Exam
Name___________________________________

MULTIPLE CHOICE.  Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 

1) 

Which of the following statements is correct?  

1) 

_______ 

A) 

Managerial decisions are affected primarily by macroeconomic forces.  

B) 

Managerial decisions are affected by both microeconomic and macroeconomic forces.  

C) 

Managerial decisions are affected primarily by microeconomic forces.  

D) 

By and large, managerial decisions are not affected by either microeconomic or macroeconomic forces.  

2) 

Walmart's decision in 1994 to continue operating stores in specific cities in Mexico when other firms were pulling out would be best classified as  

2) 

_______ 

A) 

a microeconomic decision.  

B) 

a macroeconomic decision.  

C) 

both a microeconomic and a macroeconomic decision.  

D) 

neither a microeconomic nor a macroeconomic decision.  

3) 

Which of the following would be considered an example of a macroeconomic problem?  

3) 

_______ 

A) 

Should Microsoft reduce the price of its Windows operating system?  

B) 

Should the federal government extend the eligibility period for unemployment benefits?  

C) 

Should JP Morgan Chase increase the interest rate it charges its credit card customers?  

D) 

Should Mitsubishi eliminate one of its production shifts?  

4) 

Walmart's entry into the market in Mexico had the effect of 

4) 

_______ 

A) 

increasing competition and raising the prices of many of the goods it sells. 

B) 

increasing competition and lowering the prices of many of the goods it sells. 

C) 

reducing competition and raising the prices of many of the goods it sells.  

D) 

reducing competition and lowering the prices of many of the goods it sells.  

5) 

Which of the following statements is false?  

5) 

_______ 

A) 

Input prices influence a firm's costs of production.  

B) 

Output prices influence a firm's revenues.  

C) 

Price determination is the key element in any market system.  

D) 

While managers must understand how output prices are determined, determination of input prices is irrelevant because it is beyond the manager's control.  

6) 

All else constant, the choice of whether to use a labor-intensive production process or a capital-intensive one is depends on 

6) 

_______ 

A) 

the type of market in which the firm operates.  

B) 

whether the economy is growing or shrinking.  

C) 

the relative prices of capital labor.  

D) 

the absolute prices of capital and labor.  

7) 

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a perfectly competitive market?  

7) 

_______ 

A) 

Limited information is available to all market participants.  

B) 

Ease of entry into the market.  

C) 

Large number of firms in the industry.  

D) 

Outputs of the firms are perfect substitutes for one another.  

8) 

Firms are considered to be price searchers, as opposed to price takers, in all of the following market types except  

8) 

_______ 

A) 

monopolistic competition.  

B) 

oligopoly.  

C) 

monopoly.  

D) 

perfect competition. 

9) 

Which of the following conditions ensures that excess profits cannot persist in a perfectly competitive market over the long run?  

9) 

_______ 

A) 

Large number of firms in the industry.  

B) 

Ease of entry into the market.  

C) 

Complete information is available to all market participants.  

D) 

Outputs of the firms are perfect substitutes for one another.  

10) 

Which of the following statements is correct? 

10) 

______ 

A) 

All else constant, a monopoly firm has more market power than a monopolistically competitive firm.  

B) 

The amount of market power a firm possesses is unrelated to the type of market in which it operates.  

C) 

So long as a firm is sufficiently large, it will have some amount of market power, regardless of the type of market in which it operates.  

D) 

The fact that the firms in an oligopoly are mutually interdependent means that individual firms do not have any market power.  

11) 

The market structure that is characterized by a small number of large firms that have some market power is called  

11) 

______ 

A) 

oligopoly.  

B) 

monopoly.  

C) 

monopolistic competition.  

D) 

perfect competition.  

12) 

Which of the following market structures is most similar to perfect competition?  

12) 

______ 

A) 

Monopolistic competition.  

B) 

Oligopoly.  

C) 

Monopoly.  

D) 

Monopsony.  

13) 

The key characteristic of an oligopolistic market is  

13) 

______ 

A) 

production of a homogeneous product.  

B) 

ease of entry into, and exit out of, the market.  

C) 

the absence of market power by any one firm.  

D) 

mutual interdependence among firms in the market.  

14) 

Which of the following statements about monopoly is false?  

14) 

______ 

A) 

A single firm serves the market.  

B) 

There are no close substitutes for the monopolist's output.  

C) 

Because there is a single firm serving the entire market, the monopolist can charge whatever price it wants to for its output.  

D) 

There are usually significant barriers to entry.  

15) 

The assumed goal of the firms that operate in each of the four market structures discussed in the text is to maximize  

15) 

______ 

A) 

price.  

B) 

revenue.  

C) 

profits.  

D) 

sales.  

16) 

Which of the following statements about the circular flow model is false?  

16) 

______ 

A) 

Households supply resources to the business sector.  

B) 

Businesses supply goods and services to the household sector.  

C) 

Consumers earn income by selling resources they own to businesses.  

D) 

Business firms buy goods and services from the household sector.  

17) 

Which of the following statements is false? In the circular flow model  

17) 

______ 

A) 

consumption expenditures are made by households.  

B) 

factor payments are made to business firms.  

C) 

the funds needed to finance investment spending come from the saving of households.  

D) 

GDP can be measured either by the income received or by the expenditures made.  

18) 

Within the circular flow model, which of the following is not represented as a flow of funds into firms?  

18) 

______ 

A) 

Consumption spending.  

B) 

Foreign purchases of goods and services.  

C) 

Government purchases.  

D) 

Income payments.  

19) 

The major categories of expenditures in the economy are  

19) 

______ 

A) 

consumption, net investment, and net exports.  

B) 

consumption, fixed investment, government purchases, and net imports.  

C) 

consumption, gross investment, and government purchases.  

D) 

consumption, gross investment, government purchases, and net exports.  

20) 

Which of the following is not included in gross private domestic investment spending?  

20) 

______ 

A) 

Household spending on residential construction.  

B) 

Business spending on plant and equipment.  

C) 

Household spending on durable goods.  

D) 

Spending on business inventories.  

21) 

Assume that with existing tax and spending laws, government spending exceeds government tax revenues. To cover the resulting shortfall, the government must  

21) 

______ 

A) 

increase consumers' incomes.  

B) 

lower interest rates.  

C) 

Borrow money in the financial markets.  

D) 

print more money.  

22) 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is defined as the market value of  

22) 

______ 

A) 

all final consumer goods produced during the year by domestic and foreign suppliers.  

B) 

all final goods and services produced during the year by domestic and foreign-supplied resources.  

C) 

all goods and services sold during the year by domestic and foreign producers.  

D) 

all intermediate goods produced during the year by domestic and foreign suppliers.  

23) 

In the equation GDP = C + I + G + F, in which F equals net export spending (i.e., total spending on exports minus total spending on imports), imports are subtracted from the other types of expenditures because  

23) 

______ 

A) 

the value of imports is included in the other components of spending such as consumption spending.  

B) 

other countries do not import goods from the U.S.  

C) 

the value of imports is difficult to determine due to the fact that they are frequently stated in terms of foreign currency.  

D) 

imports reduce national welfare.  

24) 

Assuming that C = $4,500, I = $1,000, G = $1,200, Exports = $450, Imports = $550, Depreciation = $600, and Indirect Business Taxes = $500 (all in billions of dollars), GDP equals  

24) 

______ 

A) 

$6,400 billion.  

B) 

$6,000 billion.  

C) 

$5,500 billion.  

D) 

$6,600 billion.  

25) 

Which of the following statements is correct?  

25) 

______ 

A) 

Business confidence is extremely important and can have a great impact on future economic activity. The same is not true of consumer confidence.  

B) 

Because it is subject to change, and frequently does, consumer and business confidence has only a minimal impact on future economic activity.  

C) 

Consumer and business confidence is extremely important and can have a great impact on future economic activity.  

D) 

Because it has historically remained steady, consumer and business confidence has only a minimal impact on future economic activity.  

26) 

The type of policy that involves interest rates and the availability of loanable funds is known as  

26) 

______ 

A) 

fiscal policy.  

B) 

monetary policy.  

C) 

federal policy.  

D) 

strategic financial policy.  

27) 

The type of policy that involves changes in taxes or spending by the federal government is known as  

27) 

______ 

A) 

strategic financial policy.  

B) 

monetary policy.  

C) 

federal policy.  

D) 

fiscal policy.  

28) 

If a country's central bank wants to stimulate spending in the economy, it should  

28) 

______ 

A) 

decrease taxes.  

B) 

increase the amount of assets banks should keep on reserve at all times.  

C) 

lower interest rates.  

D) 

increase government spending.  

29) 

If a country's national government wants to stimulate spending in the economy, it should  

29) 

______ 

A) 

increase taxes and decrease government spending.  

B) 

decrease taxes and increase government spending.  

C) 

decrease taxes and government spending.  

D) 

increase taxes and government spending.  

30) 

Which of the following would have the greatest positive impact on a country's domestic economy?  

30) 

______ 

A) 

A decrease in the incomes of consumers in foreign countries.  

B) 

A decrease in the confidence of foreign investors in the country's economy.  

C) 

An increase in spending on imports from other countries.  

D) 

An increase in spending by foreigners on the country's exports.  

TRUE/FALSE.  Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 

31) 

Sound business decision making requires a firm understanding of both microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts.  

31) 

______ 

32) 

The rate of inflation measures the change in the relative prices of the goods and services produced in the macroeconomy over a specified period of time.  

32) 

______ 

33) 

Macroeconomics is concerned with the behavior of all of the firms in a particular industry, while microeconomics focuses on a single firm in the same industry.  

33) 

______ 

34) 

A typical question addressed in microeconomics is, "What determines the price of gasoline in a particular city or town?"  

34) 

______ 

35) 

Changes in the macroeconomy, such as an increase in average per person income, can have effects at the microeconomic level, for example, on the profitability of firms in a particular industry.  

35) 

______ 

36) 

With respect to prices, at the macroeconomic level attention is focused on relative prices, while at the microeconomic level attention is focused on absolute prices.  

36) 

______ 

37) 

Managerial economics refers to the application of microeconomics to business decision making.  

37) 

______ 

38) 

Understanding how individual sectors of the economy will respond to changes in key economic variables gives us a better understanding of how the macroeconomy behaves.  

38) 

______ 

39) 

Assume a bottled water company is trying to decide on a new pricing strategy. Sound decision making would require the firm's managers to consider not only how consumers will respond to the product's own price, but how they will react to the price for the firm's product relative to the prices of similar products offered by the firm's competitors.  

39) 

______ 

40) 

The term "relative price" is used to refer to how the current price of a good or service compares to the price of the same item in the previous time period.  

40) 

______ 

41) 

In deciding which model of a car to buy, microeconomic theory maintains that consumers are concerned about the absolute price of a particular car, rather than its relative price.  

41) 

______ 

42) 

If we ranked the four market structures on the basis of degree of competition, perfect competition and monopolistic competition would be at opposite ends of the spectrum.  

42) 

______ 

43) 

Because most gas stations are small relative to the market in which they operate and gasoline is fairly homogeneous, the market for gasoline is considered to be perfectly competitive.  

43) 

______ 

44) 

Assume a monopolistically competitive firm comes up with a new innovation that allows it to earn above-normal economic profits. Given the nature of the market in which it operates, over time those profits will be competed away as new competitors enter the market.  

44) 

______ 

45) 

Because it is the only firm operating in a particular market, a monopolist is guaranteed to earn an economic profit.  

45) 

______ 

46) 

All else constant, as the barriers to entry into a particular market increase, so will the ability of firms in that market to earn above-average profits.  

46) 

______ 

47) 

Because it does not face competition from other firms, a monopolist is guaranteed to make excess profits over time.  

47) 

______ 

48) 

To develop a competitive advantage and increase their firm's profitability, managers need to understand what affects their revenues, costs, and their ability to set prices.  

48) 

______ 

49) 

According to the circular flow model, an increase in spending by businesses on productive resources would cause the income and spending of consumers to increase.  

49) 

______ 

50) 

According to the circular flow model, all else constant, an increase in government spending should cause an increase in spending, income, and production in the economy.  

50) 

______ 

51) 

"Gross Investment spending" refers exclusively to purchases of plant and equipment by businesses and net changes in business inventories.  

51) 

______ 

52) 

If government spending exceeds the amount of taxes collected from households and businesses, the government simply finances the difference by printing more money.  

52) 

______ 

53) 

Consumer income can be used for three things purchases of goods and services, paying taxes and saving.  

53) 

______ 

54) 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is defined as the market value of all goods and services purchased in the economy during a particular year.  

54) 

______ 

55) 

All else constant, an increase in the amount of borrowing by the federal government would reduce the amount of money available for businesses to borrow to finance investment spending.  

55) 

______ 

56) 

All else constant, an increase in the amount of government spending on roads and bridges would cause GDP in the domestic economy to increase.  

56) 

______ 

57) 

Assuming that C = $6,200, I = $1,300, G = $1,100, Exports = $630, Imports = $750, and Depreciation = $600 (all in billions of dollars), GDP equals $7,880.  

57) 

______ 

58) 

Because it has a direct effect on the hiring decisions of firms, a change in business confidence has a much larger impact on the level of economic activity than does a change in consumer confidence.  

58) 

______ 

59) 

Monetary policy consists of changes in taxes, which in turn affects the amount of money households can spend on consumption.  

59) 

______ 

60) 

All else constant, if the central bank wants to slow the pace at which the economy is expanding, it should increase interest rates.  

60) 

______ 

61) 

The U.S. Treasury is responsible for controlling the money supply and interest rates in the economy.  

61) 

______ 

62) 

One way for the federal government to increase the amount of spending in the domestic economy would be to decrease personal and business taxes.  

62) 

______ 

63) 

All else constant, a decrease in the level of economic activity in foreign countries could be expected to have an adverse effect on the domestic economy.  

63) 

______ 

ESSAY.  Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper. 

64) 

Explain the basic distinction between microeconomic analysis and macroeconomic analysis. Describe the types of issues that each branch of analysis focuses on.  

65) 

Assume the price of product A increases from $1 to $1.50, while the price of competing product B increases from $1.50 to $2.00. Based on the information, what we can say about the absolute and relative price differences between the two products and the relative attractiveness of the two products to consumers.   

66) 

Assume an individual is considering opening a new car dealership in a medium-sized metropolitan area (population = 200,000). Provide a list of economic variables you would recommend that the person consider in making his decision whether to open the business, and explain your rationale for including each variable.  

67) 

List and describe the sources of spending in the economy by focusing on the four major sectors of the economy.  

68) 

Many analysts have argued that the federal government should stop spending money on programs such as agricultural price supports and should redirect that spending to such things as improvements in the nation's roads and bridges.  Construct an economic argument that supports this proposed change in policy. 

 

1) 

B 

2) 

A 

3) 

B 

4) 

B 

5) 

D 

6) 

C 

7) 

A 

8) 

D 

9) 

B 

10) 

A 

11) 

A 

12) 

A 

13) 

D 

14) 

C 

15) 

C 

16) 

D 

17) 

B 

18) 

D 

19) 

D 

20) 

C 

21) 

C 

22) 

B 

23) 

A 

24) 

D 

25) 

C 

26) 

B 

27) 

D 

28) 

C 

29) 

B 

30) 

D 

31) 

TRUE 

32) 

FALSE 

33) 

FALSE 

34) 

TRUE 

35) 

TRUE 

36) 

FALSE 

37) 

TRUE 

38) 

TRUE 

39) 

TRUE 

40) 

FALSE 

41) 

FALSE 

42) 

FALSE 

43) 

FALSE 

44) 

TRUE 

45) 

FALSE 

46) 

TRUE 

47) 

FALSE 

48) 

TRUE 

49) 

TRUE 

50) 

TRUE 

51) 

FALSE 

52) 

FALSE 

53) 

TRUE 

54) 

FALSE 

55) 

TRUE 

56) 

TRUE 

57) 

FALSE 

58) 

FALSE 

59) 

FALSE 

60) 

TRUE 

61) 

FALSE 

62) 

TRUE 

63) 

TRUE 

64) 

Microeconomic analysis focuses on the behavior of individuals, e.g., consumers and firms. It is concerned with such issues as how a firm can produce output most cheaply, how much revenue it can expect to receive from the sale of a good, and how much of a good consumers will purchase at each price. Macroeconomic analysis focuses on the overall level of economic activity. It is concerned with such issues as what factors will cause the rates of inflation and unemployment to change and what types of policies can be used to influence the overall level of economic activity.  

65) 

Clearly, the absolute difference in the prices of the two products, $0.50, has not changed. The relative price difference, however, has changed. Before the price changes, the the price of product A was two thirds of the price of product B. After the price change, the relative price of product A is three fourths of the price of B. Stated differently, before the price change, the price of B was 50 percent higher than the price of A. After the price changes, the price of B is only 33 percent higher than the price of A. Because of the decrease in the difference in relative prices, product B has become more competitive with product A, all else constant. 

66) 

At a minimum, it would seem that the decision maker should consider 1) the current number of dealerships in the area, 2) the types and quantities of vehicles that consumers in the local economy currently purchase, 3) the income in the local economy, 4) the level of unemployment both locally and nationally, 5) projected trends in unemployment, and 6) possible policy changes that might be undertaken by the central bank or the federal government. 

1, 2 and 3 would give the decision maker a sense of how strong the market for his product might be. Information on unemployment in the local economy would provide useful information in this regard as well. 5 and 6 would provide information on what the decision maker could expect in the coming months, especially regarding whether demand for his product is likely to grow or decline.  

67) 

The four major sources of spending in the economy include consumption spending, which is spending by households on durable and non-durable goods and services; gross private domestic investment, which includes spending on plant and equipment (by businesses), residential construction (by households), and inventories (by businesses); government consumption expenditures and gross investment; and net exports, i.e., the difference between export spending (by foreigners on domestically produced goods and services) and spending on imports (domestic spending on foreign-made goods and services).  

68) 

Government spending on agricultural price supports amounts to a transfer of money from one group, taxpayers, to another group, farmers. As such there is no real increase in productive capacity. Furthermore, one could argue that the subsidies further distort market prices and send the wrong signals to farmers. In contrast, spending on roads and bridges (other than the "bridge to nowhere") contributes to an increase in the economy's infrastructure and, as such increases the economy's productive capacity over time.