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The Global Insight

How does substitution effect work?

Author

James Williams

Updated on February 07, 2026

The substitution effect is the decrease in sales for a product that can be attributed to consumers switching to cheaper alternatives when its price rises. If a brand raises its price, some consumers will select a cheaper alternative. If beef prices rise, many consumers will eat more chicken.

What happens when substitution effect increases?

The substitution effect of higher wages means workers will give up leisure to do more hours of work because work has now a higher reward. The income effect of higher wages means workers will reduce the amount of hours they work because they can maintain a target level of income through fewer hours.

What happens when income effect equals substitution effect?

The income effect states that when the price of a good decreases, it is as if the buyer of the good’s income went up. The substitution effect states that when the price of a good decreases, consumers will substitute away from goods that are relatively more expensive to the cheaper good.

What is the output effect?

The effect of a rise in output on the use of any particular input, holding input prices constant. Where the most economical proportion in which to combine inputs varies with the level of output, a rise in output causes use of some inputs to increase proportionally more than others.

Can substitution effect be zero?

The substitution effect is the difference between the original consumption and the new “intermediate” consumption. When p1 goes up the Substitution Effect will always be non-positive (i.e., negative or zero). The Income Effect is the effect due to the change in real income.

What is the price effect and output effect?

The output effect is the price is above marginal cost and increasing production will increase profit (Mankiw 369). The price effect is when the increase in production decreases the price and lowers profits (Mankiw 369).

What is price effect and quantity effect?

A price effect: After a price increase, each unit sold sells at a higher price, which tends to raise revenue. ▪ A quantity effect: After a price increase, fewer units are sold, which tends to lower revenue.

Which is a result of the substitution effect?

As a result of the price change, commodity B is now relatively more expensive in terms of commodity A, and commodity A is now relatively less expensive in terms of commodity B. The substitution effect measures the change in consumption such that the consumer’s level of utility does not change.

Who is the inventor of the substitution effect?

Russian-Soviet economist and mathematician Eugene Slutsky developed the equation. The Slutsky Decomposition breaks down the change in the demand (or consumption) of a commodity into a change in the demand due to the substitution effect and a change in the demand due to the income effect

How is the income effect used in microeconomics?

At point Y, the consumer has unused income that can be used to increase consumption. The increase in consumption from point Y to point Z is due to the income effect. A core result in microeconomics is the Slutsky Decomposition or the Slutsky Equation.