ECON102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Opportunity Cost, List Of Association Football Teams To Have Won Four Or More Trophies In One Season, Comparative Advantage

1. According to economists today, economic growth depends on:

1) resources.

2) technology.

3) institutions.

4) resources and technology.

5) resources, technology, and institutions.

2. Which of the following is FALSE?

1) Real-world observations shape economic theory.

2) Economic theory shapes policy decisions.

3) Policies affect real-world events.

4) Economic theory has no impact on real-world events.

5) None of these statements is false.

3. After the Great Depression, the main focus of macroeconomics was:

1) growth theory.

2) the study of business cycles.

3) the study of stock markets.

4) the study of why businesses fail.

4. The Solow Growth Model serves as a foundation of:

1) macroeconomic theory.

2) microeconomic theory.

3) growth theory.

4) all economic theory.

5. According to the Solow Growth Model, which of the following is/are the primary source(s) of economic growth?

A - Natural resources

B - Human capital

C - Physical capital

D - A and B

E - A and C

F- B and C

G- A, B, and C

6. According to the Solow Growth Model, the marginal product of capital is:

1) zero and increases as the quantity of capital increases

2) zero and decreases as the quantity of capital increases.

3) negative and increases as the quantity of capital increases.

4) negative and decreases as the quantity of capital increases.

5) positive and increases as the quantity of capital increases.

6) positive and decreases as the quantity of capital increases.

7. If building new capital is costless and the capital depreciation rate is zero, then an economy will reach a steady state in which the marginal product of capital is:

1) equal to zero.

2) greater than zero.

3) less than zero.

8. Which of the following is true for an economy before it reaches the steady-state?

1) Investment and net investment are both positive.

2) Investment is positive but net investment is zero.

3) Investment is zero but net investment is positive.

4) Investment and net investment are both zero.

9. The idea of convergence suggests that when underdeveloped nations begin to develop, they typically have _____________ growth rates as they catch up to the developed nations.

1) higher

2) lower

3) similar

4) very low

10. Which of the following is true after allowing for sustained technological advance in the Solow Growth Model?

I. The steady-state situation is avoidable.

II. The marginal product of each unit of capital will increase.

III. A diminishing marginal product is avoidable.

Only I only II

Only III

I and II

I and III

II and III

I, II, and III

11. What is the primary difference between the basic Solow model and the second Solow model?

1) The models are theoretically similar. The second Solow model is only more mathematically complex than the basic model.

2) The second Solow model allows for technological change, while the basic model doesn't.

3) The basic Solow model features diminishing returns, in contrast to the second model.

4) The marginal product eventually becomes zero in the basic model, while such a situation is avoidable in the second Solow model.

12. All of the following can result in economic growth except:

1) improved schools and colleges.

2) a boost in population growth.

3) a favorable climate.

4) an improved health care system.

13. Which of the following will result in a movement along with the aggregate production function?

I. a technological advancement

II. training of the workforce

III. an increase in the country's capital stock

I and II

I and III

II and III

I, II, and III

14. Which of the following is NOT true about technological change in the Solow model?

1) Technological change is random.

2) Technological change occurs exogenously.

3) Technological change is driven by the incentives of the innovators.

4) Technological change is not due to any inherent characteristics of the economy.

15. What is the key difference between the new growth theory and the growth theory as envisioned by Solow?

1) There is no difference; technological change is endogenous in both these theories.

2) There is no difference; technological change is exogenous in both these theories.

3) Technological change is endogenous in the new growth theory and exogenous in the Solow theory.

4) Technological change is exogenous in the new growth theory and endogenous in the Solow theory.

16. Which of the following was proposed by the new growth theory?

I. Capital resources cannot grow indefinitely.

II. Technological change is caused by factors inside the economy.

III. Technological changes are entirely unpredictable events.

IV. Institutions matter.

I and II

I and IV

II and IV

III and IV

I, II, III, and IV

17. All of the following except _____________ are barriers to natural growth.

1) corruption

2) political instability

3) high tax rates

4) free markets

5) All of these are barriers to natural growth.

18. Which of the following is supported by the modern growth theory?

A - Population growth is an obstacle to economic growth.

B - Competition encourages the discovery of new goods and services, which leads to economic growth.

C - A country can grow faster if it disengages itself from international trade with foreign nations.

D - Taxes should be abolished, as they hurt incentives necessary for economic growth.

All of these. A and B

A, B, and D

19. According to the new growth theory, the low living standards in many developing countries can be explained by a lack of:

A - natural resources.

B - free markets.

C - sound institutions.

D - strong military resources.

all of these.

B and C.

A and D.

The opportunity cost of going to college is almost never discussed, yet it is quite high, so high that it is seriously impacting the broader American economy. For non-economists, “opportunity cost” is one of the most important concepts in economics. Because of scarcity we only have limited resources, and when we use those resources to do something like go to college, we cannot use them for other things that we also believe are desirable.

By far the most important resource we use in producing goods and services is labor or “human capital.” Based on what we pay owners of resources, we can say that roughly two-thirds of all production of goods and services is attributable to direct human effort – work. When kids go to college, they forego entering the labor force in a major, full-time manner. When six or seven percent of the entire American population is in college, that means a significant reduction in work effort occurs because otherwise highly productive persons in the physical prime of their lives are only lightly utilized in making things or providing services.

Today, only slightly over 59 of every 100 Americans of working age actually work, down from almost 66 in 2000. If we had the employment-population ratio of 15 years ago, we would have at least 16 million more working Americans today – an increase of over 10 percent. Our output would be probably the better part of a trillion dollars higher. The push for “college for all” is one reason we have less work effort today (to be sure, the modern welfare state has also lowered work incentives a lot for other reasons).

The college for all crowd says higher education augments one’s human capital, and we forego output today from working to bolster output tomorrow from more productive workers. And, no doubt, that is sometimes true. We have many productive engineers and accountants who gained important skills in college, for example. But is that necessarily true of all college graduates, particularly when Arum and Roksa tell us that graduating college seniors typically have only marginally better critical reasoning skills that freshman? And when over 40 percent of those entering four year colleges fail to graduate in six years? What if millions of those who do graduate take jobs similar to those without that college education? What if the debt incurred to pay for the college leads many to delay marrying, delay buying houses? There is evidence that to some extent the push for college has led to all of these unintended consequences.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has published great work showing that there is a very severe underemployment problem amongst college graduates, and other equally good research demonstrating what many of us have been saying for years: the student financial aid programs such as subsidized student loans, have pushed up the cost of college. Now a sister Federal Reserve Bank, namely Philadelphia, is jumping into the act.

The Philly Fed in a new study shows that high student loan debt is preventing young potential entrepreneurs from starting new businesses – they cannot afford the necessary debt. Opportunity cost again: if I borrow a lot to go to college, I cannot afford to borrow to start a business.

Enrollment in all forms of higher education today are up roughly 50 percent or seven million from what they were in 1990. What if enrollments had only risen proportionate to population growth – we would have three or four million fewer enrolled in college today. Would our nation be better or worse off? No one knows for sure, but the continued rise in the proportion of Americans with a college education has been accompanied by a sharp reduction in the rate of economic growth. I bet we would have fewer underemployed recent graduates. I bet we would have less than 17 percent delinquency rates on college loans, and far less than a trillion dollars in loan debt. I bet we would have a higher rate of labor force involvement and entrepreneurial activity among the young. And I bet we would be spending tens of billions less on higher education, and at least a little bit more on capital goods investment, highway construction, et cetera. In short, I suspect we would have been better off as a nation.

Richard Vedder directs the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, teaches at Ohio University, and is an Adjunct Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

Question :

This is a short article discussing the concept of opportunity cost and college. Provide your views on this topic.Do you agree/disagree with the article? Why? What are your thoughts on the current employment landscape of college graduates? Provide any insight on this topic on a specific industry, your own experience, or the experiences of people that you know who have already graduated.