A very important economy question on demand and supply?

Question

Raclette is a popular wintertime dish in Switzerland. It is essentially melted Raclette cheese over boiled new potatoes. If the price of this cheese decreased we would expect:

(A) an increase in demand for the cheese

(B) an increase in demand for new potatoes

(C) no effect on the demand for either of the Raclette ingredients, since this is a traditional dish and its consumption does not depend on the prices of the ingredients

(D) both A and B

Answer 1

A. The question says nothing about how much of cheese consumption is for the above dish, it may only make up a very small % of the use of cheese in the country. Therefore we should assume the demand of complimentary items for the meal will not be affected by the changing demand for cheese.

Answer is therefore A.

Answer 2

(B) an increase in demand for new potatoes

It would cause an increase in quantity demanded, but it would not shift the demand curve (unless we have information on what caused the price decrease).  But, since it is a complementary good, it would increase the demand for new potatoes, even if by a very small amount.