Economics Midterm
As a factor of production, capital refers to the
tools and machinery used to produce goods and services
A country can consume beyond its present production possibilities curve when it
trades with other countries, thus taking advantage of different opportunity costs
9. The above table shows the profits associated with the pricing strategies of two oligopolistic firms, Agronomia and Farmingdale. Each firm has two possible strategies: to charge a low price or a high price. The first entry in each cell shows the profits to Agronomia and the second the profits to Farmingdale. If the two firms do not cooperate, as a result of the firms' pricing decisions that profits of each firm will be which of the following Agronomia's Profit Farmingdale's Profit A) $50 $100 B) $150 $150 C) $300 $50 D) $100 $100 E) $300 $300
$100 $100
If the marginal cost of producing the first unit of some good is $20 and the marginal cost of producing the second unit is $30, the average variable cost of producing 2 units is
$25
In which of the following cases in the government's action appropriate for reducing inefficiency?
a toll on a congested bridge
At 100 units of output, a firm's total cost is $10,000. If the firm's total fixed cost is $4,000, its average variable cost is equal to
$60
The table above shows the demand schedules for Jill and for all other consumers, as well as the market supply schedule for the same good. The equilibrium price in this market is
$7
The graph above shows the conditions that a monopsonist faces in a labor market. How many workers would this monopsonist hire and what wage rate would it pay? Number of Workers Wage Rate
20 10
13. Number of Workers Parts Per Week 0 0 1 100 2 190 3 270 4 340 5 400 6 450 8 480 The table above describes the production function of an auto parts manufacturer. Assume that the firm can hire as many workers it wants at the market wage rate of $600 per week per worker and sell as many auto parts as it wants at the price of $10 per part. To maximize profits, the firm should hire
5 workers
If cotton is used to produce towels, and increase in the price of cotton will result in which of the following changes in the towel market?
A decrease in the supply of towels, which leads to a shortage of towels followed by upward pressure on the price of towels
Which of the following best defines a pure public good?
A good whose benefits can be enjoyed by many consumers at the same time and from which consumers cannot be excluded
A monopolistically competitive firm's demand curve will be highly elastic if which of the following exists?
A high degree of product substitutability
Which of the following explains why a decrease in the price of a normal good will lead to an increase in the quantity demanded of the good?
A lower price will increase consumer' purchasing power.
Assume that the marginal social benefit of the last unit of vaccination provided is greater than the marginal social cost. Which of the following can be used to achieve efficiency in the market for vaccination?
A per-unit subsidy for vaccinations
Assume that the marginal social benefit of the last unit of vaccination provided is greater than the marginal social cost. Which of the following can be used to achieve efficiency in the market for vaccination?
A) A per-unit subsidy for vaccinations
Which of the following MUST be true of the long-run?
All factors of production are variable.
For a perfectly competitive, increasing-cost industry, an increase in the industry's demand will lead to which of the following in the long-run?
An upward shift in each firm's long-run average cost curve
If a new tax on capital increases a firm's fixed cost of production, which of the following will occur in the short run?
Average total cost will increase.
21. Assume that olive oil is produced in a constant-cost, perfectly competitive industry, which is currently in long-run equilibrium. If the current price of olive oil is $5 per quart and the demand for olive oil increases, then the price of olive oil will change in which of the following ways in the short run and long run? Short Run Long Run A) Be more than $5 Be more than $5 B) Be more than $5 Be equal to $5 C) Be equal to $5 Be equal to $5 D) Be less than $5 Be less than $5 E) Be less than $5 Be equal to $5
Be more than $5 Be equal to $5
Refer to the above graph. In the short-run, the firm will realize an economic loss but will continue to produce if the price is
Between P2 and P3
15. Which of the following will occur in a perfectly competitive labor market if firm X's demand for labor decreases? Equilibrium Employment Market Wage Rate by Firm X A) Increase Increase B) No change No change C) No change Decrease D) Decrease Decrease E) Decrease No change
C) No change Decrease
Assume that mustard and ketchup are considered substitutes by consumers. If the price of mustard increases, which of the above graphs represents the most likely response in the ketchup market?
C) c
The table below represents point of an economy's current production possibilities curve. Good X GoodY 1000 0 990 100 980 200 970 300 The opportunity cost of increasing the production of good Y from 0 to 200 is
D) 20 units of X
Which of the following changes in the demand for and the supply of a good would necessarily lead to a decrease in the equilibrium quantity of the good in the market in the short run? Demand Supply Increase Decrease Increase No change Decrease Decrease Decrease Decrease No change Increase
Decrease Decrease
14. A monopolist introduces a technological innovation that lowers the marginal costs and average cost of production. The price of the good and the level of output are most likely to change in which of the following ways? Price Level of output A) Remain constant Remain constant B) Remain constant Increase C) Increase Decrease D) Decrease Increase E) Decrease Remain constant
Decrease Increase
4. A city transit authority increases the price of subway and bus tickets from $1.25 to $1.50. If the demand for these tickets is price elastic, the number of people riding buses and subways and the city's revenues will most likely change in which of the following ways? Number of People riding City's Revenues A) Increase Increase B) Decrease Increase C) Decrease Decrease D) Decrease Remain constant E) Remain constant Increase
Decrease Increase
Assume that ice cream is a normal good. If the price of ice cream decreases, the substitution effect and the income effect will lead to which of the following changes in ice cream consumption? Substitution Effect Income Effect A) Increase Decrease B) Increase Increase C) increase No change D) Decrease Increase E) Decrease No change
Decrease Increase
Which of the following is a result of increasing returns to scale?
Downward-sloping long-run average total cost curve
Which of the following best represents a positive externality?
Enjoying watching birds at a neighbor's bird feeder
Moving from left to right along a downward-sloping linear demand curve, price elasticity varies in which of the following ways?
First elastic, then unit elastic, and finally inelastic
Which of the following government actions can correct the inefficiency caused by the existence of a monopoly?
Granting a per-unit subsidy on the monopolist's output
An enreprenuer has earned enough total revenue to cover her accounting costs, but economic losses are being incurred. What must be true?
Her accounting profits are less than her implicit costs.
Monopolistically competitive firms are considered inefficient in allocating society's resources for which of the following reasons?
In equilibrium, the marginal benefit exceeds the marginal cost of production.
Compared to a perfectly competitive industry with the same demand and cost curves, a monopoly's price and output will be which of the following?
Higher Lower
Refer to the same graph. Which of the following MUST be true in the long run?
If the price is above P3, new firms will enter the industry.
Which of the following statements correctly identifies a difference beween perfect competition and monopolistic competition?
In perfect competition the firms all sell products that are exactly the same, but in monopolistic competition each firm sells a slightly differentiated product.
6. At its current employment level of labor and capital, a firm observes the following. * Marginal product of labor = 30 units * Marginal product of capital = 60 units * Price of labor = $3 per unit * Price of capital = $15 per unit Which of the following actions should the firm take in order to achieve the least-cost combination of labor and capital and produce the same level of output? Labor Capital A) Increase Increase B) Increase Decrease C) Decrease Increase D) Decrease Decrease E) No change No change
Increase Decrease
A cartel is difficult to maintain for which of the following reasons?
Individual cartel members are tempted to cheat on the agreement.
Which of the following is always true of a monopoly that is producing a level of output such that marginal revenue is negative?
It could decrease output to increase profits.
Which of the following is true for a monopolistically competitive firm in Long-run equilibrium?
It earns a normal profit
Which of the following is true of the marginal cost curve?
It intersects the average variable cost curve and the average total cost curve at each curve's minimum point.
Which of the following is a characteristic of a public good?
It is nonrival in consumption.
The graph above shows the marginal revenue product (MRP) and the market wage rate for a profit-maximizing firm. Which of the following is true of the firm's hiring of labor?
It should hire 90 workers.
Jane spends all her weekly allowance to buy only two goods: soda and apples. According to the table above, if her preferences are characterized by the law of diminishing marginal utility, then which of the following statements is correct?
Jane can buy more apples and less soda to maximize her utility.
If a firm is experiencing economies of scale, which of the following will decrease as output increases?
Long-run average total cost
Which of the following must be true if a firm is experiencing economies of scale?
Long-run average total cost decreases as the firm's output increases.
A perfectly competitive manufacturing industry pollutes public water in its production process, leaving the water unsuitable for use by the surrounding communities. At the market equilibrium output level, which of the following is true?
Marginal social cost exceeds marginal social benefit
Which of the following is true when there are negative externalities associated with the production of a good?
Marginal social costs will exceed marginal private costs unless businesses are forced to internalize the external costs.
After graduating from high school, Maria chose to go to college, while Omar chose to work full-time. Which of the following best describes the opportunity costs for these decisions?
Maria's opportunity cost includes the salary she could have earned if she had gone to work.
If the market depicted in the diagram above is initially in equilibrium, which of the following will result from the government's setting a price ceiling at P3
Market price will be unaffected
Over the past 5 years, 50 new restaurants have opened and 30 have closed in the city of Philadelphia. Currently there are 110 restaurants operating in the city. Which of the following best represents the market structure, barriers to entry, and economic profits in the long-run? Market Structure Barriers to Entry Long-Run Economic Profits
Monopolistic competition Low Zero
Which of the following will tend to make the demand for a product more elastic?
New firms which produce similar products enter the industry.
Which of the following will cause the supply curve for shoes to shift to the right?
an increase in the number of firms producing shoes
Which of the following is the best example of a negative externality?
Oil leakages from drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico
The use of game theory to explain strategic behavior among firms is most associated with which of the following market structures?
Oligopoly
Which of the following market structures results in allocative efficiency?
Perfect competition
Which of the following is true of a monopolistically competitive firm in long-run equilibrium?
Price equals average total cost but is greater than marginal cost.
Which of the following indicates that a perfectly competitive firm is in long-run equilibrium?
Price equals marginal coat, which equals average total cost.
Which of the following is true in a capitalist economy?
Prices serve as incentives for factors of production to move to the markets where they are most valued.
For the firm shown in the above graph, which combination of output and price will maximize its profit?
Q1 P4
For the firm shown in the graph above, the short-run profit-maximizing strategy would be to set output at
Q1, price at P3, and earn an economic profit
6. Assuming a downward-sloping demand curve and an upward-sloping supply curve, which of the following will occur as a result of an increase in the sales tax on a good?
Quantity demanded will decrease
Public goods are underproduced in a competitive market because the free-rider problem causes which of the following?
Reduced market demand
6. If a per-unit tax is imposed on a monopolist, how will the monopolist's marginal cost curve, output, and the price paid by consumer be affected? Marginal Cost Output Price A) Shift Down Increase Decrease B) Shift Down Decrease Decrease C) No Shift Decrease Decrease D) Shift up Decrease Increase E) Shift up Increase Increase
Shift up Decrease Increase
According to the above graph, which of the following segments of the marginal cost curve lies entirely on the firm's short-run supply curve?
TUV
Suppose that at the current output level the marginal social cost of producing a good is greater than its marginal private cost, and that the marginal social benefit associated with production of the good is equal to its marginal private benefit. Which of the following government actions would most likely increase efficiency?
Taxing the production of the good
In a perfectly competitive market, a change in which of the following could cause a shift in the supply curve?
Technology
If a competitive firm pays its workers the value of the marginal product of the last worker hired, which of the following is true?
The contributions of the last worker hired to the firm's profit will be zero.
Assume that firms sell their output in a perfectly competitive product market and hire labor in a perfectly competitive labor market. If all other factors remain constant, an increase in the demand for the firm's product will result in which of the following changes in the labor market?
The demand curve for labor will shift to the right.
Fro a competitive labor market, an increase in which of the following will lead to an increase in the demand for labor?
The demand for the good that labor produces
Given an increase in the price of material K - which is an input used to produce good X - and an increase in the price of good Y - which is a substitute for good X - which of the following will definitely occur?
The equilibrium price of good X will increase.
Improvements in technology for producing all goods must result in
an outward shift in the production possibilities curve
*The marginal product of labor equals 250 units of output. *The marginal product of capital equals 750 units of output. *The price of labor is $50 per person. *The price of capital is $100 per unit. Given the information above, which of the following is true for a firm buying its labor and capital inputs in a perfectly competitive market? *The marginal product of labor equals 250 units of output. *The marginal product of capital equals 750 units of output. *The price of labor is $50 per person. *The price of capital is $100 per unit. Given the information above, which of the following is true for a firm buying its labor and capital inputs in a perfectly competitive market?
The firm can reduce the cost of its current level of output by laying off workers and employing more capital.
According to the production possibilities curve above, which of the following is true?
The opportunity cost of producing another unit of either good remains constant as the production of the other good increases.
If a government eliminated an effective price floor in a market, all of the following would occur EXCEPT
The supply of the good would increase
Which of the following is true if consuming one unit of a good yields 100 utils and consuming the second unit of the good increases satisfaction by 20 utils?
The total utility of consuming two units is 120.
All of the following are essential characteristics of a perfectly competitive industry EXCEPT:
There are barriers to entry into and exit from the industry.
3. The table below shows a production function for a firm. Units of Variable Input Total Product 1 10 2 22 3 40 4 60 5 68 6 74 7 76 8 68 9 50 10 20 All of the following can be concluded from the information in the table EXCEPT:
This is a production function for a perfectly competitive firm
An increase in the supply of coffee could be caused by
a decrease in the cost of labor used to produce coffee
In order for a firm to engage in price discrimination, it must be
able to separate consumers into different groups based on demand elasticities
The marginal revenue product of labor is the
additional revenue a firm earns when the firm employs and additional unit of labor
The market for goldfish is perfectly competitive. From year 1 to year 2, both the price and quantity of goldfish sold increases. This is most likely caused by
an increase in the demand
Assume that an economy produces televisions and shoes. Which of the following would cause the production possibilities curve for this economy to shift outward?
an increase in the labor force
If labor is the only variable input of a firm and the marginal product of labor is falling, the firm will always produce
at a level of output where average total cost is at a minimum
As output of a firm increases, the difference between the firm's average total cost and its average variable cost gets smaller because the firm's
average fixed cost is decresing
Productive efficiency occurs when a firm produces output at a level at which
average total cost is a a minimum
The difference between what consumers are willing to pay for units of a good and the price consumers actually pay for units of the good is
consumer surplus
The characteristic of oligopolistic firms that makes them different from all other types of firms is that oligopolistic firms
consider each other's decisions
If a perfectly competitive firm is producing where marginal cost is rising and greater than marginal revenue, to maximize its profits it should
decrease the level of production
Short-run marginal costs eventually increase because of the effects of
diminishing marginal product
Economists argue that most professional athletes earn economic rent because they
earn for more as professional athletes than they could earn in their next-best occupation
The quantity of peanuts supplied increases from 40 tons per week to 60 tons per week when the price of peanuts increased from $4 per ton to $5 per ton. The price elasticity of supply for peanuts over this price range is
elastic
For an unregulated monopolist, the profit-maximizing quantity will always be
in the elastic region of the demand curve
When total physical product is at its maximum, marginal physical product must be
equal to zero
In a perfectly competitive labor market, an increase in an effective minimum wage will result in
fewer workers being hired
A monopolist is inefficient from society's point of view because
it underproduces output and charges a price above marginal cost
Private supply of public goods is most likely to result in
less than the efficient level of output, due to the free-rider problem
The basic economic problem of all countries is the existence of
limited resources and unlimited wants
The basic economic problem of all economies is essentially one of deciding how to make the best use of
limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants
Consider the above payoff matrix. If lock chooses to charge the low price, the best course of action for star would be to charge the
low price and earn a profit of $40
Garcia is currently spending his entire lunch budget on 3 sodas and 4 hot dogs. At his current level of consumption, Garcia's marginal utility for sodas is 5 utils and his marginal utility for hot dogs is 10 utils. In order to maximize his total utility, Garcia should
maintain his current level of consumption if the price of soda i $1 and the price of a hot dog is $2
A chemical plant pollutes a river that serves as the water supply for a nearby town. From an economist's point of view, pollution from the plant should be reduced until the
marginal benefit from cleaner water is equal to the marginal cost of making the water cleaner
A profit-maximizing firm will continue to hire workers until the
marginal factor cost of labor is equal to the marginal revenue product of labor
The most profitable level of output for any firm operating in the short-run is the level of output at which
marginal revenue equals marginal cost
All of the following are included in computing the opportunity cost of attending college EXCEPT
money spent on clothing expenses
Use the following to answer question 13: 13. The diagram above shows an economy's current production possibilities curve for capital goods and consumer goods. If society chooses point B over point A, society is choosing
more future consumption in exchange for less current consumption
A free rider problem arises when a good is
nonexcludable
If the demand for a good is perfectly price inelastic in the short run and the supply curve is upward sloping, imposing a sales tax on the good will
not change the after-tax revenues received by suppliers
Assume that, for a perfectly competitive firm, marginal cost equals average variable cost at $10, marginal cost equals average total cost at $15, and marginal revenue equals marginal cost at $12. On the basis of this information, the firm should
operate in the short run, even though it will sustain a loss
One difference between a firm in a perfectly competitive market and an unregulated monopoly is that the
perfectly competitive firm can increase the quantity it sells at the market price, whereas the monopoly must lower its price to sell more.
If the government imposes a per-unit tax on the output of a monopoly with a downward-sloping demand curve, the burden of the tax will be
shared by consumers and the monopolist
Whenever the production of a good creates negative externalities, an unregulated market will result in
society's marginal cost being higher that the firms marginal cost
In the United State, the federal government redistributes income primarily byIn the United State, the federal government redistributes income primarily by
taxing different incomes at different levels
Marginal resource (factor) cost can be defined as
the change in total resource cost caused by the addition of one more unit of a resource
Which of the following is necessary for a firm to practice price discrimination?
the firm can prevent resale of its goods.
If Chris Wizzart Incorporated is a monopolistic producer of diamonds, the firm's demand curve is downward sloping because
the number of diamonds Wizzart Inc offers for sale affects the price of diamonds
The cross-price elasticy of demand between good X and good Z measures the percentage change in the quantity demanded of good X in the response to a percentage change in
the price of good Z
The diagram below depicts demand and supply curves in a city's rental housing market. If a price ceiling of $1,000 is imposed on the market, which of the following will occur?
the quantity of rental housing demanded will increase.
