an exceptional demand curve can result from?

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks what can cause an exceptional demand curve. This is a demand curve that does not follow the normal law of demand. Normally, when price rises, quantity demanded falls, so the curve slopes downward. An exceptional demand curve slopes upward or behaves unusually.

Step 2: The concept Exceptional demand occurs in situations where a higher price leads to more quantity demanded, or where demand behaves abnormally. Common causes:

• Expectation of future price increases: People buy more now as the price rises, because they fear it will rise further (speculative demand, hoarding).
• Giffen goods: Inferior goods that make up a large part of a poor consumer's budget.
• Veblen (prestige) goods: Goods like luxury cars or jewellery that people buy more of because they are expensive.

Step 3: Evaluate the options

• A. Increase in prices of raw materials: This affects supply (it shifts the supply curve left), not the shape of the demand curve. ✗
• B. Increase in population size: This increases overall demand and shifts the demand curve to the right. The curve still slopes downward, so it is not exceptional. ✗
• C. Expectation of future price increase: Consumers buy more now even as the price rises, so the curve slopes upward. This is an exceptional demand. ✓
• D. Change in taste: This shifts the demand curve, but it does not change its normal downward slope. ✗

Step 4: Answer The correct answer is C. Expectation of future price increase.

Tip: Remember the exceptions to the law of demand with "G-V-S": Giffen goods, Veblen goods, Speculation (expected price changes). A shift in the demand curve is caused by tastes, population, and income. An exceptional curve means a change in the shape or slope of the curve.