Economics Chapter 1
Which of the following does not support the concept of an economic agent? (Check all that apply.) A. Groups are considered as a single decision maker. B. They make decisions by solving choice problems. C. Their decisions do not have an effect on the economy of a country. D. All economic agents are individuals.
C and D
Microeconomics is concerned with: A. Reasons for unemployment. B. Placing a greater emphasis on empirical data. C. Externalities arising from production and consumption. D. Shifts in aggregate demand due to changes in price.
C. Externalities arising from production and consumption.
The opportunity cost of an activity is a measure of (benefits you gain or what is given up) when you do that activity.
what is given up
The definition of economics states that it is the study of how _________. A. businesses make decisions and how those decisions impact other firms, the government, and consumers. B. money influences the economy in the short run and the long run. C. agents choose to allocate scarce resources and the impact of those choices on society. D. the government determines policies, businesses set prices, and consumers choose how much to buy.
C. agents choose to allocate scarce resources and the impact of those choices on society.
Which of the following statements explain positive economics? (Check all that apply.) A. It is not factual. B. It depends upon value judgements. C. It can be rejected or amended depending on the evidence available. D. The predictions are testable.
All of these
Policy decisions made by the government are analyzed by _________. A. neither microeconomics nor macroeconomics. C. only microeconomics. D. only macroeconomics.
B. both microeconomics and macroeconomics.
The ethical implications of a hotly debated government policy would best be considered a _________. A. normative question, since it deals with an objective issue based on factual evidence. B. positive question, since it deals with an objective issue based on factual evidence. C. normative question, since it deals with a subjective issue based on personal preferences. D. positive question, since it deals with a subjective issue based on personal preferences.
C. normative question, since it deals with a subjective issue based on personal preferences.
Which of the following is not a correct explanation of economics? A. It studies the effects of any individual agent's choices on society. B. It helps in evaluating the costs and benefits of alternative actions. C. It is concerned with every type of human behavior. D. It is concerned only with money and financial aspects of human behavior.
D. It is concerned only with money and financial aspects of human behavior
Which of the following is not an item studied under microeconomics? A. Economic output. B. Individual preferences. C. The well minus being of agents. D. Firm profits.
Economic Output
Clara visits the local bakery shop several times a week and knows the owner, Sam, very well. Her favorite cupcakes, chocolate cream, sell for $2 each. She buys them regularly. The $2 charged per cupcake is the (equilibrium or optimum) price. If Sam raised the price to $2.50, Clara would buy her favorite cupcake from the coffee shop down the street for $2.25, which would be the (equilibrium or optimum) price for her.
Equilibrium, optimum
Troy has set up experimental groups. One group has mostly women and the other has mostly men. What do you tell Troy?
He has done a bad job because the groups are not randomly constructed
In which of the following examples is prescriptive economic analysis necessary? A. Higher interest rates will reduce home prices. B. The government is right to introduce a ban on smoking in public places. C. Jay chooses to go to Europe rather than China because of the huge discounts. D. If the government raises the tax on beer, this will lead to a fall in profits of the brewers.
Jay chooses to go to Europe rather than China because of the huge discounts.
Economics, anthropology, psychology, sociology, and political science all study human behavior. Economics differs from these other social sciences because it also addresses these three key concepts: _________. A. Empiricism, ideology, and social responsibility. B. Optimization, equilibrium, and empiricism. C. Culture, optimization, and trade. D. Equilibrium, government actions, and incentives.
Optimization, equilibrium, and empiricism.
In which of the following examples is the cause and the effect hard to untangle? A. The relation between smoking cigarettes and lung cancer. B. The relation between marine pollution and coral reef death. C. The relation between smoke and fire. D. The relation between dense forests and heavy rains.
The relationship between dense forests and heavy rains
Which of the following cases can create a free-rider problem? (Check all that apply.) A. The street light on the road. B. Use of a personal television by the owner. C. Opening a savings account in a bank. D. Use of public parks by locals.
The street light on the road and the use of public parks
The concept of opportunity cost is a measure of _________. A. the dollar amount you must pay to do any activity. B. the value of the best alternative use of a resource. C. the benefit that you receive from doing any activity. D. all the possible alternative uses of a resource.
The value of the best alternative use of a resource
Which of the following is not true about economic models? A. A model is only an approximation. B. They are not useful, since they do not include all variables. C. Models are not perfect replicas of reality. D. They can be highly complex and based on lengthy mathematical analysis.
They are not useful, since they do not include all variables.
Debbie, a member of your team, advocates finding random people and then breaking them up into two groups. Group A would be shown an increase in the price of gas before taking the survey. Group B would be told there was no increase in the price of gas before taking the survey. Troy, another member of your team, recommends finding two groups of people already sorted by whether or not they have recently noticed an increase in the price of gas. Debbie's method is a controlled experiment and Troy's method is a natural experiment . Group A is the (treatment group, control group) and Group B is the (treatment group, control group)
Treatment group, control group
Economists study _______; therefore, the unifying feature of economics is a focus on ________. .
all human behavior, choice
To say that economists use the scientific method means that they are using ___________. A. a process to develop models that are intended to exactly represent all the details of a system. B. a method to determine the best course of action for fiscal and monetary policy. C. a method to develop recommendations for policy makers to run economies. D. an ongoing process to develop models of the world and then test and evaluate those models.
an ongoing process to develop models of the world and then test and evaluate those models.
Which of the following statements is not a correct explanation of empiricism? (Check all that apply.) A. It involves data analysis and drawing inferences. B. It tests whether theories are applicable to real life situations. C. It cannot be monitored. D. It has nothing to do with optimization and equilibrium.
c and d
Economists conduct research on the "effects of global warming on the economy". This means they study the effects of global warming on the national income, international trade etc. It is considered a (macroeconomic or microeconomic) study.
macroeconomic
A policy such as whether to increase the money supply would be studied under (Macro or micro), since it deals with the ______________.
macroeconomics, economy as a whole
All of the following would fall under the study of microeconomics except: A. the stock market's response to an interest rate increase. B. a factory polluting a lake used for fishing. C. an international trade dispute. D. a labor union strike.
the stock market's response to an interest rate increase.
There's a line on a graph with a positive slope
there's a positive relationship because they move together