ECON 1040 Chapter 1 Practice Questions – Flashcards

Efficiency a. and equality both refer to how much a society can produce with its resources. b. and equality both refer to how fairly the benefits from using resources are distributed between members of a society. c. refers to how much a society can produce with its resources. Equality refers to how evenly the benefits from using resources are distributed among members of society. d. refers to how evenly the benefits from using resources are distributed between members of society. Equality refers to how much a society can produce with its resources

When the government attempts to improve equality in an economy the result is often a. an increase in overall output in the economy. b. additional government revenue since overall income will increase. c. a reduction in equality. d. a reduction in efficiency.

The opportunity cost of going to college is a. the total spent on food, clothing, books, transportation, tuition, lodging, and other expenses. b. the value of the best opportunity a student gives up to attend college. c. zero for students who are fortunate enough to have all of their college expenses paid by someone else. d. zero, since a college education will allow a student to earn a larger income after graduation.

A rational decisionmaker takes an action if and only if a. the marginal benefit of the action exceeds the marginal cost of the action. b. the marginal cost of the action exceeds the marginal benefit of the action. c. the marginal cost of the action is zero. d. the opportunity cost of the action is zero.

Suppose the cost of flying a 100-seat plane for an airline is $50,000 and there are 10 empty seats on a flight. The marginal cost of flying a passenger is a. $50. b. $500. c. $50,000. d. This cannot be determined from the information given.

A tax on gasoline encourages people to drive smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. Which principle of economics does this illustrate? a. People face tradeoffs. b. The cost of something is what you give up to get it. c. Rational people think at the margin. d. People respond to incentives.

When the "invisible hand" guides economic activity, prices of products reflect a. only the values that society places on those products. b. only the costs to society of producing those products. c. both the values that society places on those products and the costs to society of producing those products. d. none of the above; when the "invisible hand" guides economic activity, prices of products are set by the government in a manner that is thought to be "fair."

Prices usually reflect a. only the value of a good to society. b. only the cost to society of making a good. c. both the value of a good to society and the cost to society of making the good. d. neither the value of a good to society nor the cost to society of making the good.

One reason we need government, even in a market economy, is that a. there is insufficient market power in the absence of government. b. property rights are too strong in the absence of government. c. the invisible hand is not perfect. d. Both a and b are correct.

The term market failure refers to a. a situation in which the market on its own fails to allocate resources efficiently. b. an unsuccessful advertising campaign which reduces demand for a product. c. a situation in which competition among firms becomes ruthless. d. a firm which is forced out of business because of losses.

A species of snakes became extinct due to pollution in a river where the snakes once lived. This is an example of a. a market failure caused by an externality. b. a market failure caused by market power. c. a market failure caused by equality. d. There is no market failure in this case.

Thousands of people develop lung cancer from second-hand exposure to cigarette smoke. This is an example of a. a market failure caused by an externality. b. a market failure caused by market power. c. a market failure caused by equality. d. There is no market failure in this case.