What does it mean if a person makes a "decision at the margin"?
a.The person compares additional benefits and additional costs when deciding what to
do.
b.The person makes a decision based on a condition.
c.The person compares marginal benefits and total costs and then decides what to do.
d.The person is more likely to say yes than to say no.
e.The person weighs the good against the bad and then decides what to do.
Which of the following is a microeconomics topic?
a.the study of how prices are determined in the computer industry
b.the study of unemployment in the economy
c.the study of how changes in the nation's money supply affect the nation's output
d.a and c
e.b and c
If variable X goes up as result of variable Y going down, then X and Y are
a.inversely related.
b.positively related.
c.independent.
d.directly related.
The opportunity cost of attending college is
a.the least valued alternative one forfeits to attend college.
b.equal to the salary one will earn when one graduates from college.
c.the money one spends on college tuition, books, and so forth.
d.the highest valued alternative one forfeits to attend college.
Which of the following is not one of the four broad categories of resources?
a.entrepreneurship
b.land
c.labor
d.capital
e.money
Something that provides utility is called a
,a.good.
b.bad.
c.want.
d.need.
e.a and d
Scarcity means
a.wants are greater than the limited resources available to satisfy these wants.
b.wants are less than the limited resources available to satisfy these wants.
c.resources are infinite.
d.wants are limited.
e.both c and d
Produced goods used as inputs for the production of other goods comprise the resource
known as
a.capital.
b.entrepreneurship.
c.natural resources.
d.services.
Economists believe that people's wants are
a.infinite.
b.finite.
c.unimportant because needs are more important than wants.
d.irrational.
The physical and mental talents people bring to production processes comprise the
resource called
a.capital.
b.natural resources.
c.entrepreneurship.
d.labor.
Which of the following is an example of a positive economic statement?
a.The U.S. public should devote more resources to education.
b.If you drop a ball from the top of a building, it will fall to the ground.
c.The poor should pay lower taxes and the rich should pay higher taxes.
d.Soap operas should be taken off television.
Opportunity cost is the value of
, a.all forfeited alternatives.
b.the best (or most highly valued) forfeited alternative.
c.a free good.
d.the chosen alternative.
To an economist, utility means:
a.usefulness.
b.marginal.
c.satisfaction.
d.additional.
A theory is
a.built on the major factors or variables that the theorist believes explain some event.
b.a simplified abstract representation of the real world.
c.used to understand the real world.
d.a and b
e.a, b, and c
In all cases, positive economics deals with
a.what should be.
b.aggregates or the entire economy.
c.relatively small units in the economy.
d.what is.
According to economists, competition exists because of
a.scarcity.
b.money.
c.capitalism.
d.unintended effects.
Amy's opportunity cost of going to the movies is
a.the price of the ticket.
b.zero, if she has a free pass to the movie.
c.the price of the ticket plus the value to Amy of what she would have chosen to do with
her time had she not chosen to go to the movies.
d.both b and c
Which of the following is not one of the four broad categories of resources?
a.entrepreneurship
b.land