1. Which one of the following is a distinguishing feature of a command system? A. Widespread dispersion of economic power B. Private ownership of all capital C. Heavy reliance on markets D. Central planning
2. The coincidence-of-wants problem associated with barter refers to the fact that A. for exchange to occur, each seller must have a product that some buyer wants. B. buyers in resource markets and sellers in product markets can never engage in exchange. C. specialization is restricted by the size or scope of a market. D. money must be used as a medium of exchange, or trade will never occur.
3. The two general types of economic systems that exist today are A. market systems and capitalism. B. laissez-faire systems and pure command systems. C. market systems and command systems. D. socialism and central planning.
4. The organization created to oversee the provisions of multilateral trade agreements, resolve disputes under the international trade rules, and meet periodically to consider further trade liberalization is called the A. World Trade Organization (WTO). B. International Trade Commission (ITC). C. Common Market Organization (CMO). D. International Monetary Fund (IMF).
5. A person should consume more of something when its marginal A. benefit exceeds its marginal cost. B. benefit is still positive. C. cost equals its marginal benefit. D. cost exceeds its marginal benefit.
6. Which one of the following statements correctly describes the term laissez-faire? A. Government action is necessary if the economy is to achieve full employment and full production. B. Land and other natural resources should be privately owned, but capital should be publicly owned. C. Government shouldn't interfere with the operation of the economy. D. Land and other natural resources should be publicly owned, but capital equipment should be privately owned.
7. When an economist says that the demand for a product has increased, this means that A. the demand curve has shifted to the left. B. consumers are now willing to purchase more of this product at each possible price. C. the product has become particularly scarce for some reason. D. product price has fallen and, as a consequence, consumers are buying a larger quantity of the product.
8. Which one of the following statements about protective tariffs is correct? A. Protective tariffs are government payments to domestic producers to reduce the world prices of exported goods. B. Protective tariffs are licensing requirements, unreasonable quality standards, and the like designed to impede imports. C. Protective tariffs are maximum limits on the quantity or total value of specific products imported to a nation. D. Protective tariffs are excise taxes or duties placed on imported products.
9. When the price of a product rises, consumers shift their purchases to other products whose prices are now relatively lower. This statement describes A. the substitution effect. B. an inferior good. C. the rationing function of prices. D. the income effect.
10. Money is not considered to be an economic resource because A. money isn't a free gift of nature. B. money, as such, isn't productive. C. it isn't scarce. D. idle money balances don't earn interest income.
11. Welfare checks and food stamps are examples of _______ used by the government to redistribute income. A. taxation B. transfer payments C. corporate subsidies D. market intervention
12. Which one of the following statements correctly describes export subsidies? A. Export subsidies are excise taxes or duties placed on imported products. B. Export subsidies are maximum limits on the quantity or total value of specific products imported to a nation. C. Export subsidies are government payments to domestic producers to enable them to charge lower prices and sell more goods in world markets. D. Export subsidies are licensing requirements, unreasonable quality standards, and the like designed to impede imports.
13. Other things equal, the provision of a per unit subsidy for a product will A. increase its price. B. increase its supply. C. decrease the quantity sold. D. decrease its demand.
14. Which one of the following statements about a price floor is correct? A. A price floor means that inflation is severe in this particular market. B. A price floor means that sellers are artificially restricting supply to raise price. C. A price floor means that the government is imposing a minimum legal price that is typically above the equilibrium price. D. A price floor means that the government is imposing a maximum legal price that is typically below the equilibrium price.
15. If incomes rise rapidly in the United States and U.S. preferences for foreign goods strengthen, we would expect A. the dollar to appreciate in value. B. the dollar to depreciate in value. C. the dollar price of foreign monies to decrease. D. U.S. exports to increase.
16. Microeconomics is concerned with A. the aggregate or total levels of income, employment, and output. B. the establishing of an overall view of the operation of the economic system. C. a detailed examination of specific economic units that make up the economic system. D. positive economics, but not normative economics.
17. The use of money contributes to economic efficiency because A. roundabout production couldn't occur without the availability of money. B. it promotes specialization by overcoming the problems with barter. C. governmental direction of the production and distribution of output can be avoided by using money. D. it's necessary for the creation of capital goods.
18. If consumers are willing to pay a higher price than previously for each level of output, we can say that _______ has occurred. A. an increase in supply B. a decrease in supply C. an increase in demand D. a decrease in demand
19. Joe sold gold coins for $1,000 that he bought a year ago for $1,000. He says, "At least I didn't lose any money on my financial investment." His economist friend points out that in effect he did lose money, because he could have received a 3 percent return on the $1,000 if he had bought a bank certificate of deposit instead of the coins. The economist's analysis in this case incorporates the idea of End of exam A. imperfect information. B. normative economics. C. marginal benefits that exceed marginal costs. D. opportunity costs.
20. An income tax is progressive if the A. percentage of income paid as taxes is the same regardless of the size of income. B. percentage of income paid as taxes increases as income increases. C. absolute amount paid as taxes varies directly with income. D. tax rate varies inversely with income.