price elasticity

change in quantity on change in price

$${\displaystyle \frac{\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }Q}{Q}}{\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }P}{P}}}={\displaystyle \frac{\partial Q}{\partial P}}{\displaystyle \frac{P}{Q}}$$

• < 1 → inelastic
• > 1 → elastic

the labor demand curve will be steep (i.e. more inelastic) if the marginal product of labor drops off quickly as more workers are added