question
All economic models must involve simplifications because:
answer
reality is too complex to understand in its entirety, so we must reduce the complexity to a level that we can understand.
question
A hypothesis is:
answer
a prediction of what will occur given certain assumptions.
question
The difference between a good and a service is that:
answer
a good is tangible, but a service is not.
question
The scientific method is useful:
answer
for testing the validity of theoretical predictions.
question
Someone who commits the fallacy of composition is likely to assume that:
answer
what is true for the individual is also true for the group.
question
economics studies how decision makers use scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants.
answer
true
question
It is always rational to acquire more information before making a decision.
answer
true
question
Economic decision makers will continue to acquire information only as long as the expected additional benefit exceeds the expected additional cost of the information.
answer
true
question
Profit is the payment received by resource owners for the use of their capital.
answer
false
question
Households:
answer
own and sell resources.
question
One flaw of pure capitalism is that a person who owns no resources could starve.
answer
true
question
Barter occurs when:
answer
one product is exchanged directly for another product.
question
Hans can do 4 loads of laundry per hour, and he can type 6 pages per hour. Maria can do 12 loads of laundry per hour, and she can type 8 pages per hour. Hans's opportunity cost of doing one load of laundry is:
answer
equal to typing 1 1/2 pages.
question
In one week, Mohammed can knit 5 sweaters or bake 240 cookies. In one week, Aisha can knit 15 sweaters or bake 480 cookies. Mohammed and Aisha would produce the maximum quantities of both cookies and sweaters if:
answer
Aisha knitted and Mohammed baked.
question
A point inside the production possibilities frontier illustrates a situation in which resources are not fully employed.
answer
true
question
If all resources are used efficiently to produce goods and services, a nation will find itself producing:
answer
somewhere on its production possibilities frontier.
question
Specialization often leads to gains in productivity for society as a whole.
answer
true
question
A university should not disband its football team since it has already paid for the stadium.
answer
false
question
A disadvantage of the corporate form of business organization is that corporate income is taxed twice.
answer
true
question
Rationality in the household decision-making process means that:
answer
households act in their own best interests.
question
Suppose you own a proprietorship that is in serious financial difficulty. The assets of the company are $100,000, but liabilities are $175,000. You also own stock in General Motors worth $200,000. If you file for bankruptcy, what amount of personal assets do you stand to lose?
answer
$75,000
question
Externalities can occur as a result of either production or consumption activities.
answer
true
question
The term fiscal policy refers to:
answer
spending and taxing by governments.
question
In recent years, redistribution has been the fastest growing category of federal government outlays.
answer
true
question
The movement of households from rural to urban settings increased the degree of specialization in factory production.
answer
true
question
Household production still exists because it often requires fewer specialized resources than market production does.
answer
true
question
Messitt and McNulty spend $50,000 each to form a law partnership. On the first day, someone trips over a potted plant in their lobby and sues them for $400,000. Which of the following is true?
answer
If a $400,000 judgment is passed against the partnership and if McNulty cannot afford to pay any of it, then Messitt is liable for $400,000.
question
A major advantage of the corporate form of business organization is the limited personal liability of the owners.
answer
true
question
If the price of potato chips increases, other things constant, the demand for potato chip dip will:
answer
decrease because the goods are complements.
question
Markets tend to increase the costs of time and information required for exchange.
answer
false
question
Suppose the market for a good is in equilibrium. Which of the following is most likely to occur if both the demand for and the supply of the good decrease during a particular point in time?
answer
The equilibrium quantity will decrease.
question
Other things constant, which of these is likely to increase the supply of vanilla ice cream?
answer
A decrease in the price of milk, an ingredient in ice cream
question
If Good A and Good B are complements, then a decrease in the price of Good B:
answer
increases the demand for Good A.
question
Suppose you drink more tea because the price of coffee has increased. This is indicative of:
answer
. the substitution effect of a price change.
question
The income effect of an increase in the price of backpacks, a normal good, is a(n):
answer
decrease in the quantity of backpacks demanded.
question
Attempts are being made to develop a biodegradable plastic using agricultural produce such as potatoes. Identify a likely impact on the equilibrium price and quantity of potatoes if such attempts are successful, all other things remaining constant.
answer
Both equilibrium price and quantity will increase.
question
A price floor set below the equilibrium price will result in a surplus.
answer
false
question
Necessities and luxuries are both types of normal goods.
answer
true
question
If Joe says that nothing comes close to Pepsi, his demand for Pepsi is likely to be:
answer
relatively price inelastic.
question
The ability of increasing quantity supplied in response to a higher price is identical across industries.
answer
false
question
The demand for flour is:
answer
inelastic because there are few substitutes for flour and it represents a small percentage of a consumer's budget.
question
Both the income elasticity of demand and the cross-price elasticity of demand coefficients can take on negative, zero, or positive values.
answer
true
question
If an increase in the price of peanut butter causes a decline in the demand for jelly, then:
answer
the goods are complements.
question
A successful advertising campaign is most likely to:
answer
reduce the price elasticity of demand by stressing upon the uniqueness of the product.
question
If the price elasticity of supply in the kiwi fruit industry equals 1, supply is:
answer
unit elastic.
question
Sally wants to visit Orlando during the week-long spring break. She can get there by bus in two and one-half days or fly there in four hours. The round trip by bus and plane would cost $20 and $200, respectively. Which of the following is not true?
answer
The true cost of going to Orlando is either the time or the money she spends traveling, whichever she values more
question
If a good is offered free of charge, one would:
answer
stop consuming it when its marginal utility has declined to zero.
question
A free good will be consumed up to the point at which its marginal utility is positive.
answer
true
question
Joshua consumes pizza and cola in such a way that the marginal utility of per dollar spent on the last piece of pizza is 3 units and that of the last cola is 1.5 units. Thus, Joshua should spend more on pizza and less on cola in order to maximize his utility.
answer
true
question
Diminishing marginal utility means that:
answer
as one consumes more of a good, other things constant, the additional satisfaction obtained from each additional unit of the good tends to fall.
question
Consumer surplus is:
answer
the difference between the maximum price consumers are willing to pay and the amount they actually pay.
question
Suppose the marginal utility of a unit of good x = MUx, the marginal utility of a unit of good y = MUy, Px= the price of a unit of good x, and Py= the price of a unit of a good y. If MUx/Px > MUy/Py, the consumer can increase utility by buying more of good x.
answer
true
question
Arthur has $7,800. He goes into an upscale men's store and buys 32 green sweaters, each costing $200. If Arthur has maximized his utility from this purchase, which of the following is the marginal utility of the thirty-third green sweater?
answer
Less than $200
question
Suppose a soccer coach has been making $25,000 per year but gives up his coaching job in order to make soccer shoes. If his revenue from the sale of these shoes is $50,000 and his materials cost $20,000, then his economic profit is equal to
answer
5,000
question
Increasing marginal returns are generally the result of _____
answer
the specialization and division of labor
question
If a firm is producing at its minimum efficient scale, increasing its output slightly will always lead to diseconomies of scale.
answer
false
question
If marginal product is negative, total product must be negative.
answer
false
question
A firm's accounting profit is equal to _____.
answer
total revenue minus explicit costs
question
Minimum efficient scale is the level of output at which:
answer
long-run average cost stops decreasing.
question
Economic profit is defined as _____.
answer
total revenue minus implicit and explicit costs
question
An implicit cost is:
answer
an opportunity cost.