Solved Problem: Did Caitlin Clark Break the Law of Demand?

Supports: Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Economics, and Essentials of Economics, Chapter 3, Section 3.1.

Photo from theathletic.com

Caitlin Clark had a sensational college career at the University of Iowa, being named National Player of the Year in her junior and senior years. She was chosen first by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft of college players. Her popularity drew large crowds to both her home and away games during the 2024 season.

In 2023, the Indiana Fever sold an average of 4,067 tickets to its home games. In 2024, with Clark on the team, the Fever sold an average of 17,036 to its home games. The average price the Fever charged per ticket increased from $60 in 2023 to $110 in 2024. As an article on theathletic.com put it: “Despite the higher price point, even more tickets were sold [by the Fever] this year.”

Can we conclude from this information that Caitlin Clark is so popular that the demance curve for Fever tickets is upward sloping? Briefly explain.

Solving the Problem
Step 1: Review the chapter material. This problem is about the effect of a price change on the quantity demand of a good or service, so you may want to review Chapter 3, Section 3.1, “The Demand Side of the Market.” 

Step 2: Answer the question by explaining whether it’s likely that the demand curve for tickets to Fever games is upward sloping. It’s unlikely that the demand curve for tickets to Fever games is upward sloping. The law of demand states that, holding everything else constant, when the price of a product rises, the quantity demanded of the product will decrease. When the Fever raised ticket prices from $60 in 2023 to $100 in 2024, we would expect the result to be a movement up the demand curve for tickets, resulting in fewer tickets sold, provided that everything else that would affect the demand for tickets was constant between 2023 and 2024. But everything wasn’t constant because the Fever had Clark on the team in 2024 but not in 2023. Her popularity increased the demand for tickets, shifting the demand curve to the right. In other words, the shift in demand allowed the Fever to sell more tickets at a higher price—moving from a price of $60 and a quantity of 4,067 on the 2023 demand curve to a price of $110 and a quantity of 17,036 on the 2024 demand curve.