chapter 1 homework
In which of the following areas will taking an economics course help benefit you throughout your life?
all of the above
The statement that the United States has a lower unemployment rate than Spain is a _____ statement since it describes what people_____
positive....... actually do
Suppose that you allocate $20 each week for your entertainment budget. This money is spent on two items: either renting movies for $1 each at Redbox or downloading songs from iTunes at $1 each. Given this information, which of the following would represent your budget constraint for entertainment?
Amount spent on iTunes + Amount spent at Redbox = $20.
How would you evaluate these options and choose an optimal one?
Do a cost-benefit analysis to compare the alternatives.
Which of the following is true regarding the concept of causation?
It describes how one event can bring about change in another.
Economics differs from these other social sciences because it also addresses these three key concepts: _________.
Optimization, equilibrium, and empiricism.
During the process of optimization economists believe that people are considering _________.
The feasibility of a choice, given the information available at the time.
Let's say that you are trying to decide what to do on Friday at 11 a.m. You rank your possible options from the one you value the most to the one that you value the least in the following order: going to class, sleeping in late, going to work early, getting lunch, going to the gym to exercise, and watching television. If you decide to go to class, then what do we know about the opportunity cost of your decision?
The opportunity cost would be sleeping in late, since it was your next-best option.
Microeconomics studies _________, while macroeconomics studies _________.
a small piece of the overall economy; the economy as a whole.
The definition of economics states that it is the study of how _________.
agents choose to allocate scarce resources and the impact of those choices on society
Which of the following is subject to the free-rider problem?
all of the above
A surge in cocoa prices is _____ and a pest attack on the cocoa crop is______
an effect... the cause
Lower infant mortality is _____ and an improvement in nutrition is _____.
an effect... the cause
When making your decision about which activity to choose, you should consider the monetary cost _____ the opportunity cost of the activities. The goal is to choose the option that offers the greatest _____ benefit.
as well as... net
Policy decisions made by the government are analyzed by _________.
both microeconomics and macroeconomics.
Comparing a set of feasible alternatives and picking the best one is an optimization process called _________.
cost-benefit analysis
Which of the following is not an example of causation?
driving without car insurance will lead to getting into an accident.
empiricism describes a situation where ____
economists use data to analyze what is happening in the world
The amount produced by sellers must be_____ the amount purchased by buyers.
equal to
Buyers must place a value on the uses of the product that is _____ the cost of buying the product.
greater than
The costs of making a product must be ____ the final price at which the product sells.
less than
a policy such as whether to increase the money supply would be studied under ______, since it deals with ______
macroeconomics... the economy as a whole
equilibrium describes a situation where ______
no one would benefit from changing his or her behavior
The statement that the United States should legalize same-sex marriage is a _____ statement since it describes what people _____
normative..... ought to do
The ethical implications of a hotly debated government policy would best be considered a _________.
normative question, since it deals with a subjective issue based on personal preferences.
The goal of optimization for an individual is to maximize
overall well-being
optimization describes a situation where______
people weigh costs and benefits
Free riding occurs when _____ are out of sync with_____
people's private benefits... the public interest
Your budget constraint for entertainment illustrates the concept of_____, since as you increase your purchases of one item, you _____
trade-off.... must decrease your purchases of the other item
Which of the following is more susceptible to the free-rider problem: state parks or city-wide pest control?
use of city- wide pest control is more susceptible since even those who dont pay taxes still benefit, while state parks can charge for admission, so that everyone who goes pays their share
The opportunity cost of an activity is a measure of _____ when you do that activity.
what is given up
When deciding whether to install visible countdown timers for pedestrians at crosswalks, which of the following would be considered in the cost-benefit analysis? (Check all that apply.)
1.The higher maintenance bill associated with fixing these more complex signals when they break down. 2. The value of the lives lost by drivers who watch the countdown timers and try to make it through a light. 3. The cost in terms of dollars of installing these new timers all over the city. 4. The value of the pedestrians' lives saved by having the timers to assist in crossing the street.
