Modelling the Income Elasticity of Demand of Different Beverages Among CBC Hefei No.1 Secondary School Students in the Context of Covid-19

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic on consumer behavior of high school students as a social group with no independent regular income. As the sources for data collection, we obtained the empirical sales data set of two beverage categories at an on-campus provision store run by students, representing inferior and luxury goods, respectively. We then took the periodic trends at times of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, transformed data basis into graphical representation,d and manipulated the data set with a mathematical modeling technique to approximate of students’ choice in a relatively precise manner. From which we draw the conclusion based on our mathematical model and found its approximation to the demand elasticity curve of inferior vs. luxury goods from an economic perspective. The seamless integration of mathematical approach and behavioral economic analysis could produce a more concise pattern of consumers’ choice during this special time of the epidemic.