Why We Expect Food To Have The Highest Sticker Price Elasticity Of Demand

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We expect food to have the highest sticker price increase, since the elasticity of demand for food is the lowest. The demand for 2% milk is likely to be quite elastic, since 1% milk and whole milk are close substitutes. Sellers of 2% milk will have a difficult time shifting the burden of the tax onto consumers, and the sticker price will be little changed. The demand for all dairy products will be somewhat elastic, since there are some substitutes available for these products: meats, soy and rice milk, and peanut butter can replace some dairy products in some parts of a person’s diet, for example. But the demand for dairy products is less elastic than the demand for 2% milk, so consumers will see some rise in the sticker prices of dairy products.