compressed. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "elasticity" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1686. (references) |
| Domain | Definitions |
Aerospace | The ability of a body which has been deformed by an applied force to return to its original shape when the force is removed. (references) |
Agriculture | See price elasticity of demand. (references) |
Economics | The ratio of the response in quantity demanded or supplied to a change in price. Source: European Union. (references) |
Health | Resistance and recovery from distortion of shape. (references) |
Mining | The property or quality of being elastic; said of a body that returns to its original form or condition after a displacing force is removed.See also:elasticity of bulk; Hooke's law. (references) |
Physics | The condition or property of being elastic. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In economics, elasticity is the proportional change in one variable relative to the proportion change in another variable. The concept of elasticity can be used whenever there is a cause and effect relationship. The causal variable is often called the independent variable, while the effected variable is called the dependent variable.
This is primarily a disambiguation page; that is, one that points to other pages that might otherwise have the same name. If you followed a link here, you might want to go back and fix that link to point to the appropriate specific page.
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In economics, elasticity is a measure of the percentage change in one variable with respect to a percentage change in another variable. Measures of elasticity tend to be carried out for very small changes in the variable causing the response -- e.g. a percentage change in quantity due to a very small change in price.The general formula for elasticity (the "y-elasticity of x") is:
Ex,y = % change in x / % change in y,
or, more formally,
Ex,y = (dx/dy)(y/x).
There are five cases of elasticity. (Elasticity is almost always referred to as a positive value, i.e. the absolute value in the case of a kind of elasticity that is normally negative.)
Figure 1: Example of Perfect Elasticity and Perfect Inelasticity.
Keeping in mind the example of Price elasticity of demand we consider figures with x=Q horizontal and y=P vertical.
E = 0 Perfectly inelastic. This special case of elasticity is represented in the right figure above. Any change in P will have an no effect on Q.
E < 1 Inelastic. The proportional change in Q is less than the proportional change in P.
E = 1 Unit elasticity. The proportional change in one variable is equal to the proportional change in another variable.
E > 1 Elastic. The proportional change in Q is greater than the proportional change in P.
E = infinity Perfectly elastic. This special case of elasticity is represented in left figure above. Change in P is zero so by definition elasticity is undefined--hence infinite.
Figure 2: Example of unit elasticity for a supply line passing through the origin.
A common mistake for students of economics is to confuse elasticity with slope. Elasticity is the slope on a loglog graph, not on a regular graph (taking into account whether the independent variable is on the horizontal or the vertical axis). Consider the information in figure 2--this is a special case which illustrates that slope and elasticity are different. In the above example the slope of S1 is clearly different than the slope of S2, but since the rate of change of P relative to Q is always proportionate both S1 and S2 are unit elastic (i.e. E = 1).
Elasticity is an important concept in understanding the incidence of indirect taxation. marginal concepts as they relate to the theory of the firm. Weath inequality and different types of goods as they relate to the theory of consumer choice and the Lagrange Multiplier. Elasticity is also crucially important in any discussion of welfare distribution: in particular consumer surplus, producer surplus, or government surplus.
The concept of Elasticity was also an important component of the Singer-Prebish Thesis which is a central arguement in Dependency Theory as it relates to Developmental Economics.
| List of Marketing Topics | List of Management Topics |
| List of Economics Topics | List of Accounting Topics |
| List of Finance Topics | List of Economists |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Elasticity is a branch of physics, which governs the response of bulk material to applied stress (e.g., external forces). It is part of a broader study known as continuum mechanics. Elasticity can also refer (inversely) to the strength of an elastic material.There are several standard models for how materials respond to stress:
Elasticity extensively uses tensors to describe stresses, strains, and the relationship between them.
Typically, elasticity uses linear models to relate stresses and strains (see Linear elasticity). However, true materials exhibit non-linear behavior.
References
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Elasticity."
| Antonym: inelasticity (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Elasticity | Noun: elasticity, springiness, spring, resilience, renitency, buoyancy. |
Inelasticity | Noun: want of elasticity, absence of elasticity; inelasticity. (softness), |
Physical Energy | Noun: energy, physical energy, force, power; keenness; Adjective: intensity, vigor, strength, elasticity; go; high pressure; fire; rush. |
Power | Pressure; conductivity; elasticity; gravity, electricity, magnetism, galvanism, voltaic electricity, voltaism, electromagnetism; atomic power, nuclear power, thermonuclear power; fuel cell; hydraulic power, water power, hydroelectric power; solar power, solar energy, solar panels; tidal power; wind power; attraction; vis inertiae, vis mortua, vis viva; potential energy, dynamic energy; dynamic friction, dynamic suction; live circuit, live rail, live wire. |
Recoil | Noun: recoil; reaction, retroaction; revulsion; bounce, rebound, ricochet; repercussion, recalcitration; kick, contrecoup; springing back; Verb: elasticity; reflection, reflexion, reflex, reflux; reverberation; (resonance); rebuff, repulse; return. |
Strength | Noun: strength; power; energy; vigor, force; main force, physical force, brute force; spring, elasticity, tone, tension, tonicity. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Title |
Books |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | No wonder man has lost his elasticity. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Your skin might become thinner and lose its elasticity. (references) | |
Collagen gives the cornea its strength, elasticity, and form. (references) | ||
When COPD develops, the walls of the small airways and alveoli lose their elasticity. (references) | ||
Economic History | South Africa | Companies with a substantial import component in their product mix have seen their profits squeezed, especially if they face high demand elasticity. (references) |
Honduras | U.S. exporters should keep in mind the relatively small size of the Honduran market and the high elasticity of demand for consumer products when devising marketing strategies. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Elasticity" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Elasticity" is used about 309 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 309 | 16,435 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "elasticity": Coefficient of elasticity ♦ conventional limit of elasticity 0.2 ♦ elasticity of demand ♦ elasticity of shear ♦ modulus of elasticity ♦ modulus of elasticity in shear ♦ surface of elasticity ♦ the conventional limit of elasticity ♦ unit elasticity ♦ unitary elasticity. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "elasticity": interest-elasticity. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
elasticity | 67 |
price elasticity | 56 |
demand elasticity | 34 |
modulus of elasticity | 34 |
skin elasticity | 30 |
econometrics elasticity | 10 |
elasticity modulus steel | 9 |
elasticity theoretical | 8 |
economics elasticity | 7 |
elasticity heart restore | 6 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "elasticity"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | elasticitet (give, resilience, resiliency, spring, springiness), përshtatshmëri (adaptability, adequacy, expedience, expediency, fitness, suitability). (various references) | |
Arabic | مرونة (flexibility, limberness, lissom, lissome, litheness, lithesome, pliability, pliancy, resilience, springiness), ليونة (ductility, flexibility, plasticity, pliability, pliancy, suppleness), تمغط. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | тоничност, гъвкавост (facility, flexibility, give, plasticity, pliability, pliancy, resilience, resiliency, suppleness, versatility), еластичност (bounce, contractility, deflection, deflexion, ductility, give, pliability, resilience, resiliency, spring, springiness, stretch, tension). (various references) | |
Chinese | 弹性. (various references) | |
Czech | elastiènost (resilience, stretch), pružnost (bounce, flexibility, give, resilience, springiness, stretch). (various references) | |
Danish | elasticitet (compliance, flexibility). (various references) | |
Dutch | elasticiteit (compliance), veerkracht (energy), spankracht (tension), prijselasticiteit. (various references) | |
Farsi | قابلیت ارتجاعی . (various references) | |
Finnish | kimmoisuus, joustavuus (compliance, flexibility, resilience). (various references) | |
French | élasticité. (various references) | |
German | elastizität (bounce, flexibility, resilience, resiliency, spring, springiness, stretchiness, suppleness), dehnbarkeit (distensibility, ductility, extensibility, flexibility, malleableness, stretch, stretchiness, tensibility). (various references) | |
Greek | ελαστικότητα (extensibility, pliancy, resilience, sponginess, springiness, stretch). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מתיחות (strain, stress, stretch, tenseness, tension, tightness), קמיזות, אלסטיות, 'מישות (ductility, flexibility, malleability, plasticity, pliability, pliancy, spring, stretch), 'מש (flexibility, pliability). (various references) | |
Hungarian | rugalmasság (adaptability, buoyancy, flexibility, give, pliableness, pliancy, resilience, resiliency, springiness, stretch, versatility). (various references) | |
Indonesian | elastisitas, bingkas (resilient). (various references) | |
Italian | elasticit (elastic, flexibility, resilience, resiliency, spring, springiness, suppleness, tonicity). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 弾力 (flexibility), 弾性 , 伸縮 (expansion and contraction, flexibility), 屈伸 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | な"せい (flexibility, softness, southwest), くっし" (excavation, tunnel), し"しゅくせい, し"しゅく (expansion and contraction, flexibility, strict enforcement), し"ど (depth, Japanese earthquake scale, progress, subsoil), のびちぢみ (expansion and contraction, flexibility), じゅうな"せい (compatibility, pliability, softness), は"ぱつりょく (repellent force, resiliency), "せい (male, male voice, man), "りょくせい (adaptability, flexibility, resilience), "りょく (flexibility). (various references) | |
Korean | 축성. (various references) | |
Manx | spinney, so-sheeyneydys, so-lhoobaght (adaptability, buoyancy, facility, flexibility, malleability, plasticity, pliability), so-chaghlaays. (various references) | |
Norwegian | elastisitet. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | elasticityay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | elasticidade (bounce, compliance, elate, extensibility, flexibility of a spring, give, pliability, pliancy, resilience, resiliency, spring, stretch), tecido elástico (shir, shirr). (various references) | |
Romanian | elasticitate (give, resilience, resiliency, spring, springiness), flexibilitate (ductility, flexibility, litheness, manageability, pliability, pliancy, spring, suppleness), adaptabilitate (adaptability). (various references) | |
Russian | эластичность (ductility, give, resilience, resiliency, springiness). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | elastičnost (flexibility, resilience, resiliency, springiness). (various references) | |
Spanish | elasticidad (compliance, extensibility, give, resilience, resiliency, spring, springiness, stretch). (various references) | |
Swedish | elasticitet (give, resilience, resiliency, spring, tenacity). (various references) | |
Thai | ความยื"หยุ่น. (various references) | |
Turkish | esneklik (flexibility, free play, give, litheness, plasticity, pliability, pliancy, resilience, spring, springiness, stretch, suppleness, swing), elastikiyet (flexibility, resilience). (various references) | |
Ukranian | гнучкість (ductility, flexibility, plasticity, pliability, pliancy, suppleness), еластичність (ductility, flexibility, give, resilience, resiliency, springiness, stretch), пружність (bounce, give, resilience, resiliency, spring, springiness, toughness), деформація (alteration, distortion, yielding). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | tính mềm dẻo tính nhún nhẩy tính b"ng bột, tính đ n h"i (gave, give, sprang, spring, sprung). (various references) | |
Welsh | hydwythedd. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words ending with "elasticity": aeroelasticity, anelasticity, inelasticity, viscoelasticity. (additional references) | |
| |
"Elasticity" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: elacticity, electicity, ellipticity. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "elasticity" (pronounced ē'la'sti"sutē) |
| 7 | -s t i" s u t ē | domesticity. |
| 6 | -t i" s u t ē | analyticity, authenticity. |
| 5 | -i" s u t ē | complicity, duplicity, eccentricity, electricity, ethnicity, Felicity, multiplicity, publicity, simplicity, specificity, toxicity. |
| 4 | -s u t ē | adversity, animosity, atrocity, audacity, biodiversity, capacity, complexity, curiosity, density, diversity, falsity, ferocity, generosity, incapacity, intensity, laxity, mendacity, monstrosity, necessity, obesity, opacity, overcapacity, paucity, perplexity, perversity, pomposity, propensity, reciprocity, religiosity, scarcity, tenacity, university, varsity, velocity, veracity, virtuosity, viscosity, voracity. |
| 3 | -u t ē | ability, abnormality, absurdity, acceptability, accessibility, accountability, acidity, activity, actuality, acuity, adaptability, admissibility, advisability, affinity, affordability, aggressivity, agility, alacrity, alkalinity, ambiguity, amenity, amiability, amity, annuity, anonymity, antiquity, anxiety, applicability, austerity, authority, availability, banality, barbarity, believability, bestiality, bisexuality, brevity, brutality, calamity, capability, captivity, causality, cavity, celebrity, centrality, charity, chastity, civility, clarity, collegiality, commodity, commonality, community, comparability, compatibility, comprehensibility, conditionality, conductivity, confidentiality, conformity, congeniality, congruity, connectivity, constitutionality, continuity, convertibility, creativity, credibility, credulity, criminality, criticality, crotchety, culpability, cyclicality, debility, deductibility, deformity, deity, deniability, dependability, depravity, deputy, desirability, dexterity, dignity, dimensionality, disability, discontinuity, disparity, dissimilarity, disunity, divinity, docility, duality, ductility, durability, electability, eligibility, enforceability, enmity, enormity, entity, equality, equanimity, equity, eternity, eventuality, exclusivity, expressivity, extraterritoriality, extremity, facility, fallibility, familiarity, fatality, feasibility, femininity, fertility, festivity, fidelity, finality, flammability, flexibility, fluidity, formality, fragility, fraternity, frivolity, frugality, functionality, futility, generality, geniality, gentility, gratuity, gravity, gullibility, heredity, heterogeneity, heterosexuality, hilarity, homogeneity, homosexuality, hospitality, hostility, humanity, humidity, humility, hyperactivity, hypersensitivity, identity, illegality, illiquidity, immaturity, immobility, immorality, immortality, immunity, impartiality, impersonality, impossibility, impropriety, impunity, impurity, inability, inaccessibility, inactivity, incivility, incompatibility, incongruity, incredulity, indemnity, indestructibility, indignity, individuality, inequality, inequity, inevitability, infallibility, inferiority, infertility, infidelity, infinity, infirmity, inflexibility, informality, ingenuity, inhumanity, insanity, insecurity, insensitivity, instability, instrumentality, insularity, integrity, invincibility, invisibility, invulnerability, irrationality, irregularity, irresponsibility, irritability, laity, legality, legibility, lethality, levity, liability, liberality, liquidity, lividity, locality, longevity, majority, malleability, maneuverability, marketability, masculinity, materiality, maternity, maturity, mediocrity, mentality, minority, miscibility, mobility, modality, modernity, morality, morbidity, mortality, motility, municipality, musicality, mutuality, nationality, nativity, negativity, neutrality, nobility, Nonconformity, nonentity, nonutility, normality, notoriety, nudity, objectivity, obscenity, obscurity, oddity, opportunity, originality, oversensitivity, palatability, parity, partiality, particularity, passivity, paternity, peculiarity, permeability, perpetuity, personality, piety, plausibility, plurality, polarity, polity, popularity, portability, possibility, posterity, practicality, predictability, principality, priority, probability, probity, proclivity, productivity, profanity, profitability, progressivity, promiscuity, proportionality, propriety, prosperity, proximity, punctuality, purity, quality, quantity, radioactivity, rapidity, rarity, rationality, reactivity, readability, reality, receptivity, reflexivity, regularity, relativity, reliability, respectability, responsibility, retroactivity, rickety, rigidity, salinity, sanctity, sanity, seasonality, security, selectivity, senility, seniority, sensibility, sensitivity, sensuality, sentimentality, serendipity, serenity, severity, sexuality, similarity, sincerity, sobriety, society, solemnity, solidarity, solidity, sorority, speciality, spirituality, spontaneity, stability, sterility, stupidity, subjectivity, suitability, superconductivity, superfluidity, superiority, supermajority, surety, survivability, susceptibility, sustainability, technicality, temerity, theatricality, timidity, tonality, totality, tranquility, transferability, Trinity, triviality, turbidity, ubiquity, unanimity, unavailability, unfamiliarity, uniformity, unity, universality, unpopularity, unpredictability, unreality, unreliability, uppity, utility, validity, vanity, variability, variety, velvety, venality, Verity, versatility, viability, vicinity, virginity, virility, visibility, vitality, volatility, vulgarity, vulnerability. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-e-i-i-l-s-t-t-y" | |
-1 letter: sectility. | |
-2 letters: ciliates, clayiest, lattices, silicate, stylitic. | |
-3 letters: acetyls, catties, cattily, ciliate, elastic, elicits, elitist, italics, laciest, laicise, laities, latices, lattice, satiety, stately, statice, stylate, stylite, tacitly, tactile, tastily, testacy, testily. | |
-4 letters: acetyl, atelic, attics, castle, cattie, cattle, cities, cleats, easily, eclats, elicit, iciest, italic, latest, lattes, liaise, lysate, lyttae, lyttas, saltie, scatty, sialic, silica, slatey, stacte, static, stelai, stelic, stylet, tectal, ticals, titles. | |
-5 letters: acyls, aisle, alecs, alist, atilt, attic, caste, cates, catty, ceils, celts, cesta, cesti, cilia, cites, clast, clays, cleat, clits, eclat, icily, ileac, iliac, islet, istle, laces, lacey, laics, laity, latte, least, licit, litai, litas, lyase, lycea, lytic, lytta, saice, salic, salty, scale, scaly, scatt, setal, silty, slate, slaty, slice, stale, state, steal, stela, stile, stilt, style, styli, taces, tacet, tacit, tacts, taels, tails, talcs, tales, taste, tasty, tates, teals, teats, tecta, telia, telic, tesla, testa, testy, tical, tiles, tilts, titis, title, yeast, yetis, yetts. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-e-i-i-l-s-t-t-y" | |
+2 letters: anelasticity, inelasticity, theistically, typicalities. | |
+3 letters: analyticities, atheistically, atypicalities, clandestinity, egotistically, pietistically, resectability. | |
+4 letters: aeroelasticity, antiseptically, polytheistical, respectability, stretchability. | |
+5 letters: crystallinities, fetishistically, kinesthetically, martensitically, pantheistically, sophisticatedly, superplasticity, viscoelasticity. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)45 6C 61 73 74 69 63 69 74 79 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
|
| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
|
| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
|
| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
|
Morse Code (1836) (references). .-.. .- ... - .. -.-. .. - -.--. |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
|
Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000101 01101100 01100001 01110011 01110100 01101001 01100011 01101001 01110100 01111001 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)E l a s t i c i t y |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0045 006C 0061 0073 0074 0069 0063 0069 0074 0079 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
|
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)39786785867569758691 |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Commercial 4. Quotations: Fiction | 5. Quotations: Non-fiction 6. Usage Frequency 7. Expressions 8. Expressions: Internet | 9. Translations: Modern 10. Derivations 11. Rhymes 12. Anagrams | 13. Orthography 14. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
