Normally, there will not be a shift in the demand curve when
- A.price of a commodity falls
- B.consumers want to buy more at any given price
- C.average income rises
- D.population grows
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, price of a commodity falls. A change in the good's own price moves the buyer along the same demand curve; it does not shift the curve.
A demand curve shows how much of a good people will buy at each price, holding other things constant. When the price itself falls, buyers simply move down the curve to a larger quantity, which economists call an extension of demand, and a rise in price causes a contraction. The whole curve shifts only when one of the other things held constant changes: income, tastes and preferences, the prices of related goods, expectations or the number of buyers. A rightward shift means more is bought at every price, and a leftward shift means less.
B is wrong because a wish to buy more at every price, from a change in tastes, shifts the curve to the right. C is wrong because a rise in income shifts demand for normal goods to the right. D is wrong because a larger population adds buyers and so shifts the market demand curve outward.
Exam tip: own price change = movement along the curve; any other factor = shift of the curve.
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