EC120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Demand Curve, Uch

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8 Dec 2015

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Positive (descriptive) statements: claims that attempt to describe the world as it is, uses data to support statements, ex. Prices rise when government increases the quantity of money. Normative statements: claims that attempt to prescribe how the world should be, uses arguments to support statements, ex. When economists try to explain the world they are scientists. When they try to help improve it, they are policy advisers. Can disagree about validity of alternative positive theories about how. Can have different values and therefore different normative views about what a policy should try to accomplish. Economists disagree about the direction i which truth lies. Disagree about whether government should levy taxes based on a household"s income or consumption. Due to differences in scientific judgement and values, some disagreement is inevitable. They do often share a common view. Tariffs and import quotas usually reduce general economic welfare (93%)

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1. Scarcity in economics means: we do not have sufficient resources to produce all the goods and services we want. the wants of people are limited. there must be poor people in rich countries. shortages exist in nearly all markets. You like to read Vogue and Sports Illustrated. You have only $5 to spend, so you only buy Sports Illustrated. The statement that best represents this economic concept is: resources are scarce. the real cost of something is what you must give up to get it. positive economics explains how the economy actually works. economic models are used to answer âwhat ifâ questions. . If the state government allocates additional spending on education, the opportunity cost is: zero. the dollar amount of the additional spending. considered only if additional taxes need to be raised to fund the spending. measured in terms of the best alternative use for that money. For a student that owns his or her own home and doesn't plan to live in the dorm the cost of going to college is: tuition and the cost of housing. tuition, the cost of housing, and the cost of books. tuition, the cost of books, and forgone income. forgone income only. Keynesian economics stressed: the importance of total spending. the self-correcting power of free markets. the long run. that the Depression should run its course to bring down the high cost of living. The economic policy that uses changes in government spending and taxes to affect the overall spending in the economy is known as: a tax-and-spend policy. monetary policy. fiscal policy. free-trade policy. When building a model, economists: simplify reality in order to highlight what really matters. attempt to duplicate reality in all of its complexity. ignore the facts and instead try to determine what the facts should be. are careful to avoid the scientific method. Which is a normative statement? The minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation. The minimum wage is an important tool in fighting poverty and should be increased. The minimum wage can create higher unemployment for teens and unskilled workers. A higher minimum wage is expected to increase the price of a fast-food cheeseburger. Which is an example of a positive statement? The poverty rate should be 4%. A high rate of economic growth is a more important economic goal than a low rate of unemployment. The federal government pays for 46% of U.S. health care costs. Everyone in the country should be covered by national health insurance. Economists may disagree about policies because they: may approach the issue using the same sets of values. may use different economic models. enjoy disagreeing with each other. only consider issues in positive economics.

1/ All the problems studied in economics arise from

a. the unequal distribution of income

b. the scarcity of resources

c. inappropriate government action

d. overpopulation

e. war

2/ The overall performance of the economic system as a whole is the focus of

a. macroeconomics

b. public economics

c. international finance

d. labor economics

e. microeconomics

3/ After graduating from high school, Steve had the following three choices for his immediate future, listed in order of preference: (1) attend our campus, (2) work in a printed circuit board factory, or (3) attend a rival college. His opportunity cost of going to college here includes which of the following?

a. The income he could have earned at the printed circuit board factory plus the direct cost of attending college here (tuition, textbooks, etc.)

b. The benefits he could have received from going to the rival college.

c. Only the tuition and fees paid for taking classes here.

d. Cannot be determined from the information given.

e. The cost of books and supplies at the rival college.

4/ The question of scarce resources and unlimited wants are addressed in

a. psychology

b. history

c. anthropology

d. political science

e. economics

5/ Consider an economic model designed to analyze the purchasing decisions of households. An assumption that a household chooses between only two goods would be an example of an

a. positive assumption

b. simplifying assumption

c. macroeconomic assumption

d. financial assumption

e. critical assumption

6/ Which of the following explains why economists may disagree over normative issues?

a. They have different beliefs and values.

b. They often employ different statistical techniques when examining data.

c. Some work only on microeconomic issues, while others focus exclusively on macroeconomic issues.

d. They examine the same data to draw their conclusions.

e. They need to disagree to publish their research findings.

7/ Suppose your friends take you out for dinner on your birthday, and you have a much better time than you would have had to do anything else. There is still an opportunity cost, even though they will not let you pay for anything. True/False

8/ Microeconomics

a. addresses scarcity from a global perspective

b. is purely theoretical and has little value in explaining real-world phenomena

c. focuses on what is happening in the economy as a whole

d. examines how individuals, households, and firms make economic decisions

e. answers the fundamental economic questions of how, when, where, and why.

9/ People and organizations have to make choices about how to allocate time and money because

a. religious values conflict with economics

b. time and money are both scarce

c. government require it

d. there are unlimited resources

e. corporations control our lives

10/ The objective of an economic model is to

a. yield a better understanding of important relationships

b. use simplifying assumptions to make positive economic statements

c. be an accurate description of reality

d. predict real-world occurrences with complete accuracy

e. use basic principles of economics to derive fundamental assumptions about human behavior.

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21. The English word that comes from the Greek word for "one who manages a household" is

A- market
B- consumer
C- producer
D- economy

Question 22. 22. For a college student who wishes to calculate the true costs of going to college, the costs of room and board

A- should be counted in full, regardless of the costs of eating and sleeping elsewhere.
B- should be counted only to the extent that they are more expensive at college than elsewhere.
C- usually exceed the opportunity cost of going to college.
D- plus the cost of tuition, equals the opportunity cost of going to college.

Question 23. 23. The phenomenon of scarcity stems from the fact that

A- most economies' production methods are not very good.
B- in most economies, wealthy people consume disproportionate quantities of goods and services.
C- governments restrict the production of too many goods and services.
D- resources are limited.

Question 24. 24. Central planning refers to

A- markets guiding economic activity. Today many countries that had this system have abandoned it.
B- markets guiding economic activity. Today many countries that did not have this system have implemented it.
C- government guiding economic activity. Today many countries that had this system have abandoned it.
D- government guiding economic activity. Today many countries that did not have this system have implemented it.

Question 25. 25. Senator Brown wants to increase taxes on people with high incomes and use the money to help the poor. Senator Johnson argues that such a tax will discourage successful people from working and will therefore make society worse off. An economist would say that

A- we should agree with Senator Brown.
B- we should agree with Senator Johnson.
C- a good decision requires that we recognize both viewpoints.
D- there are no tradeoffs between equity and efficiency.

Question 26. 26. Max and Maddy charge people to park on their lawn while attending a nearby craft fair. At the current price of $10, seven people park on their lawn. If they raise the price to $15, they know that only five people will want to park on their lawn. Whether they have seven or five cars parked on their lawn does not affect their costs. From this information, it follows that

A- they should leave the price at $10.
B- it does not matter if they charge $10 or $15.
C- they would do better charging $15 than $10.
D- they should raise the price even more.

Question 27. 27. A circular flow diagram is a model that

A- helps to explain how participants in the economy interact with one another.
B- helps to explain how the economy is organized.
C- incorporates all aspects of the real economy.
D- Both (a) and (b) are correct.

Question 28. 28. In the markets for goods and services in the circular-flow diagram,

A- households provide firms with savings for investment.
B- households provide firms with labor, land, and capital.
C- firms provide households with output.
D- firms provide households with profit.

Question 29. 29. Incomes of U.S. households in the 1970s and 1980s

A- grew rapidly, due to the widespread success of labor unions in pushing up wages during those decades.
B- grew rapidly, due to several increases in the minimum wage during those decades.
C- grew rapidly, due to government policies that discouraged the importation of foreign products during those decades.
D- grew slowly, due to the slow growth of the output of goods and services per hour of U.S. workers' time during those decades.

Question 30. 30. For economists, statements about the world are of two types:

A- assumptions and theories.
B- true statements and false statements.
C- specific statements and general statements.
D- positive statements and normative statements.

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EC120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Demand Curve, Uch

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