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L: This has two common uses. One is as the standard abbreviation for the quantity of labor, especially for the analysis of production. The complementary representations for other inputs are "K" for capital and "N" for population. The second is as the broadest monetary aggregate for the U.S. economy tracked by the Federal Reserve System, best thought of as total liquid assets. It was since be discontinued. In it's heyday, it was comprised of everything in M3 plus other liquid assets, including U.S. Treasury bills, commercial paper, and savings bonds. L was typically 15 to percent higher than M3 and seven times as much as M1. The Federal Reserve System discontinued this measurement in 1998.

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POINT ELASTICITY:

The relative responsiveness of a change in one variable (call it B) to an infinitesimally small change in another variable (call it A). The notion of point elasticity typically comes into play when discussing the elasticity at a specific point on a curve.
Point elasticity can be calculated in a number of different ways. Sophisticated economists, using sophisticated mathematical techniques (better known as calculus) calculate point elasticity by using derivatives. Derivatives are calculus talk for infinitesimally small changes. The formula for calculating point elasticity using calculus is given as:

point
elasticity
=∂B
B
÷∂A
A
The symbol that looks like a backward six (∂) is the mathematical notation for a derivative, or infinitesimally small change. The first term on the right-hand side of this formula is the percentage change in variable B and the second term is the percentage change in variable A.

Unsophisticated folks can also calculate point elasticity without the use of sophisticated calculus. This is done with the midpoint elasticity formula, presented here:

midpoint
elasticity
=(B2 - B1)
(B2 + B1)/2
÷(A2 - A1)
(A2 + A1)/2
The first term on the right-hand side of the equation is the percentage change in variable B. The second term is the percentage change in variable A. The individual items are interpreted as this: A1 is the initial value of A before any changes, A2 is the ending value after A changes, B1 is the initial value of B before any changes, and B2 is the ending value after B changes.

This midpoint elasticity formula actually calculates the average or arc elasticity of the entire line segment. However, it also calculates the point elasticity for the midpoint of a line segment.

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POINT ELASTICITY, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2026. [Accessed: May 18, 2026].


Check Out These Related Terms...

     | arc elasticity | coefficient of elasticity | midpoint elasticity formula | endpoint elasticity formula | point elasticity |


Or For A Little Background...

     | elasticity | price elasticity of demand | price elasticity of supply | income elasticity of demand | cross elasticity of demand |


And For Further Study...

     | elasticity and demand slope | elasticity and supply intercept | demand elasticity and total expenditure | elasticity alternatives | elasticity determinants |


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