EC140 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Unemployment Benefits, Political Freedom, Consumption Function

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21 Oct 2013

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Document Summary

Gdp: market value of all final goods and services produced in a country for a given time. Main measure of economic prosperity or standard of living. Measures total value of production (total expenditure or total income) Buying a house is a part of investment rather than consumption: gross investment (i) purchasing machinery, equipment, tools used to produce other things all construction residential properties. When some are unsold, all are counted and the firm buys theirs back (changes in inventories) add increases in inventories and subtract decreases in inventories. Adding changes in inventories to gross investment is what makes gdp = total expenditure do not subtract depreciation: government purchases (g) spending on final goods and services. Taxes, subsidies, welfare payments, ei payments not counted. Transactions are purely financial not counted: exports (x) minus imports (m) Adds to our production and income (add exports) Ae = c + i + g + x m.

Related Questions

TRUE / FALSE

1. True False In the aggregate expenditures model presented in the textbook,

investment is assumed to rise with increases in real GDP and fall with decreases in real GDP.

2. True False When C + I_g = GDP in a private closed economy, S = I_g and there are no unplanned changes in inventories.

3. True False The risk-free interest rate is the rate on long-term U.S. government bonds.

4. True False Bond prices and interest rates are directly or positively related.

5. True False The public debt is the accumulation of all deficits and surpluses that have occurred through time.

6. True False The M₂ money supply may be larger or smaller than the M₁ money supply depending on the size of small-denominated time deposit balances and Money Market Mutual Fund balances held by individuals.

7. True False Excess reserves are the amount by which required reserves exceed actual reserves.

8. True False The public debt is held as Treasury bills, Treasury notes, Treasury bonds, and U.S. savings bonds.

9. True False The equilibrium price level and equilibrium level of real GDP occur at the intersection of the aggregate demand curve and the aggregate supply curve.

10. True False Investment is highly stable; it increases over time at a very steady rate.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

11. A recessionary expenditure gap is:

A. the amount by which the full-employment GDP exceeds the level of aggregate expenditures.

B. the amount by which equilibrium GDP falls short of the full-employment GDP.

C. the amount by which investment exceeds saving at the full-employment GDP.

D. the amount by which aggregate expenditures exceed the full-employment level of GDP.

12. The multiplier effect indicates that:

A. a decline in the interest rate will cause a proportionately larger increase in investment.

B. a change in spending will change aggregate income by a larger amount.

C. a change in spending will increase aggregate income by the same amount.

D. an increase in total income will generate a larger change in aggregate expenditures.

13. Which one of the following is true about the U.S. Federal Reserve System?

There are 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks.

B. The head of the U.S. Treasury also chairs the Federal Reserve Board.

C. There are 14 members of the Federal Reserve Board.

D. The Open Market Committee is smaller in size than the Federal Reserve Board.

14. If the nominal interest rate is 18 percent and the real interest rate is 6 percent, the inflation rate is:

A. 18 percent.

B. 24 percent.

C. 12 percent.

D. 6 percent.

15.

Refer to the above diagram for a private closed economy. The equilibrium level of GDP is:

A. $400.

B. $300.

C. $200.

D. $100.

16. Which of the following represents the most expansionary fiscal policy?

A. a $10 billion tax cut

B. a $10 billion increase in government spending

C. a $10 billion tax increase

D. a $10 billion decrease in government spending

17.

Refer to the above table. The economy shown is a:

A. private economy.

B. private open economy.

C. mixed closed economy.

D. mixed open economy.

18. Currency held in the vault of First National Bank is:

A. counted as part of M₁.

B. counted as part of M₂, but not M₁.

C. only counted as part of M₁ if it was deposited into a checking account.

D. not counted as part of the money supply.

19. If the dollar appreciates relative to foreign currencies, we would expect:

A. the multiplier to decrease.

B. the country's exports and imports to both fall.

C. the country's net exports to rise.

D. the country's net exports to fall.

20. The most important determinant of consumption and saving is the:

A. level of bank credit.

B. level of income.

C. interest rate.

D. price level.

21. The multiple by which the commercial banking system can increase the supply of money on the basis of each dollar of excess reserves is equal to:

A. the reciprocal of the required reserve ratio.

B. 1 minus the required reserve ratio.

C. the reciprocal of the income velocity of money.

D. 1/MPS.

22. Which one of the following would not shift the aggregate demand curve?

A. a change in the price level

B. depreciation of the international value of the dollar

C. a decline in the interest rate at each possible price level

D. an increase in personal income tax rate

23. The cyclically-adjusted budget tells us:

A. that in a full-employment economy the Federal budget should be in balance.

B. that tax revenues should vary inversely with GDP.

C. what the size of the Federal budget deficit or surplus would be if the economy was at full

employment.

D. the actual budget deficit or surplus realized in any given year.

24. The aggregate supply curve:

A. is explained by the interest rate, real-balances, and foreign purchases effects.

B. gets steeper as the economy moves from the top of the curve to the bottom of the curve.

C. shows the various amounts of real output that businesses will produce at each price level.

D. is downsloping because real purchasing power increases as the price level falls.

25.

Refer to the above diagram. If the equilibrium price level is P₁, then:

A. aggregate demand is AD₂.

B. the equilibrium output level is Q₃.

C. the equilibrium output level is Q₂.

D. producers will supply output level Q₁

26. Discretionary fiscal policy refers to:

A. any change in government spending or taxes that destabilizes the economy.

B. the authority that the President has to change personal income tax rates.

C. intentional changes in taxes and government expenditures made by Congress to stabilize the economy.

D. the changes in taxes and transfers that occur as GDP changes.

27.

Refer to the above diagram. Which tax system has the most built-in stability?

A. T₄

B. T₃

C. T₂

D. T₁

28.

Refer to the given graph. A shift of the consumption schedule from C₁ to C₂ might be caused by a(n):

A.	recession.

B.	wealth effect of an increase in stock market prices.

C.	increase in income tax rates.

D.	increase in saving.

29. When a bank loan is repaid the supply of money:

A. is constant, but its composition will have changed.

B. is decreased.

C. is increased.

D. may either increase or decrease.

30. The Federal budget deficit is found by:

A. subtracting government tax revenues plus government borrowing from government spending in a particular year.

B. subtracting government tax revenues from government spending in a particular year.

C. cumulating the differences between government spending and tax revenues over all years since the nation's founding.

D. subtracting government revenues from the noninvestment-type government spending in a particular year.

31.

Refer to the above information. Money supply M₁ for this economy is:

A. $ 60.

B. $ 70.

C. $ 130.

D. $ 140.

32. Which of the following statements is true as a result of Federal Reserve efforts to rescue the financial industry from the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008?

From February 2008, to May 2009, the Fed oversaw the consolidation of 20 major financial institutions into fewer than a dozen.

B. From March 2008, to February 2009, the Fed experienced a 50 percent decline in the value of assets held.

C. From February 2008, to March 2009, Fed assets more than doubled to nearly $2 trillion.

D. From February 2008, to March 2009, Fed lending caused the U.S. public debt to rise by over $1 trillion.

33. Which of the following is the basic economic policy function of the Federal Reserve Banks?

holding the deposits or reserves of commercial banks

B. acting as fiscal agents for the Federal government

C. controlling the supply of money

D. the collection or clearing of checks among commercial banks

34. In a fractional reserve banking system:

A. bank panics cannot occur.

B. the monetary system must be backed by gold.

C. banks can create money through the lending process.

D. the Federal Reserve has no control over the amount of money in circulation.

35.

Refer to the diagram that applies to a private closed economy. The APC is equal to 1 at income level:

36. Assume the Continental National Bank's balance statement is as follows:

Assuming a legal reserve ratio of 20 percent, how much in excess reserves would this bank have after a check for $10,000 was drawn and cleared against it?

A. $ 3,000

B. $ 24,000

C. $ 6,000

D. $ 16,000

37. Answer the question on the basis of the following table for a commercial bank or thrift:

Refer to the above table. When the legal reserve ratio is 25 percent, the excess reserves of this single bank are:

A. $0.

B. $1,000.

C. $5,000.

D. $30,000.

38. Which of the following is a tool of monetary policy?

A. open market operations

B. changes in banking laws

C. changes in tax rates

D. changes in government spending

39. An increase in nominal GDP increases the demand for money because:

A. interest rates will rise.

B. more money is needed to finance a larger volume of transactions.

C. bond prices will fall.

D. the opportunity cost of holding money will decline.

40. Answer the next question on the basis of the following table:

At equilibrium in the above market for money, the total amount of money demanded is:

A. $500.

B. $480.

C. $460.

D. $440.

41. For most financial assets investors must be compensated for:

A. non-diversifiable and diversifiable risk.

B. diversifiable risk and time preference.

C. non-diversifiable risk and time preference.

D. non-diversifiable and diversifiable risk, and time preference.

42. Reserves must be deposited in the Federal Reserve Banks by:

A. only commercial banks which are members of the Federal Reserve System.

B. all depository institutions, that is, all commercial banks and thrift institutions.

C. state chartered commercial banks only.

D. federally chartered commercial banks only.

43.

Refer to the diagrams. Assuming a constant price level, an increase in aggregate expenditures from AE₁to AE₂ would:

A.	move the economy from A to C along AD₁.

B.	move the economy from C to A along AD₁.

C.	increase aggregate demand from AD₁ to AD₂.

D.	decrease aggregate demand from AD₂ to AD₁.

44. The discount rate is the interest:

A. rate at which the central banks lend to the U.S. Treasury.

B. rate at which the Federal Reserve Banks lend to commercial banks.

C. yield on long-term government bonds.

D. rate at which commercial banks lend to the public.

45. What concept describes how quickly an investment increases in value when interest is paid not only on the original amount invested, but also on the accumulated interest payments?

A. present value

B. future value

C. compound interest

D. real rate of interest

46. The aggregate demand curve:

A. is upsloping because a higher price level is necessary to make production profitable as production costs rise.

B. is downsloping because production costs decline as real output increases.

C. shows the amount of expenditures required to induce the production of each possible level of real output.

D. shows the amount of real output that will be purchased at each possible price level.

47. The Security Market Line depicts the relationship between the:

A. average expected rate of return on stocks and the average expected rate of return on bonds.

B. average expected rate of return of a financial asset and the discount rate.

C. risk level of a financial asset and the prime interest rate.

D. average expected rate of return and risk level of a financial asset.

48. Arbitrage causes all financial assets:

A. of the same risk level to have the same price.

B. to have the same expected rate of return.

C. to have the same beta.

D. of the same risk level to have the same average expected rate of return.

49.

Refer to the diagrams. The numbers in parentheses after the AD₁, AD₂, and AD₃ labels indicate the levels of investment spending associated with each curve. All figures are in billions. If the money supply is MS₁ and the goal of the monetary authorities is full-employment output Q_f, they should:

A.	increase the money supply from $80 to $100.

B.	increase the money supply from $80 to $120.

C.	maintain the money supply at $80.

D.	decrease the money supply from $80 to $60.

50. Given the expected rate of return on all possible investment opportunities in the economy:

A. an increase in the real rate of interest will reduce the level of investment.

B. a decrease in the real rate of interest will reduce the level of investment.

C. a change in the real interest rate will have no impact on the level of investment.

D. an increase in the real interest rate will increase the level of investment.

END OF THE EXAM

1.
John just bought shares of stock in IBM for $10,000 and paid a $90commission to his broker. How did this affect GDP?
A) It had no impact on GDP.
B) GDP increased by $90.
C) GDP increased by $10,000.
D) GDP increased by $9,990.
E) GDP increased by $10,090.
2.
Opportunity cost is the ____ alternative forfeited when a choice ismade.
A) least-valued
B) most highly-valued
C) most convenient
D) most recently considered
3.
If there is an increase in the amount of good B foregone as everyadditional unit of good A is produced, the PPF between A and Bwould
A) be a straight line.
B) be a bowed-outward curve.
C) be a bowed-inward curve.
D) not exist.
4.
Persons who are retired or engaged in own-home housework areconsidered to be in which of the following categories?
A) in the civilian labor force
B) not in the labor force
C) employed
D) unemployed
5.
A recessionary gap exists if (actual) Real GDP is ____ Natural RealGDP.
A) less than
B) greater than
C) equal to
D) b and c
E) none of the above
6.
Decision making "at the margin" means making a choice based on ____of a decision.
A) the total benefits
B) the total costs
C) comparing the total benefits and costs
D) comparing the additional benefits and costs
7.
When Claudia trades $100 for good X, economists assume that sheis
A) trading something of less value to her for something of morevalue to her.
B) trading something of more value to her for something of lessvalue to her.
C) trading something that gives her less utility for something thatgives her more utility.
D) a and c
E) none of the above
8.
An increase in investment at a given price level
A) shifts the AD curve to the right.
B) shifts the AD curve to the left.
C) causes an upward movement along the existing AD curve.
D) causes a downward movement along the existing AD curve.
E) none of the above
9.
If the demand for a good falls by less than the supply of the goodrises, then equilibrium price will ____ and equilibrium quantitywill ____.
A) rise; fall
B) rise; rise
C) fall; fall
D) fall; rise
10.
The CPI was 140 in one year and 144 the following year.Approximately how much did prices rise between the two years?
A) 2.86 percent
B) 2.78 percent
C) 0.03 percent
D) 1.03 percent
E) none of the above
11.
The expenditure approach to measuring GDP sums
A) consumption, investment, government purchases, and netexports.
B) sales, revenues, income, and wages.
C) profits, compensation of employees, consumption, andinvestment.
D) net exports, consumption, wages, and salaries.
12.
Which of the following would not be included in the calculation ofthis year's GDP?
A) a headlight bulb purchased at Joe's Auto Supply by Susan toreplace a burnt out bulb in her car
B) a headlight bulb purchased by Ford Motor Co. from asupplier
C) a headlight bulb produced but not sold this year and thus endingup as inventory
D) none of the above, i.e., all would be included
13.
Suppose the government decides that every family should own its ownhome. To bring this about, the government decides to subsidize thehome-construction industry by giving the home-constructioncompanies $10,000 for every house that they build. As a result ofthis,
A) the supply curve of new houses would shift leftward, since itnow costs $10,000 more for builders to produce a house.
B) the demand curve for new houses would shift rightward, since nowevery family would want to buy a house.
C) the demand curve for new houses would shift leftward.
D) the supply curve of new houses would shift rightward, sincebuilders would be willing to produce and sell more houses at eachgiven price.
E) c and d
14.
Which set of changes will raise demand?
A) an increase in income (assuming demand is for a normal good), adecline in wage rates, and a rise in the per-unit tax placed on theproduction of a good
B) an increase in the number of buyers, a decline in the price of asubstitute, and an increase in the prices of relevantresources
C) an increase in the price of a substitute, a decrease in theprice of a complement, and an increase in expected (future)price
D) a decline in the number of buyers, an increase in the price of acomplement, and a decline in a per-unit tax placed on theproduction of a good
E) none of the above
15.
Both country 1 and country 2 are located on their respectiveproduction possibilities frontiers (PPFs), but country 1 producestwice the output that country 2 produces. It follows that
A) country 1's PPF lies further to the right than country 2'sPPF.
B) country 1 has a smaller population than country 2.
C) country 1 has a bigger population than country 2.
D) country 1 is efficient and country 2 is inefficient.
E) none of the above
16.
Suppose aggregate demand is too low to bring about the Natural RealGDP level. A Keynesian policy prescription would call for a(n) ____to close this recessionary gap.
A) increase in government spending
B) decrease in government spending
C) increase in taxes
D) decrease in taxes
E) a or d
17.
The structural unemployment rate is 3.1 percent, the frictionalunemployment rate is 2.1 percent, and the current unemployment rateis 4.9 percent. The economy is in
A) a recessionary gap producing less than Natural Real GDP.
B) an inflationary gap producing more than Natural Real GDP.
C) long-run equilibrium.
D) an inflationary gap producing Natural Real GDP.
E) a recessionary gap producing more than Natural Real GDP.
18.
A fall in the price level changes the purchasing power of money.This is relevant to the ____ effect.
A) international trade
B) real balance
C) aggregate demand
D) interest rate
E) aggregate supply
19.
An economic policy initiative results in the AD curve shifting tothe right. As a result,
A) the price level will rise.
B) the price level will stay constant.
C) the price level will fall.
D) Real GDP will rise in the short run.
E) a and d
20.
Which of the following is consistent with the classical position onwages and prices?
A) Wages and prices are sticky in the downward direction.
B) Wages are sticky in the downward direction, but prices areflexible.
C) Wages and prices are flexible.
D) Prices are sticky in the downward direction, but wages areflexible.
21.
If the bottom half of all U.S. income tax payers were allowed tostop paying the income tax entirely and the top 50% continued topay as they do now, tax revenues to the government would drop byabout
A) 3.6 percent.
B) 10.2 percent.
C) 13.9 percent.
D) 33.3 percent.
22.
Which of the following is most nearly consistent with Say'slaw?
A) When a person produces one good, he or she plans to demand othergoods.
B) When a person produces a good, he or she plans to sell it.
C) When a person buys a good, he or she plans to pay for it withmoney.
D) When a person goes to work, he or she plans to produce.
23.
The economy was at point A producing 100X and 200Y. It moved topoint B where it produces 200X and 300Y. It follows that
A) point A may have been a point below the economy's PPF, whilepoint B may lie on the PPF.
B) the economy's PPF could have shifted outward and point A was apoint on the economy's old PPF.
C) the economy has moved from one point on its PPF to another pointon the same PPF.
D) a or b
E) a or c
24.
The condition in an economy that makes a "rationing device" anecessity is the fact that
A) the economy is organized around free markets.
B) the economy is centrally planned by the government.
C) scarcity exists.
D) there are fewer types of goods than there are people in theeconomy.
25.
Expansionary fiscal policy actions include ____ government spendingand/or ____ taxes, while contractionary fiscal policy actionsinclude ____ government spending and/or ____ taxes.
A) increasing; increasing; decreasing; decreasing
B) decreasing; decreasing; increasing; increasing
C) increasing; decreasing; increasing; decreasing
D) decreasing; increasing; increasing; decreasing
E) increasing; decreasing; decreasing; increasing
26.
A price ceiling is a government-mandated
A) minimum price below which legal trades cannot be made.
B) maximum price above which legal trades cannot be made.
C) minimum price above which legal trades cannot be made.
D) maximum price below which legal trades cannot be made.
27.
In year 1 the CPI is 144.1, and in year 2 the CPI is 151. IfSarah's salary was $33,500 in year 1, what salary in year 2 wouldcause her to exactly "keep up with inflation"?
A) $50,585
B) $48,274
C) $40,508
D) $35,104
28.
One measure of the inflation rate is the
A) sum of the CPIs of adjacent years.
B) percentage change in the CPI of adjacent years.
C) percentage change in the Real GDP of adjacent years.
D) GDP minus the Real GDP in a year.
29.
Expansionary fiscal policy is ineffective if
A) there are idle resources in the economy.
B) the MPC is less than 0.60.
C) the government has a budget surplus.
D) there is complete crowding out.
E) a and d
30.
Suppose the economy goes from a point on its unchanging PPF to apoint down and to the left of it. This could be due to
A) a gain of resources.
B) a loss of resources.
C) technological improvement in the production of both goods.
D) a new law that interferes with economic efficiency.
31.
A decrease in the price of electricity will cause
A) a movement down the SRAS curve.
B) a movement up the SRAS curve.
C) a leftward shift in the SRAS curve.
D) a rightward shift in the SRAS curve.
E) no change regarding the SRAS curve
32.
Which of the following is an example of crowding out?
A) A decrease in the rate of growth of the stock of money decreasesGDP.
B) A deficit causes an increase in interest rates, which causes adecrease in investment spending.
C) An increase in tariffs causes a decrease in imports.
D) A decrease in government housing subsidies causes an increase inprivate spending on housing.
33.
A rightward shift in the demand curve for tennis balls could becaused by
A) a fall in the price of tennis balls.
B) a fall in the price of tennis rackets.
C) a rise in the price of tennis lessons.
D) a fall in income, assuming tennis balls are a normal good.
34.
Here is a consumption function: C = C0 + MPC(Yd). If MPC is 0.80,then we know that
A) as Yd rises by $1, Co rises by $0.80.
B) as Yd rises by $1, C rises by $0.80.
C) Yd rises by $0.80.
D) as C0 rises by $0.80, Yd rises by $1.
35.
Suppose a drop in stock prices makes people feel less wealthy. Thiswould cause ____ the economy's AD curve.
A) movement down along
B) movement up along
C) a rightward shift of
D) a leftward shift of
36.
An economy is producing its Natural Real GDP when the rate ofunemployment is equal to the ____ unemployment rate.
A) frictional
B) structural
C) sum of the frictional unemployment rate and the structural
D) seasonal
E) cyclical
37.
Who would be most likely to agree that "People do not always savemore as interest rates rise"?
A) a classical economist
B) John Maynard Keynes
C) an efficiency wage theorist
D) a and b
E) a, b, and c
38.
The U.S. income tax is currently a ____ tax.
A) progressive
B) proportional
C) regressive
D) proactive
39.
The question of U.S. budget deficits and their impact on the U.S.economy is dealt with in the study of
A) microeconomics.
B) managerial economics.
C) macroeconomics.
D) consumer economics.
40.
John Maynard Keynes believed that wages may be inflexible in thedownward direction. Consequently, an economy
A) could get stuck in long-run equilibrium.
B) could get stuck in a recessionary gap.
C) could get stuck in an inflationary gap.
D) would always produce more than Natural Real GDP.
E) b and c

lilacbear730

After reading the case that is below, how can a foreign company entering China ensure that it tackles the most important little things that end up being huge barriers to success as we approach the year 2020 when China is expected to have significantly increased purchasing power among its middle class? Write your opinion, as a manager, on how to face cultural issues like those described in the case, when entering foreign markets.

The People's Republic of China opened up to foreign investments in the late 1970s. Since that time, numerous companies have tried to establish operations and sell their products to customers in China. Many more companies will try in the years to come China is expected to have some 190 million people in the middle- and upper-income categories by 2020. This is an increase from only about 17 million people in these income brackets as recently as in 2010. China's purchasing power for virtually all products and services has strong potential, and foreign companies will seek these market opportunities. What have we learned culturally that can help Western-based companies in China's marketplace?

Some background on China can serve as a starting point for a better understanding of the culture in China and what some well-known companies such as Best Buy and eBay have done to target the Chinese marketplace. The motivation for many foreign companies to enter China beyond those that have been there for a few decades for reasons of low-cost production was the triple growth of the Chinese economy that was seen from 2000 to 2010. China overtook Japan to become the second-largest economy in the world behind only the United States, and its large population makes for an enormous target market. Investment from foreign companies was the largest driver of China's growth in the decade from 2000 to 2010. However, many companies also increased their exports to China. The United States, for example, saw its companies increase exports to China by 542 percent from 2000 to 2011 (from about $16.2 billion to $103.9 billion), while total exports to the rest of the world increased by only 80 percent in the same time period.

Interestingly, while foreign investments grew, domestic consumption as a share of the Chinese economy declined from 46 percent in 2000 to 33 percent in 2010. This consumption declineâcoupled with slower growth globally and, ultimately, the worldwide economic downturn that started in 2008âraised questions about China's momentum. Right now, around 85 percent of mainstream Chinese consumers are living in the top 100 wealthiest cities. By the year 2020, these advanced and developing cities will have relatively few customers who are lower than the middle- and upper-income brackets by Chinese standards. The expectation is that these consumers will be able to afford a range of products and services, such as flat-screen televisions and overseas travel, making the Chinese customer much more of a target for a wide variety of consumption. This begs the question, can the unprecedented Chinese growth really continue, and would it come from increased consumption?

The resounding answer is yes according to research conducted by McKinsey & Company. McKinsey found that barring another major economic shock similar to what we saw in 2008, China's gross domestic product (GDP) will continue to grow, albeit not at the historic levels seen between 2000 and 2010 when it grew about 10.4 percent annually. The growth from 2010 to 2020 is expected to be about 7.9 percent per year, which is still far above the expected growth for the United States (2.8 percent annually), Japan (1.2 percent annually), and Germany (1.7 percent annually) the three countries among the top four worldwide economies along with China. And, the key is that consumption will now be the driving force behind the growth instead of foreign investment. The consumption forecast opens up opportunities for foreign companies to engage with Chinese consumers who are expected to have more purchasing power and discretionary spending. But culturally translating market success from one country or even a large number of countries to the Chinese marketplace is not necessarily as straightforward as it may seem. Often, a combination of naivety, arrogance, and cultural misunderstanding has led many well-known companies to fail in China. Lack of an understanding of issues such as local demands, buying habits, consumption values, and Chinese customers' personal beliefs led to struggles for companies that had been very successful elsewhere in the world. Let's take a brief look at Best Buy and eBay as two examples.

Best Buy, the mega-store mainly focused on consumer electronics, was founded in 1966 as an audio specialty store. Best Buy entered China in 2006 by acquiring a majority interest in China's fourth-largest appliance retailer, Jiangsu Five Star Appliance, for $180 million. But culture shock hit Best Buy, best described by Shaun Rein, the founder of China Market Research Group. He pointed to a few reasons for this culture shock and lack of success. First, the Chinese will not pay for Best Buy's overly expensive products unless they are a brand like Apple. Second, there is too much piracy in the Chinese market, and this reduces the demand for electronics products at competitive market prices. Third, like many Europeans, the Chinese do not want to shop at huge mega-stores. So, these three seemingly easy-to-understand cultural issues created difficulties for Best Buy. Solving these issues, Best Buy believed that it would have to develop and implement a different business model for the Chinese market than it has used, for example, in the United States. Now, how far should a company go outside its normal business model to adhere to the cultural values and beliefs of a new market? Strategically moving forward, Best Buy opted to close all of its Best Buy branded stores in China and focus on its wholly-owned local Jiangsu Five Star chain of stores. But will this new strategic business model be successful with the new makeup of customers in China expected by 2020?

eBay, the popular e-business site focused on consumer-to-consumer purchases, was founded in 1995. The company was one of the true success stories that lived through the dot-com bubble in the 1990s. It is now a multi-billion-dollar business with operations in more than 30 countries. But China's unique culture created problems for eBay in that market. Contrary to the widespread cultural issues that faced Best Buy, one company in particular (TaoBao) and one feature more specifically (built-in instant messaging) shaped a lot of the problems that eBay ran into in China. Some 200 million shoppers are using TaoBao to buy products, and the company accounts for almost 80 percent of online transaction value in China. Uniquely, TaoBao's built-in instant messaging system has been cited as the main reason for its edge over eBay in China. Basically, customers wanted to be able to identify a seller's online status and communicate with them directly and easily function not seamlessly incorporated into eBay's China system. Clearly, built-in instant text messaging is a solvable obstacle in doing business in China. It sounds easy now when we know about it, but may not always be the case when we take into account all the little things that are important in a market.

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