ECON102 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Foreign Portfolio Investment, Diminishing Returns, Ten Commandments

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plumkoala555

1 Feb 2016

School

University of Alberta

Department

Economics

Course

ECON102

Professor

J.Scott Beesley

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ECON102 Full Course Notes

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The explanation for the large variation in living standards across the world can be explained by one thing productivity: productivity: the quantity of goods and services produced from each hour of a worker"s time. Recall that gdp measures two things at once: the total income earned by everyone in the economy and the total expenditure on the economy"s output of goods and services. The reason why gdp can measure both at once is that they must be equal to each other. One of the ten commandments of economics is that a country"s standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services o. Physical capital: the stock equipment and structures that are used to produce goods and services. Workers are more productive when they have tools to use; more tools allow work to be done more quickly and more accurately. Factors of production: the inputs used to produce goods and services like labor and capital.

Related Questions

1) Which of the following things would increase the value of Total Factor Productivity (TFP)?

a. A new production method that can produce smaller, more efficient microchips.

b. None of the other answers.

c. A company hires a large amount of workers after building a brand new factory.

d. Foreign investors invest in physical capital.

2) The country of Rupertopia has one factory for all its workers in 2011 and 2012. There were 100 workers in 2011 and 150 workers in 2012. Additionally, there were 200 people living in Rupertopia in 2011 and 1,000 people in 2012. Real GDP was one million dollars in 2011 and two million dollars in 2012. Which of the following statements regarding labor productivity is true:

a. Labor productivity in Rupertopia exhibits constant returns.

b. Labor productivity in Rupertopia exhibits increasing returns.

c. Labor productivity in Rupertopia exhibits diminishing returns.

d. More information is needed to determine whether labor productivity in Rupertopia exhibits diminishing, constant, or increasing returns.

3) Which of the following changes would help to improve a country's productivity level?

a. Improvements in the health of workers

b. None of the other answers.

c. Tuition increases at local Universities

d. A lower birth rate

4) When workers already have a large quantity of capital to use in producing goods and services, giving them an additional unit of capital increases their productivity only slightly. This statement:

a. is an assertion that capital is subject to increasing returns.

b. is made under the assumption that the quantities of human capital, natural resources, and technology are being held constant.

c. represents an unconventional view of the production process.

d. All of the other answers are correct.

5) Economic growth can be influenced by government policies. Which of the following can influence the economy's growth rate?

a. All of the other answers are correct

b. Promoting research and development of technologies

c. Fostering education

d. Maintaining property rights

rosemanatee841

Question 3

According to Joseph Schumpeter, the theory of creative destruction describes a process by which

	A	some new products unleash a gale of destruction that drive other new products out of the market.
B		new products unleash a gale of destruction that drives old products out of the market.
C		new products are created by the destruction of capital.
D		the creation of new products never involves the destruction of old products.

Question 4

Which of the following countries had the highest GDP per capita in 2012?

		A Qatar
B		United States
C		Japan
D		Norway

Question 5

________ save a ________ of their income. This ________ capital in their economy and raises economic growth.

	A	Developing countries; large proportion; decreases
B		Developing countries; small proportion; increases
C		High-income countries; large proportion; increases
D		High-income countries; small proportion; increases

Question 6

The demand for loanable funds is determined by the willingness of ________ to borrow money to engage in new investment projects.

A		government
B		households
C		banks
D		firms

Question 7

The U.S. economy has been more stable since 1950.

True

False

Question 8

When the economy reaches a trough in a business cycle, which of the following will occur?

A		Income, production, and employment will continue to fall.
B		Income, production, and employment will begin to rise.
C		Income and production will rise, but employment will continue to fall.
D		Employment rises, but income and production will continue to fall.

Question 9

In a closed economy, what is the relationship between saving and investment?

A		Saving is greater than investment.
B		Investment is greater than saving.
C		Investment is equal to saving.
D		Investment may be greater or smaller than saving.

Question 10

The per-worker production function shows the relationship between ________ per hour worked and ________ per hour worked, holding ________ constant.

A		labor; real GDP; technology
B		capital; real GDP; technology
C		labor; capital; real GDP
D		capital; labor; real GDP

Question 11

New growth theory states that increases in ________ capital will result in ________ at the ________ level.

	A	knowledge; increasing returns to scale; firm
	B	physical; decreasing returns to scale; firm
	C	knowledge; decreasing returns to scale; economy
D		knowledge; increasing returns to scale; economy

Question 12

Which of the following is not a reason why the Industrial Revolution occurred when and where it did?

A		The British government was committed to upholding private property rights.
B		The British government was able to eliminate arbitrary increases in taxes.
C		The British government was able to more easily seize wealth.
D		Institutional changes by the British government helped protect wealth.

Question 13

Growth in real GDP per capita for the world economy was greatest during

A		the seventeenth century.
B		the eighteenth century.
C		the nineteenth century.
D		the twentieth century.

Question 14

Which of the following is a normative statement about economic growth?

A		Economic growth is associated with higher labor productivity growth.
B		Economic growth increases GDP per capita.
C		Economic growth hurts developing countries.
D		Foreign direct investment stimulates economic growth.

Question 15

The effect of a recession on a company like Whirlpool Corporation is such that

A		sales decline more sharply for Whirlpool as compared to firms that do not produce durable goods.
B		profits fall less sharply as compared to firms that do not produce durable goods.
C		the decline in sales is more short-lived as compared to firms that do not produce durable goods.
D		there is no difference in the impact of the recession on its profits as compared to firms that do not produce durable goods.

Question 16

For the recessions in the United States since the 1950s,

A		cyclical unemployment has been non-existent.
B		unemployment rises on average by about 1.2 percentage points 12 months after a recession begins.
C		unemployment falls on average by 2 percentage points 12 months after a recession begins.
D		unemployment rises on average about 5 percentage points 12 months after a recession begins.

Question 17

You are an economic advisor to the president. You are asked to recommend a policy to promote long-term economic growth in the economy. Which of the following policies would you choose?

A		a reduction in sales taxes
B		an investment tax credit
C		a reduction in taxes on luxury yachts
D		All of these

Question 18

In comparison to a government that runs a balanced budget, when the government runs a budget deficit,

	A	the equilibrium interest rate will fall.
	B	business investment will fall.
	C	household savings will fall.
	D	None of these

Question 19

If labor productivity growth slows down in a country, this means that the growth rate in ________ has declined.

A		labor force participation
B		the quantity of goods or services that can be produced by one hour of work
C		the working-age population
D		nominal GDP

Question 20

Policies to promote growth by increasing saving and investment work through

A		decreasing the supply of loanable funds, lowering the interest rate, raising the level of investment in physical capital.
B		increasing the supply of loanable funds, increasing the interest rate, raising the level of investment in physical capital.
C		increasing the supply of loanable funds, lowering the interest rate, lowering the level of investment in physical capital.
D		increasing the supply of loanable funds, lowering the interest rate, raising the level of investment in physical capital.

Economics is nothing more than the study of scarcity and choice. It's called the Economizing Problem.

Economics is also the study of human action---why people make the choices they do.

We have finite (limited) resources and infinite (unlimited) demand for goods and services. We must, therefore, use rational decisions as to how to allocate these resources so that we can produce the goods and services that satisfy as many needs and wants as possible.

Needs are those things that make life possible---food, clothing, shelter, etc. Wants are the things that make life easier---glass in windows, carpet on the floor, a refrigerator to keep your beer cold, etc.

The resources we are trying to use wisely are not confined to money. We are talking about talent, ability, drive, ambition, etc. We can't all be brain surgeons. Nor would most of us want to be. We have different needs and wants that drive our ambitions. I have 5 grandchildren. The oldest two are twins---a boy and a girl. My granddaughter graduated from Idaho University with a bachelor's and a master's degree in accounting in 5 years. She passed the CPA exam on the first try. She now lives in Panama and works for BMW. She speaks, reads, and writes 4 languages, including English. Her brother finally graduated from the University of Arkansas in May 2016 after 8 years! Why did it happen this way?? They were raised the same way by the same parents. Why was my granddaughter drove to succeed and my grandson so listless?

Then there is subjective valuation and opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is nothing more than what you have to give up to do something else. Some of you might have to roll out of the bar or the party a little before you wanted to leave just to be able to attend my class. You might also have to give up some precious sleep. In any event, you had to give up something to attend my class. That's the opportunity cost. Remember, everything you do has a price (opportunity cost) that must be paid according to Harry Browne who wrote, How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World.) To do one thing you must give up the opportunity to do something else.

When people decide to buy a product or service they must decide if it will satisfy a need or want at a price they are willing to pay. The number one reason that people buy the products or services they do is called Personal Tastes or Preferences (Subjective valuation). Everyone has a different price they are willing to pay for the same product or service. Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. That's a subjective valuation. Each of us has a different intensity of demand for the same products. Things you want I may not care for at all, and the opposite may also be true. This is why there is such a variety of goods and services offered on the market.

Subjective valuation is also fluid. As your income goes either up or down it changes your valuation of products and services. Have you ever wanted something so bad you would do almost anything to get it---an i phone or I pad?---but once you get the money you think, "do I really want this?' and you don't buy it. This is common. If it were not for a subjective valuation we would all be wearing the same style and color clothes and living in similar houses, etc. Wouldn't that be a wonderful world! I'd find the tallest building in downtown Orlando and see if I could fly! It is not the similarity in people that interests me. It's the differences. It's my desire not to be like everyone else that has driven my life. Don't strive to be someone else. Strive to find and be yourself. God save me from a terminal case of conventional wisdom!

There are 5 embedded questions.

Give me an example of subjective valuation.

salmoneel837

ECON102 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Foreign Portfolio Investment, Diminishing Returns, Ten Commandments

ECON102 Full Course Notes

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