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A good of which less is demanded at any given price as income rises, over some range of incomes. An inferior good thus has a negative income elasticity of demand, over this income range. A good is most likely to be inferior if it has a close substitute of higher quality. It should be noted that a good cannot be inferior at all levels of income otherwise it must be a bad. See also Engel curve.
From: inferior good in A Dictionary of Economics »
Subjects: Economics.
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