Question of the Week – Economics

Inferior goods, by
definition, are purchased less as income increases. All you need to know is that beans
are an inferior good and that Nelly’s income increases.

The situation illustrates why
a good might be inferior — why might you buy less of it as you get more money?
In this case, Nelly needs to eat something. She would rather have beef, but it
is expensive. If Nelly has very little income, she may have to spend all her
money on beans. As her income increases, she uses the excess money to switch
her purchases over from beans to beef.