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Coronavirus: Elasticity of supply of ventilators

Graham Watson

18th March 2020

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This article flags up the issue of price elasticity of supply in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak: the governments clarion call for businesses to shift to the manufacture of ventilators makes you wonder whether it will be easy to produce more in the short-term.

It is interesting to note the things that are likely to limit the ability of industry to respond. The major issue appears to be a regulatory one - that and the intellectual property rights of existing manufacturers who may be pressed into sharing proprietary intellectual property with other firms.

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Graham Watson

Graham Watson has taught Economics for over twenty years. He contributes to Tutor2U, reads voraciously and is interested in all aspects of Teaching and Learning.

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