First Midterm
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published the following U.S. population information data in December 1996:
Total Population 266.6 million
Not in the Labor Force 66.6 million
Labor Force 135 million
Employed 127.8 million
The unemployment rate in the U.S. for December 1996 was:
A. 0.02%
B. 6.33%
C. 5.33%
D. 4.23%
E. 5.06%
2. Assume that actual inflation was 10% when 5% inflation was expected. This would benefit:
A. Borrowers
B. Lenders
C. Companies with long term contracts
D. A government that has accumulated a large debt
E. A, C, and D
3. Suppose a bakery sells bread worth $1,000. The bakery spends $200 on flour, $100 on other supplies, $300 on wages and $400 on rent. What is the value added by the baker?
A. $300
B. $0
C. $700
D. $200
E. $400
4. Assume that Mike's nominal wage rate was $15 per hour in a base year. If in the next year the CPI is 102.6 and his nominal wage is $16 per hour, what was his real wage rate in the base year?
A. $14.62
B. $15.00
C. $15.59
D. $16.00
E. Cannot be determined from the information given
5. A goods market in a simple two-sector circular flow model is best characterized by :
A. Households demand labor.
B. Firms buy goods.
C. Households purchase goods and services.
D. Households pay taxes.
E. Firms supply resources.
6. The conventional PPF curve is bowed out from the origin because of
A. Changes in technology.
B. Economic growth.
C. Constant opportunity cost.
D. Increased availability of resources.
E. Specialization of resources.
7. Market systems fail when
A. There are inferior goods in the economy.
B. There are externalities.
C. The law of demand does not hold.
D. Wages are low.
E. Imports are higher than exports.
8. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. Real GDP and nominal GDP in the base year can be different.
B. Transfer payments are not included in GDP.
C. The unemployment rate is zero at the full employment level of output.
D. Anticipated inflation is harmful to wage earners in a country.
E. GDP is a good measure of our economic well-being.
9. Which of the following activities is counted when computing U.S. Gross National Product (GNP)?
A. Annual wages of an American manager working in Seoul, Korea.
B. The purchase of a Japanese made Toyota automobile by a lawyer in Madison.
C. Payments made by a UW professor to a babysitter that is a German citizen.
D. Sale of $500 worth of illegal drugs.
E. Payments for lodging by a n American skier while at a competition in Switzerland.
10. Which of the following is always TRUE?
A. Every point on a production possibility frontier is an efficient point.
B. An excise tax always decreases consumer surplus provided the demand curve for the product is downward sloping (i.e., has a negative slope).
C. Having an absolute advantage in the production of a good implies having a comparative advantage in the production of that good.
D. A and B
E. A, B, and C
11. Ken wants to borrow $2,000 from Bobby for a year. Bobby wants to earn a real interest rate equal to 10% and he expects inflation to be 6%. How much will Ken need to pay Bobby in a year in order for Bobby to earn a real interest rate of 10%. Assume Bobby's expectations about the expected inflation rate are accurate.
A. $2200
B. $2320
C. $2080
D. $2120
E. $2315
12. Which of the following is an example of a normative statement?
A. Household consumption is the largest component of spending.
B. Government spending rose in the 1980s.
C. The business sector is the primary source of jobs.
D. Households should save more.
E. Data shows that this year's inflation was under 4%.
13. George and Michael can gain from trade
A. Unless one has an absolute advantage in the production of all goods.
B. If each specializes in the production of the good for which he has the highest opportunity cost.
C. Unless they have the same opportunity costs for producing all goods.
D. Unless they have different opportunity costs.
E. If they are inside their Production Possibility Frontiers.
14. Economic growth is best defined as
A. The rate of growth of employment.
B. The long-run increase in total output.
C. The rate of increase in economic productivity.
D. The cyclical changes in total output.
E. The rate of growth in the price level.
15. Frictional and structural unemployment:
A. Only exist during a recession.
B. Can exist when production is at the full employment level.
C. Cannot exist when there is inflation.
D. Is the type of unemployment that the government should get rid of.
E. None of the above.
To answer the next four questions consider the following supply-demand model:
Qs = 2P - 20
Qd = 120 -5P
16. Assume the government sets a price floor equal to $20. What is the effect of this action on the market equilibrium?
A. Excess demand of 20 units
B. Excess supply of 40 units
C. No effect
D. Excess supply of 20 units
E. Excess demand of 40 units
17. Assume the government imposes an excise tax of $1.4 per unit. What is the amount of tax revenue collected by the government?
A. $20
B. $24
C. $25.20
D. $28
E. $33.60
18. What is the loss in producer surplus due to the imposition of the $1.40 excise tax?
A. $100
B. $81
C. $19
D. $40
E. $18
19. What is the deadweight loss due to this tax?
A. $1
B. $0.4
C. $0.7
D. $2.8
E. $1.4
20. Countries A and b both produce bicycles and beer. The following table gives points on their linear production possibility frontiers.
| COUNTRY A |
COUNTRY B |
|
BEER
|
BICYCLES
|
BEER
|
BICYCLES
|
|
0
|
16
|
0
|
12
|
|
2
|
12
|
2
|
9
|
|
4
|
8
|
4
|
6
|
|
6
|
4
|
6
|
3
|
|
8
|
0
|
8
|
0
|
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Country A has both an absolute advantage and a comparative advantage in the production of bicycles.
B. Country B has both a comparative advantage and an absolute advantage in the production of bicycles.
C. Country A has a comparative advantage in the production of beer.
D. Country B has a comparative advantage in the production of bicycles.
E. C and D
II. Short Essays and Problems
BE SURE TO READ QUESTIONS 1 AND 2 BEFORE ANSWERING EITHER ONE OF THEM.
1. Below are three different baskets of terms. Choose one basket and write a short essay utilizing each of these terms and explaining how these terms relate to one another. Where appropriate use graphs or examples to illustrate these relationships. Think before you write so that your essay indicates organized thought. Be sure to use standard English and complete sentences. Assume that the grader is a blank slate waiting to be educated by you: MAKE NO ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHAT THE GRADER KNOWS PRIOR TO READING YOUR ANSWER. Scores on this question will depend on clarity of explanation, degree of understanding and knowledge illustrated, organization of answer, English grammar, and supporting illustration.
Basket 1: Supply and Demand, Determinants of Demand, Determinants of Supply, Shifts and Movements, Quantity
Demanded versus Demand
Basket 2: GDP Measurement, Value Added Approach, Factor Income Approach, Expenditure Approach, GDP as a
Measure of economic well being
Basket 3: CPI, market basket, limitations of CPI, substitution bias, accuracy of the CPI
2. Return to Question 1. Choose a different basket. This time write a short memo outlining an organizational plan for conveying the information you would want to convey to a meeting of your colleagues convened in order to acquire new knowledge about a topic that is completely unfamiliar to them. Think of presenting this topic orally using notecards with an outline of points on them. For your answer provide me with the notecards. This question will be graded on your command of the topic, your organizational plan, and your ability to cover all the terms in the basket in a knowledgeable and competent manner. Make sure your notes are not so cryptic that a grader cannot decipher what you plan to do. Again, assume that your grader is a blank slate ready to be informed.
3. Use the following information to answer this question. Make sure all your answers have the units of measurement indicated: numerical answers without units of measurement will be counted wrong. The supply and demand equations for a particular market are given below.
Supply: Qs = P
Demand: Qd = 10 - P
Where P is in dollars and Q is measured as boxes of the good.
a. The equilibrium price in this market is _____________.
b. The equilibrium quantity in this market is ____________.
c. The value of the consumer surplus in this market is ___________.
d. The value of the producer surplus in this market is __________.
e. The government imposes an excise tax of $1 per unit on suppliers in this market. The demand equation for this market is now _______________________________ and the supply equation for this market is now ___________________________.
f. The deadweight loss from this tax is equal to ________________.
g. The loss in consumer surplus from this tax is equal to ______________.
h. The producer surplus once the tax is imposed is equal to ________________________.
i. The tax revenue generated by this tax is equal to _____________.
j. The economic burden of the tax on consumers is equal to _________.
4. Use the following information to answer this question. In the table below you are given information about two countries and their ability to produce either wheat or corn. Assume that the two countries can only produce wheat and corn. The numerical entries in the table tell you the maximum amount of production for either good each country can achieve in a particular time period assuming that they only produce that one good during that time period. Assume that a country produces a constant amount of any good per unit of time given, and assume that opportunity costs for either of these countries is constant.
|
Commodity
|
Argentina
|
Mexico
|
|
Steel (tons)
|
40 per year
|
2/3 per month
|
|
Concrete (tons)
|
10/6 per month
|
8/3 per two month period
|
a. The maximum amount of steel Mexico can produce in a year is ________________.
b. The maximum amount of concrete Argentina can produce in a year is ________________.
c. Assume steel is on the y-axis. Make sure you identify any abbreviations you use to answer this question. The equation for Argentina's production possibility frontier can be written as _______________________________________________ .
d. Assume steel is on the y-axis. Make sure you identify any abbreviations you use to answer this question. The equation for Mexico's production possibility frontier can be written as ________________________________________.
e. The opportunity cost of producing one more ton of steel for Mexico is ______________________________.
f. The opportunity cost of producing one more ton of concrete for Argentina is __________________________.
g. If both countries specialize and trade with one another we know that Argentina should produce ___________________ while Mexico produces ____________________.
h. The country that has an absolute advantage in producing steel is __________________.
i. The country that has an absolute advantage in producing concrete is ___________________.