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What does the price elasticity of demand measure?
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a consumers' sensitivity to a price change
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Price elasticity of demand is measured as the
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percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price
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A producer knows that the price elasticity for his product is -0.5. He wants to increase quantity demanded by 30%. By what percentage does he need to change the price?
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-60 percent
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When the price elasticity of demand is elastic, a consumer is
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relatively responsive to a change in price
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When would oil producers see the largest percentage decline in the quantity demanded for oil due to an increase in the price of oil today?
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in 15 years
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When the price of softballs is high, a ________ in price will raise total revenue. When the price is low, the seller should ________ the price to increase total revenue.
answer
decrease; raise
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How can a firm increase total revenue?
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when demand is elastic and price decreases
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Pepsi vendors who raise their price at professional sporting events increase total revenue because the price elasticity of demand is ________. When they raise their prices at gas stations, they decrease total revenue because the price elasticity of demand is ________.
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inelastic; elastic
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Income elasticity refers to
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horizontal shift of a demand curve
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When incomes fall by 20 percent, quantity demanded of specialty baked goods falls by 50 percent. Specialty baked goods are
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luxuries
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What good is most likely to have a negative income elasticity of demand?
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instant noodles
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The measure of the responsiveness of the demand for one good to the percentage change in the price of the other good is
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cross-price elasticity
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Which one of the following pairs of goods is likely to have a negative cross-price elasticity of demand?
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shoes and socks
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If the cross-price elasticity of demand between Good A and Good B is 2 and the percentage change in price of Good A is 5 percent, what is the percentage change in quantity demanded of Good B?
answer
10 percent
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The price elasticity of supply is
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the percentage change in the quantity supplied divided by the percentage change in price
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The price elasticity supply of doctors could be considered ________ because it takes a minimum of four to six years of training to be able to work as a physician.
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relatively inelastic
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The difference between the willingness to pay for a good and the amount that is paid to get it is also known as
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consumer surplus.
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Consider the market for socks. The current price of a pair of plain white socks is $5.00. Two consumers, Igor and Samir, are willing to pay $7.25 and $8.00, respectively, for a pair of plain white socks. Two sock manufacturers are willing to sell plain white socks for as little as $4.00 and $4.15 per pair. How much is total consumer surplus in this market?
answer
$5.25
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When the price of a good increases and all else is held constant
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producer surplus increases
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When looking at a supply and demand graph, you would find producer surplus
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below market price and above the supply curve
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Which of the following statements is concerned with efficiency rather than equity
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Excise taxes tend to raise prices for consumers.
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What is the total amount of producer and consumer surplus (i.e., social welfare) in this market after the tax is imposed?
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A + E
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Which areas represent the total cost to society, in terms of lost social welfare, created as a result of the tax?
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F + G
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Excise taxes are taxes that are
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applied to a particular good or activity.
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Excise taxes are popular sources of revenue for governments because
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they are very stable sources of revenue.
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Assume that a $0.25/gallon tax on milk causes a loss of $250 million in consumer and producer surplus and creates a deadweight loss of $45 million. From this information, we know that the tax revenue from the tax is
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$205 million.
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In the long run, both supply and demand tend to become more elastic. This suggests that, in the long run, the
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deadweight loss from a tax will be greater than it is in the short run.
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Peanut butter and jelly are complements. If a tax is imposed on peanut butter, how will that affect the market for jelly?
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Demand for jelly will decrease along with the price.
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Of the following items, which is/are most important in determining the distribution of tax burden?
answer
the elasticities of supply and demand
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In a market where supply and demand are both somewhat elastic, but demand is more elastic than supply, consumers will bear less of the burden of a tax because
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consumers have a greater ability to change their behavior in response to the tax than producers do.
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The maximum amount of tax revenue is generated when the good being taxed has a
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perfectly inelastic demand.
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Ireland's tax on plastic shopping bags successfully reduced consumer use of these bags because the
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demand for plastic bags is very elastic.
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Why do government leaders impose price controls?
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They are trying to ensure that a social goal is satisfied.
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What will happen in a market where a binding price ceiling is removed?
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The products sold will improve in quality and become more plentiful.
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Why would a politician find it difficult to remove a binding price ceiling?
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because it greatly benefits some consumers who are also voters
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If there is a $60 price ceiling imposed on a textbook, what will be the disequilibrium amount?
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There will be a shortage of 800,000 textbooks
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Katherine is the president of the United States. In an attempt to make gasoline prices cheaper, she has imposed a binding price ceiling on gas. What would she expect her critics to say?
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The binding price ceiling will increase the likelihood that customers obtain needed gasoline on the black market
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The economic entity most likely to engage in price gouging is
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an individual or business who has a supply of the product somewhere else.
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Which is a correct statement about a rent control law?
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A rent control law is a price ceiling law that makes apartments cheaper to rent but discourages property owners from renting out apartments.
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If the local government tells gas stations that they are not allowed to change the price of gas for three weeks during hurricane season, what will be the consequence?
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Consumers will be unable to buy all the gas they want at the temporary price ceiling price.
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The town of Fairness has a law stating that wages should be high enough to ensure that all people can afford to buy enough food for their families. The law that sets wages would be an example of a
answer
minimum wage law.
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Why is it often difficult to remove a binding price floor after it exists?
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in general, because sellers benefit from higher prices and would lobby their elected officials to keep the price control
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What is the surplus when the price floor is $0.75 in the market for public transportation?
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0 (zero)
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As the time frame shifts from the short run to the long run, what happens to consumers who are subject to a binding price floor?
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They are increasingly willing to substitute away from the good, and the demand curve becomes more elastic.
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What is the long-run consequence of a price floor law?
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A surplus will continue to exist and will grow larger over time.
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Which of the following is a correct statement?
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Rent control is an illustration of a price ceiling and the minimum wage is an illustration of a price floor.
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Who potentially benefits from a price floor?
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workers
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At what price level does the labor market experience its largest surplus?
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$8.00
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The pollution emitted by a car is an example of a(n) ________ cost
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external
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The external cost is equal to ________ per unit.
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$20
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Consider a market where production of the good is creating a negative externality. In the market equilibrium, there is a deadweight loss because the
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internal cost of production is less that the social cost.
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The social optimum occurs where price is ________ and quantity is ________.
answer
$10;3
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If the government imposes a tax on each aluminum can sold, payable by consumers when they purchase the item, then, in the market for goods sold in aluminum cans, the
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demand curve shifts to the left.
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Which of the following is true of a positive externality?
answer
Some benefits accrue to a third party.
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Which of the following is an example of a positive externality?
answer
Working out at a fitness club makes one more cheerful around others.
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Which of the following is true?
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social benefits = internal benefits + external benefits
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Clean air becomes polluted because
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no one owns the air.
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If property rights over the river are assigned to Smith, then
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Jones will install a filter and pay Smith at least $75 per day.
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A free-rider problem exists when
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people receive a benefit for which they do not need to pay.
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A good that is nonrival and nonexcludable is defined as a ________ good.
answer
public
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Which of the factors listed contributes to making street performances a public good?
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Any passerby can enjoy the show
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What is the purpose of a cost-benefit analysis of a public good?
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to decide how much of the good the government should supply
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The tragedy of the commons
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gives rise to a negative externality
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How many fishermen will choose to operate their boats?
answer
five