Giffen good

plural Giffen goods

1. economicsA type of inferior good for which the quantity demanded increases when its price rises, and decreases when its price falls, thus violating the usual law of demand.

   To qualify as a Giffen good, a good must be inferior and must have an income effect strong enough to overcome the substitution effect. The example often cited of a possible Giffen good is the potato during the Irish famine of 1845–1849.

   2008, Libby Rittenberg, Principles of Microeconomics, Flat World Knowledge, →ISBN, page 182

   1 more example

   Economists no longer believe that potatoes were Giffen goods during the great famine, so the quest for the “exceptional case” has continued. […] Last year the economist Garth Heutel published evidence that theme park rides could be Giffen goods.

   2025 May 3, Tim Harford, “Paying more for less”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 21