ECO342H1 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Frictional Unemployment, Shift Work, The Employer

In periods of high inflation,

A) people want to hold as much money as possible
B) the purchasing power of money is decreasing
C) nobody wants to work and earn income
D) low nominal interest rates are likely to result
E) nobody wants to buy goods and services

2.

Which of the following is not an effect of hyperinflation?

A) Price differences among sellers of the same product become larger.
B) People hold on to currency only for very short periods of time.
C) People tend to exchange the currency that is subject to high inflation for a more stable currency.
D) More resources are used efficiently to overcome inflation's effects on transactions costs.
E) Inflation-induced activity that is rational for individuals often has a detrimental effect on the economy as a whole.

3.

Construction workers at times face high rates of unemployment because their work is both seasonal and subject to wide swings over the business cycle.

A) True
B) False

4.

The view that union wage demands may be a source of inflation would be best associated with the

A) supply shock view of inflation
B) demand pull view of inflation
C) cost push view of inflation
D) demand push view of inflation
E) monetary view of inflation

5.

Unemployment rates __________ during contractions and __________ during expansions.

A) rise, fall
B) fall, fall
C) rise, stay the same
D) stay the same, fall
E) fall, rise

6.

The metropolitan with the lowest unemployment rate is

A) Detroit
B) Atlanta
C) San Diego
D) Honolulu
E) Portland

7.

Uncertainty about inflation

A) shifts the attention of business managers away from exchange rate movements and toward concerns about productivity
B) reduces the difficulty of making international business decisions
C) creates uncertainty about the value of the dollar relative to foreign currencies
D) enhances money's importance as a link between the present and the future
E) makes contracts easier to negotiate

8.

Which of the following is not consistent with full employment?

A) an unemployment rate of 5 percent or 6 percent
B) seasonal unemployment
C) structural unemployment
D) cyclical unemployment
E) frictional unemployment

9.

Which of the following groups has historically had the highest unemployment rate?

A) professional workers
B) white teenagers
C) black teenagers
D) black adults
E) white adults

10.

An increase in a person's real wage necessarily means

A) greater purchasing power
B) a lower nominal wage
C) a lower nominal wage after payment of taxes
D) a higher nominal wage
E) a higher nominal wage after payment of taxes

11.

A decrease in the interest rate, other things constant, will

A) shift the supply of loanable funds curve to the left
B) shift the supply of loanable funds curve to the right
C) decrease the quantity of loanable funds demanded
D) decrease the quantity of loanable funds supplied
E) shift the demand for loanable funds curve to the right

12.

Inflation is defined as a sustained increase in the price level.

A) True
B) False

13.

The official unemployment rate would be higher if it included the existence of hidden unemployment or individuals who are

A) on unemployment compensation
B) not working
C) working part-time but prefer full-time work
D) voluntarily retired
E) unemployed and looking for work

A change in demand for a given factor of production will not occurif:
Answer
A. the productivity of that factor increases.
B. there is a decrease in the price of a substitute factor.
C. the price of that factor falls.
D. the productivity of that factor decreases.

Question 2

In terms of contribution to total income, the single most importantfactor of production is:
Answer
A. labor.
B. entrepreneurship.
C. natural resources.
D. capital.

Question 3

The trade off between work and leisure underlying the supply oflabor involves the substitution effect and the:
Answer
A. complementary effect.
B. elasticity effect.
C. production effect.
D. income effect.

Question 4

(Exhibit: Marginal Revenue Product and Demand) If the product priceis $4 per unit and the price of the factor of production is $80 perunit, the profit-maximizing quantity of the factor is _______unit(s).
Answer
A. 1
B. 5
C. 7
D. 3

Question 5

In perfect competition:
Answer
A. MFCL is greater than the price of labor.
B. the supply curve of labor to the firm is a horizontalline.
C. MRPL equals the price of the good.
D. MFCL is less than the price of labor.

Question 6

An increase in the participation rate of women in the U.S. laborforce:
Answer
A. has shifted the supply curve of labor to the right.
B. has increased the demand for labor.
C. resulted in a faster increase in wages.
D. has shifted the supply of labor to the left.

Question 7

A firm's demand curve for labor is:
Answer
A. the downward-sloping portion of its marginal revenue productcurve.
B. the upward-sloping portion of its marginal revenue productcurve.
C. horizontal for the firm in perfect competition.
D. the downward-sloping portion of its marginal productcurve.

Question 8

Since the 1970s, wage rates in the United States have _______ more_______ than they did in the previous two decades.
Answer
A. decreased; slowly
B. decreased; rapidly
C. increased; rapidly
D. increased; slowly

Question 9

Which of the following statements is true?
Answer
A. If the MFCL = MRPL the firm should hire more labor.
B. If MFCL < MRPL the firm should hire more labor.
C. If MFCL > 0, the firm should shut down.
D. If the MFCL > MRPL the firm should hire more labor.

Question 10

A leftward shift in the labor supply curve would result if:
Answer
A. people have less nonlabor income.
B. transit costs to and from work decline.
C. the population increases.
D. people value leisure more highly.

Question 11

A firm is in equilibrium when the marginal factor cost is:
Answer
A. equal to the marginal revenue product.
B. less than the price of the factor.
C. equal to the average product.
D. greater than the average product.

Question 12

A leftward shift in the labor supply curve would result if:
Answer
A. transit costs to and from work increase.
B. people value leisure less highly.
C. the population increases.
D. people have less nonlabor income.

Question 13

(Exhibit: Wage Determination in Perfect Competition) Which of thefollowing statements is true?
Answer
A. The firm will hire L1 units of labor, as shown in Panel(a).
B. The individual firm is a wage setter.
C. The firm's MFC of labor is equal to the price of the firm'soutput.
D. Total employment is equal to L1, as shown in Panel (a).

Question 14

(Exhibit: Marginal Revenue Product and Demand) If the product priceis $2 per unit and the price of the factor of production is $20 perunit, the profit-maximizing quantity of the factor is _______units.
Answer
A. 6
B. 4
C. 8
D. 2

Question 15

(Exhibit: Marginal Revenue Product and Demand) Assume that theproduct price is $2 per unit, the price of the factor of productionis $40 per unit, and 8 units are being hired. Profit can bemaximized by hiring _______ unit(s).
Answer
A. 2 more
B. 1 more
C. 3 fewer
D. 1 fewer

Question 16

(Exhibit: Demand and Supply of Bricklayers in a PerfectlyCompetitive Labor Market) If the price for "bricks laid in thewall" by a bricklayer is $.10 a brick, the marginal product of thesecond bricklayer is _______ bricks.
Answer
A. 1,200
B. 1,400
C. 1,300
D. 1,500

Question 17

In a perfectly competitive labor market, each firm can hire:
Answer
A. larger quantities of labor at going market wages perworker.
B. all the labor it wants, but only by outbidding itscompetitors.
C. larger quantities of labor at rising wages per worker.
D. only a fixed amount of labor at the going wage.

Question 18

(Exhibit: Demand and Supply of Bricklayers in a PerfectlyCompetitive Labor Market) If the equilibrium wage in the market forbricklayers is $100 a day, but a minimum wage for bricklayers of$130 a day is set by the government:
Answer
A. 3 workers who otherwise would have been employed are nowunemployed.
B. the firm will shut down.
C. 6 workers will now be hired by the firm.
D. all bricklayers are better off.

Question 19

A factor demand curve will shift because of:
Answer
A. the proportion of the factor's cost relative to totalcost.
B. changes in technology.
C. the slope of the MP curve.
D. the elasticity of demand for the final product.

Question 20

Which of the following statements is true?
Answer
A. MFC = change in total cost/ change in the quantity of afactor.
B. MFC = the change in the quantity of a factor times the change inthe price of the factor.
C. MRPL = MC of the output.
D. MRPL = MPL x (P), where P is the price of labor.

1.When the term "price" is used in the law of demand, price refers to Select one:

a. the price of the well relative to the price of another good.

b. the nominal price of the well relative to its nominal price in the previous year.

c. the absolute price of the good.

d. the dollar price of the good.

2.In economics, the meaning of demand refers to Select one:

a. the quantities of a good that people will sell at various prices.

b. the total satisfaction that consuming good provides people at different prices.

c. how badly someone wants a good.

d. the quantities of a good that people will buy at various prices.

3.Which of the following illustrates the law of demand?

Select one:

a. College enrollment increases when federal tuition grants are readily available to students.

b. More people watch college basketball in March than in November.

c. The number of long-distance calls in the United States is greater on Christmas than on Valentine's Day.

d. The prevailing wage rate in an industry determines how many people choose to work in the industry.

4.The absolute price of a good is its

Select one:

a. money price.

b. projected price.

c. relative price.

d. subjective price.

5.The only variable that can affect a movement along the demand curve is

Select one:

a. the number of buyers.

b. income levels.

c. the price of the good itself.

d. the number of substitutes.

6.The price of an MP3 music player increased from $50 to $70 while the price of a music download increased from $1 to $2. The relative price of an MP3 music player in terms of music downloads Select one:

a. increased from 0.04 to 0.05.

b. decreased, but we need more information to know by how much.

c. increased, but we need more information to know by how much.

d. decreased from 50 to 35.

7.The quantity supplied of a particular good is the amount of the good that

Select one:

a. households want firms to sell at each price during a particular time period.

b. firms will actually end up buying at a particular price during a given time period.

c. firms are willing to sell at each price during a particular time period.

d. households are willing to consume at each particular price.

8.An increase in price will lead to an increase in quantity supplied. This statement is

Select one:

a. the law of supply.

b. untrue always.

c. the law of demand.

d. a normative statement.

9.Regarding the law of supply, which of the following statements is correct?

Select one:

a. As demand falls, supply rises.

b. The ceteris paribus assumption does not apply.

c. As the price of a good or service rises, the quantity supplied will increase.

d. As the price of a good or service rises, the quantity supplied will decrease.

10.A given supply curve illustrates Select one:

a. the relationship between expected future prices and quantity supplied.

b. the effect of a change in resource costs on the quantity supplied.

c. the effect of a change in technology on the quantity supplied.

d. the relationship between price and quantity supplied.

11.If there is a decline in the price of milk, an input in the production of ice cream, then there will be a(n)

Select one:

a. decrease in the supply of ice cream and a leftward shift of the supply curve.

b. increase in the supply of ice cream and a rightward shift of the supply curve.

c. increase in the quantity of ice cream supplied and a movement down along the supply curve.

d. decrease in the quantity of ice cream supplied and a movement up along the supply curve.

12. An improvement in technology in the production of computers would

Select one:

a. increase the demand for computers.

b. decrease the supply of computers.

c. decrease the demand for computers.

d. increase the supply of computers.

13.Which of the following is a non-price determinant of supply? Select one:

a. the number of consumers

b. technological advances in production

c. the price of related goods consumers may buy

d. consumers' incomes

14.Which of the following does NOT cause a rightward shift in the supply curve?

Select one:

a. a reduction in resource costs

b. an increase in technology

c. a reduction in the expected future price of the good

d. a reduction in the price of the good

15.Which of the following is a possible outcome of setting a legal maximum rental rate below the market-clearing rental rate?

Select one:

a. a decrease in the quantity of rental housing demanded

b. an increase in the quantity of rental housing supply

c. a black market in rental housing

d. a surplus of rental housing