Microeconomics CH1 Homework

Other things equal, which of the following would shift an economy's production possibilities curve to the left?

1. The entrance of more women into the labor force.
2. A law requiring mandatory retirement from the labor force at age 55.
3. An increase in the proportion of total output that consists of capital or investment goods.
4. The discovery of a low-cost means of generating and storing solar energy.

Microeconomics:

An increase in money income:

A nation's production possibilities curve is bowed out from the origin because:

A caller to a radio talk show states that oil companies are "greedy price gougers." This is an example of:

A typical concave (bowed out from the origin) production possibilities curve implies:

Which of the following terms implies the least degree of confidence in an economic generalization?

1. Principle.
2. Law.
3. Hypothesis.
4. Theory.

Which of the following would not be classified as an economic resource by economists?

1. Water in a town's reservoir.
2. The manager of the local hamburger restaurant.
3. A professional soccer player.
4. Money in a business checking account.

Purposeful behavior means that:

Which of the following is a microeconomic statement?

1. The general price level increased by 3.1 percent last year.
2. The real domestic output increased by 2.3 percent last year.
3. Unemployment was 6.5 percent of the labor force last year.
4. The price of personal computers declined 4.7 percent last year.

The main function of the entrepreneur is to:

"Economics is concerned with how individuals, institutions, and society make optimal choices under conditions of scarcity." This statement is:

Which of the following is a land resource?

1. An oil drilling rig.
2. A farmer.
3. Natural gas.
4. A machine for detecting earthquakes.

Microeconomics is concerned with:

If the output of product X is such that marginal benefit equals marginal cost:

Suppose that Julia receives a $20 gift card for the local coffee shop, where she only buys lattes and muffins. If the price of a latte is $4 and the price of a muffin is $2, then we can conclude that Julia:

The economic perspective entails:

A well-tested economic theory is often called:

Consumers spend their incomes to get the maximum benefit or satisfaction from the goods and services they purchase. This is a reflection of:

In moving along a given budget line:

A person should consume more of something when its marginal

The fact that the slope of the production possibilities curve becomes steeper as we move down along the curve indicates that:

Which of the following lists includes only capital resources (and therefore no labor or land resources)?

1. The owner of a new startup firm; a chemistry lab; a researcher.
2. An ice arena; a professional hockey player; hockey uniforms.
3. A hydroelectric dam; water behind the dam; power lines.
4. Autos owned by a car rental firm; computers at the car rental agency; the vans that shuttle rental customers to and from the airport.

The assertion that "there is no free lunch" means that:

(Last Word) The fallacy of composition is essentially the error of:

According to economists, economic self-interest:

The term "other things equal" means that:

(Last Word) The safest way for an individual to leave a burning theater is to run for the nearest exit; it is therefore also the best means of escape for a large audience. This assertion illustrates the:

The budget line shows:

Assume that a change in government policy results in greater production of both consumer goods and investment goods. We can conclude that:

Economic theories:

When economists say that people act rationally in their self-interest, they mean that individuals:

The optimal allocation of resources is found:

(Consider This) In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the government decided to allocate more resources toward defense goods. The government's decision reflects their assessment that:

Economic resources are also called:

Which of the following will enable a nation to obtain a combination of consumer goods and capital goods outside its production possibilities curve?

(Last Word) If variables X and Y are positively correlated, this means that:

Which of the following statements is true?

1. Macroeconomics focuses on specific decision-making units of the economy; microeconomics examines the economy as a whole.
2. Microeconomics focuses on specific decision-making units of the economy; macroeconomics examines the economy as a whole.
3. Every topic in economics is either a microeconomic or a macroeconomic issue; a topic cannot be both.
4. Topics in microeconomics have public policy implications; topics in macroeconomics do not.

Ben says that "an increase in the tax on beer will raise its price." Holly argues that "taxes should be increased on beer because college students drink too much." We can conclude that:

For economists, the word "utility" means:

Which of the following is not correct? A typical production possibilities curve:

1. indicates how much of two products a society can produce.
2. specifies how much of each product society should produce.
3. indicates that to produce more of one product society must forgo larger and larger amounts of the other product.
4. reveals how much each additional unit of one product will cost in terms of the other product.

A country can achieve some combination of goods outside its production possibilities curve by:

Assume an economy is incurring unemployment. The effect of resolving this problem will be to:

Kelly works at an ice cream shop and observes that the number of people buying ice cream varies greatly from day to day. For a couple of weeks she has recorded the number of people at the shop each day, as well as the daily temperature. If Kelly is using the scientific method to better understand ice cream buying habits, her next step is to:

Macroeconomics can best be described as the:

If an economy is operating inside its production possibilities curve for consumer goods and capital goods, it:

(Last Word) The fallacy of composition states that:

Economics may best be defined as the:

Through specialization and international trade, a nation:

Suppose that a university decides to spend $1 million to upgrade personal computers and scientific equipment for faculty rather than spend $1 million to expand parking for students. This example illustrates:

The production possibilities curve:

The economizing problem is one of deciding how to make the best use of:

If the production possibilities curve is a straight line:

Which of the following statements, if any, is correct for a nation that is producing only consumer and capital goods?

1. Other things equal, the more consumer goods a nation produces, the greater will be its future growth rate.
2. There is no general relationship between the current division of output between consumer and capital goods and the future growth rate.
3. Other things equal, the more capital goods a nation produces, the greater will be its future growth rate.
4. None of these statements is correct.

The output of MP3 players should be:

1. reduced to zero if their unit costs exceed the unit costs of alternative products.
2. reduced if marginal benefits exceed marginal costs.
3. reduced if marginal costs exceed marginal benefits.
4. increased if marginal costs exceed marginal benefits

Any point inside the production possibilities curve indicates

Suppose that Scoobania, which has full employment, can obtain 1 unit of capital goods by sacrificing 2 units of consumer goods domestically but can obtain 1 unit of capital goods from another country by trading 1 unit of consumer goods for it. This reality illustrates:

You should decide to go to a movie:

1. if your income will allow you to buy a ticket.
2. if the marginal benefit of the movie exceeds its marginal cost.
3. because movies are enjoyable.
4. if the marginal cost of the movie exceeds its marginal benefit.

Brinley says that "gas prices are rising because there aren't enough oil refineries." Katie argues that "gas prices are rising because of the growing demand for gasoline from China and India." We can conclude that:

A nation's production possibilities curve might shift to the left (inward) as a result of:

If all discrimination in the United States were eliminated, the economy would:

Which of the following statements pertains to macroeconomics?

An economic hypothesis:

The marginal benefit curve is:

Which of the following is a correct statement?

1. Because economics is concerned with questions of "ought," it is a branch of applied ethics and not scientific.
2. Although they are generalizations, economic laws are useful because they allow us to predict and therefore influence or adjust to events.
3. Economic concepts or laws that are valid during depression are necessarily valid during prosperity.
4. Economics is as scientific as are physics and chemistry because economic laws are as quantitatively precise as the laws of physics or chemistry.

A positive statement is concerned primarily with:

Which of the following is a capital resource?

1. A corporate bond issued by a computer manufacturer.
2. A computer programmer.
3. A piece of software used by a firm.
4. Silicon (sand) used to make computer chips.

Even though local newspapers are very inexpensive, people rarely buy more than one of them each day. This fact: