question
Which of the following would be strictly a microeconomic topic?
answer
An increase in the price of the Ford Taurus
question
Which of the following is the study of "what should be" rather than the study of "what is"?
answer
Normative economics
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Even though households may have unlimited wants, they have to allocate their spending carefully because they
answer
Have limited income
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Suppose that the following headlines appeared in a newspaper. Which would most clearly represent a macroeconomic issue?
answer
"Central Bank Raises Interest Rates"
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The three groups of decision makers in the economy are
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Households, business firms and government
question
Carl is considering attending a concert with a ticket price of $35. He estimates that the cost of driving to the concert and parking there will total an additional $20. In order to attend the concert, Carl will have to take time off from his part-time job or forgo studying for an exam scheduled for the next morning. He estimates that he will lose 5 hours of work, at a wage of $6 per hour or 5 hours of study time. If Carl considers studying the best alternative use of his time, his opportunity cost of attending the concert equals
answer
$85 minus the value of the highest exam grade he could earn by studying for 5 hours
question
High-income people will sometimes pay higher prices at convenience stores for goods that are available at discount stores. They do this because
answer
crowded and understaffed discount stores impose higher time costs
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If a market has more than one seller, but fewer sellers than under perfect competition, it is referred to as
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imperfect competition
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The extent to which a firm is viewed by consumers as being a monopoly depends primarily on
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whether they believe there are close substitutes for the good it produces
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A single-price monopolist is
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one that charges the same price for all units of output
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The U.S. Postal Service
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has its monopoly status guaranteed by government franchise
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A monopolist earns a profit whenever
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price exceeds average total cost
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Which of the following goods would be most likely to be produced by a monopoly?
answer
electricity
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In the short run, a monopoly should shut down whenever
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price is less than average variable cost everywhere
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Absent an ability to price discriminate, if a monopoly wants to sell more output, it must
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lower its price
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For a monopolist, there is no difference between the market demand curve and the demand curve the monopolist uses when making output decisions.
answer
True
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Suppose that for a monopolist, MR = MC = $10 and P = $15 at the profit-maximizing level of output. At this level of output, the firm
answer
will shut down if AVC > $15
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A record level of crop production can lead to:
answer
sharp declines in farm product prices and cash receipts from sale of production.
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Marginal propensity to consume is the slope of the aggregate consumption function and tells us how much consumption will change if consumer disposable income changes.
answer
True
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An inflationary gap occurs in the economy when
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aggregate demand is greater than full employment output.
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Given the following equation where DPI represents disposable personal income: C = 1,500 + 0.85(DPI) If disposable personal income is $5,000, consumer spending would be equal to:
answer
$5,750.
question
Consumption expenditures includes:
answer
purchases of airline tickets.
purchases of new automobiles.
purchases of food.
all of the above. >>>
purchases of new automobiles.
purchases of food.
all of the above. >>>
question
The economy's aggregate supply curve includes
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a classical range.
a normal range.
a Keynesian or depression range.
all of the above. >>>
a normal range.
a Keynesian or depression range.
all of the above. >>>
question
Automatic fiscal policy instruments include:
answer
unemployment compensation.
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The Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, sets the policy for
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Buying government bonds and selling government bonds
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The functions of the Federal Reserve System include:
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regulating the money supply.
question
Contractionary fiscal policy actions:
answer
would likely decrease farmers' fixed liabilities.
would likely increase farmers' total assets.
would likely increase farmers' operating expenses.
none of the above>>>
would likely increase farmers' total assets.
would likely increase farmers' operating expenses.
none of the above>>>
question
The national debt:
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is equal to the debt at the beginning of the year plus the deficit during the year.
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A price elasticity of demand of 2 for a specific cola means that if the price increases 1 percent, the quantity demanded of the cola will decrease by 2 percent.
answer
True
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The sensitivity of one economic variable to changes in another variable is known as
answer
elasticity
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If the cross-price elasticity of demand is positive, then the
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two goods are substitutes
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If the demand curve is a horizontal line,
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demand is perfectly elastic
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If the percentage change in quantity demanded is smaller (in absolute value) than the percentage change in price, then demand is
answer
inelastic
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For which of the following goods is the income elasticity of demand likely to be largest?
answer
meals at restaurants
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The cross-price elasticity of demand between butter and margarine is most likely
answer
positive, since the goods are substitutes
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The cross-price elasticity of demand between Texaco gasoline and Mobil gasoline sold at the same intersection would be
answer
positive
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As a result of heavy spring rains in the Midwest, the corn crop declined sharply. If corn growers experienced an increase in sales revenue, the demand for corn must be
answer
price inelastic
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If the income elasticity of demand for a good is -2.5, then
answer
it is an inferior good, and its demand curve will shift to the left if buyers' incomes increase
question
If the price of food falls by 10 percent and the quantity sold increases by 5 percent, then the price elasticity of demand in that range equals
answer
0.5, and demand is inelastic
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Suppose a local bookstore notices that a 2 percent increase in book prices leads to a 2 percent decrease in the number of books sold. Which of the following is true?
answer
The store's sales revenue did not change.
question
A public university knows that demand from potential students is elastic. If the university wants to increase tuition revenue, it should
answer
lower its tuition rate
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For which of the following medical services is the income elasticity of demand likely to be the smallest?
answer
emergency services after a car accident
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If the numerical value of the price elasticity of demand is 3, then a one-percent change in price will cause a(n)
answer
larger percentage change in quantity demanded, so demand is elastic
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The marginal value product for labor is equal to the marginal physical product for labor times the product price
answer
True
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When a firm incurs losses in the short run, the most important consideration in determining whether to continue producing is whether
answer
revenues cover some of its fixed costs and all of its variable cost
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Which of the following is true?
answer
product differentiation is the key difference between monopolistic competition and perfect competition.
question
Jim's Shoe Shine Shop operates in a perfectly competitive market. If it's marginal revenue is $5 per shine, then
answer
the market price per shine is $5
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If MR were $12 per unit, and if MC = $10 per unit, then:
answer
the firm should increase production
question
When Better Beds produces 40 beds per day, its average variable cost is $600 and its average total cost is $800. The marginal cost of producing the 40th bed is $700. Based on this information, what is the Better Beds' average fixed cost (AFC) for quantities of 20 and 40 beds per day?
answer
(20, 400) and (40, 200)
question
If Carol's Crayon Factory's price exceeds its average total cost in the short run, then
answer
it is earning a profit
question
Which of the following is true?
answer
MPP = APP, when APP is a maximum
all of the above >>>
MC = ATC, when ATC is a minimum
MC = AVC, when AVC is a minimum
all of the above >>>
MC = ATC, when ATC is a minimum
MC = AVC, when AVC is a minimum
question
Flora's Flowers operates in a perfectly competitive market. At the point where marginal cost equals marginal revenue, ATC = $10, AVC = $5, and the price per unit is $15. In this situation,
answer
Flora earns positive profits in the short run
question
A decrease in demand, with supply constant, results in a(n)
answer
decrease in equilibrium price and a decrease in equilibrium quantity
question
Rent control is an example of a price ceiling. Which of the following problems must be addressed under a rent control program?
answer
how to allocate scarce rental units
question
An increase in demand causes
answer
an increase in equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity
question
A $10,000 federal subsidy per student in higher education would benefit
answer
the student and the university in such a way that they would split the $10,000.
question
When the minimum wage is set above the equilibrium market wage,
answer
the unemployment rate will rise
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If the government wants to manipulate the equilibrium price, it will normally create a price floor or price ceiling; if the government want to manipulate the equilibrium quantity, it will normally impose taxes or award subsidies.
answer
True
question
breakeven output
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level of output at which average total costs equal average revenue or market price
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average variable cost
answer
the variable costs incurred by the business in the current period per unit of output
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marginal physical product
answer
the change in output or total product the business would achieve in the current period by expanding the use of an input by another unit
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marginal value product
answer
the change in revenue earned by the business as it employees an additional unit of an input holding other resource use constant
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shutdown output
answer
level of output at which average variable costs equal average revenue or the market price
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fixed costs
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specific form of current production costs that do not vary with the level of output or input use
question
marginal cost
answer
the change in total cost of production as the output or total product of the business is expanded
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Total Variable Cost (TVC)
answer
the sum of all individual categories of production costs that do vary with the level of production
question
stage 1
answer
is the point at which the marginal physical product curve for a particular input is rising but still lies above the average physical product curve
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marginal rate of product transformation
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the rate at which the business is willing to substitute between two products in the current period
question
profit maximizing level of output
answer
level of output at which average total costs equal average revenue or market price
question
profit maximizing level of input use
answer
level of input use where the marginal value product equals the marginal input cost
question
perfect competition
answer
market structure characterized by large number of producers selling a homogeneous product each with perfect information and no barriers to entry or exit
question
law of diminishing marginal returns
answer
as successive units of a variable input are added to a production process with the other inputs held constant the marginal physical product eventually decreases