question
Consumer's surplus equals the total value that the consumer places on his purchases minus the amount he actually paid
answer
true
question
although a sales tax hurts both producers and consumers, their losses are fully offset by the benefits created by the tax revenues
answer
false
question
the price of a good accurately reflects the total value it creates for society
answer
false
question
a $5 per unit sales tax is bad for consumers because it implies that the total amount (price plus tax) that they must pay increases by $5
answer
false
question
the marginal value that a consumer places on the last unit can be read off the
answer
demand curve
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the area beneath a consumer's demand curve out to the quantity purchased represents
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the total value of the consumer's purchases
question
a competitive firm faces a downward-sloping demand for its product
answer
false
question
for a competitive firm, marginal revenue is constant and equal to the market price
answer
true
question
a firm earns a positive economic profit when the market price exceeds its marginal cost
answer
false
question
as long as profits remain positive, a firm will want to increase the quantity produced
answer
false
question
only variable costs are relevant to a firm's decision to shut down
answer
true
question
when a firm has chosen to shutdown it has exited the industry
answer
false
question
when a competitive firm earns zero profit, the market price is equal to both the firm's average and marginal costs
answer
true
question
a technological advance that reduces the firms' variable costs will lead to higher profits in the long run of a perfectly competitive industry
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false
question
a firm that is not likely to be competative
answer
aviator alan's nonstop airline service from seattle to nome
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the demand curve faced by a competitive firm is
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perfectly elastic at the established market price
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any firm, competitive or not, desiring to maximize profits, will choose its quantity according to the rule, produce that quantity at which
answer
marginal revenue=marginal cost
question
the firm is producing a quantity along the upward sloping portion of its marginal cost curve at which marginal cost exceeds price and is earning positive economic profits, it should
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decrease the quantity produced because doing so will increase profit
question
a competitive firm will shut down its operations in the short run when the market prices falls below its
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average variable cost
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a competitive firms long-run supply curve is
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more elastic than its short-run supply curve
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a competitive firm will exit an industry in the long run when the market price falls below its
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average cost
question
when do new firms tend to enter a competitive industry
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when the new entrants can earn positive profits
question
when will an industry's long-run supply curve be horizontal at a firm's break-even price
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when firms are identical and there is no factor-price effect
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the expansion of capital that can occur in the long-run but not, by definition, in the short-run, means that long-run supply is
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more elastic than the short-run supply curve
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in the short-run a competitive firm will
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produce a quantity where mc=mr
question
short-run and long-run average cost curves are both U-shaped because the firm must eventually encounter diminishing marginal returns to labor
answer
false
question
the production function describes how much output a firm can generate for various cost levels
answer
false
question
the marginal cost curve crosses both the average cost and variable cost curves at the minima
answer
true
question
if the wage and rental rates are $10 and $50 per hour respectively and an additional worker could produce 100 units of output in an hour, then an extra unit of capital could produce 500 units of output in an hour
answer
true
question
moving down and to the right on an isoquant tells us how much quantity increases as inputs increase
answer
false
question
if a firm can adjust its employment of all inputs, then it is
answer
in the long run
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the marginal product of labor is defined to be
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the additional output attributable to the last unit of labor employed
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the shapes of the total product and marginal product curves are related because
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marginal product gives the slope of total product
question
which of the following is most likely to be a variable cost in the short run
answer
FIXXXX
question
suppose that good X is on the horizontal axis and all other goods (measured in dollars) are on the vertical axis in the consumer-choice diagram.
answer
...
question
if the cross price elasticity of demand is negative, then the two goods under consideration must be compliments
answer
true
question
if an engel curve is downward sloping, then one of the two goods must be inferior
answer
true
question
suppose that good x is on the horizontal axis and all other goods (measured in dollars) are on the vertical axis in the consumer-choice diagram. if the consumer gains $10 in income, then
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the budget line shifts up by $10
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the set of income-quantity pairs showing the amount of a good the consumer buys at various levels on income is called
answer
an engel curve
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which of the following is not held constant when we use indifference-curve analysis to derive the engel curve for good x
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the consumer's income
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an inferior good is one for which
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increases in income result in lower quantities demanded
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suppose the price of a good rises. when will the resulting substitution effect reduce the quantity demanded of the good
answer
always
question
suppose the price of a good rises. when will the resulting income effect reduce the quantity demanded of the good
answer
only when the good is normal
question
if the relative price of a gallon of water in terms of milk increases from 1 gallon to 1.5 gallons of milk, then the relative price of milk has fallen
answer
true
question
by definition, someone who has a comparative advantage in producing soft drinks must also have an absolute advantage in producing soft drinks
answer
false
question
the difference between an absolute price and a relative price is that:
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absolute prices are in terms of currency, relative prices are in terms of another good
question
suppose there are only two goods: bread and wine. in mexico, the absolute prie of wine is 30 pesos per bottle. if the relative price of wine in terms of bread is 5 loaves per bottle, then the absolute price of bread is
answer
6 pesos per loaf
question
suppose there are only two goods: guns and roses. if the relative price of guns falls, then the relative price of roses
answer
must rise
question
an increase in the price of gasoline would shift the demand curve for gasoline to the left
answer
false
question
the supply curve for a commodity will shift to the right when the costs of production rise
answer
false
question
the equilibrium price of a good will rise in response to either a rise in demand or a fall in supply
answer
true
question
when the price of a barrel of crude oil rises, what will be the immediate effect on the market for home heating fuel produced from crude oil
answer
the supply of fuel will fall
question
which of the following would cause the demand curve for rice to shift to the left
answer
a report claiming that the starch in rice causes heart disease
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a fear that consumption of ice cream may be related to a life threatening disease spreads rapidly through france. the market result will be
answer
the demand falls, price decreases and the quantity supplied therefore falls
question
new safety regulations increase manufacturers' costs of producing insulation. what happens in the market for insulation
answer
the supply falls, resulting in higher equilibrium price and lower equilibrium quantity
question
which of the following could decrease the equilibrium price but increase the equilibrium quantity of apples
answer
many new apple orchards are planted