Keresletek

Keresletek is the Hungarian term for the demand side in economics; it is the plural form of kereslet and denotes consumers' willingness and ability to purchase goods and services at given prices over a specified period. As a core concept of microeconomics, keresletek describe how much of a good or service buyers are prepared to buy under different price conditions.

In economic models, the quantity demanded is a function of price, holding other factors constant. The law of demand states that, all else equal, as price falls, quantity demanded rises, and as price rises, quantity demanded falls. This relationship is represented by a downward-sloping demand curve or a related demand schedule, which lists quantities demanded at various prices. Market demand is the horizontal sum of individual demands across all buyers.

Determinants of keresletek include income, prices of substitutes and complements, consumer tastes and preferences, expectations about future prices or incomes, and the number of buyers in the market. Changes in these determinants shift the entire demand curve, while a change in price causes movement along the curve.

Elasticity concepts are central to understanding keresletek. Price elasticity of demand measures how responsive quantity demanded is to price changes; income elasticity of demand and cross-price elasticity describe responses to income changes and to prices of related goods, respectively. Goods can be characterized as elastic, inelastic, or unitary in terms of their price elasticity.

Applications of keresletek analysis include forecasting, pricing strategy, policy evaluation, and market research. Data sources include consumer surveys, experiments, and observed market transactions. See also kereslet, the singular form.