Are plastic bags an inelastic good?

Anjaree

sure, I don't care about the prices.

JuanB

I would make the argument that they are. From what I can tell, when England went from free bags to a charge the quantity used dropped 10 to 15%. Now they are thinking of doubling the charge. Keep in mind, that as they enforce a charge for plastic bags it changes people perception of it as an environmental hazard. So you have a shift in the demand curve along with the drop in quantity due to price increase. So is 10% of that dropped quantity a shift in demand?