ECON 103 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Economic Efficiency, Fallacy, Government Failure

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pearfox726

9 Jan 2017

School

George Mason University

Department

Economics

Course

ECON 103

Professor

James Bennet

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Document Summary

Chapter 5 - difficult cases for the market, and the role of government. Economists use the standard of economic efficiency to assess the desirability of economic outcomes. Economic efficiency - a situation that occurs when (1) all activities generating more benefit than cost are undertaken and (2) no activities are undertaken for which the cost exceeds the benefit. While individuals are generally not concerned about only themselves, not the entire economy, if resources are used efficiently, everyone can potentially benefit. 2 conditions are necessary for an economy to maximize efficiency: Rule 1: undertaking an economic action is efficient if it produces more benefits than costs. Rule 2: undertaking an economic action is inefficient if it produces more costs than benefits. Fallacy: if it"s worth doing, it"s worth doing imperfectly: As more resources are dedicated to an end, the marginal benefits will decrease while the marginal costs will increase.

Related Questions

Can you solve them and tell me if youre sure 100% 100% 100%

Question 1 (1 point)

If two variables move together but are otherwise unrelated, we have

Question 1 options:

a fallacy of composition.

an econometric model.

a spurious correlation.

an efficiency problem.

evidence of a weak correlation but strong causation.

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Question 2 (1 point)

The Latin expression "ceteris paribus": is essential in ______.

Question 2 options:

collecting data.

identifying sunk costs.

evaluating theories.

recognizing scarcity.

developing spurious relationships.

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Question 3 (1 point)

Opportunity cost is best defined as

Question 3 options:

marginal cost minus marginal benefit.

the time spent on an economic activity.

the value of the best forgone alternative.

the monetary cost of an economic decision.

marginal cost plus marginal benefit.

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Question 4 (1 point)

A cost that cannot be recovered at the time a decision is being made is termed a(n)

Question 4 options:

marginal cost.

scarcity cost.

sunk cost.

average cost.

opportunity cost.

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Question 5 (1 point)

If the marginal costs of 1, 2, and 3 hours of talking on the phone are $50, $75, and $105, then the total costs are

Question 5 options:

$50, $150, and $315.

$50, $41.67, and $115.

$50, 125, and $230.

$50, $175, and $405.

impossible to calculate with information given.

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Question 6 (1 point)

In general, individuals should specialize in producing those goods for which they

Question 6 options:

can produce more quickly than others.

can produce less quickly than others.

have the lowest opportunity cost compared to others.

have the highest opportunity cost compared to others.

have an average opportunity cost.

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Question 7 (1 point)

The extra benefit that comes from an extra unit of activity is called the _________ of the activity.

Question 7 options:

benefit

marginal benefit

marginal cost

average benefit

reservation benefit

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Question 8 (1 point)

The marginal benefit of an activity is the

Question 8 options:

same as the total benefits of the activity.

total benefit divided by the level of the activity.

change in the activity divided by the change in benefits.

extra benefit associated with an extra unit of the activity.

total benefit divided by the change in the level of the activity.

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Question 9 (1 point)

The fundamental problem that is studied in economics is that

Question 9 options:

consumers have limited wants in the face of unlimited resources.

markets should function without government interference.

Canada is too wealthy.

consumers have unlimited wants in the face of limited resources.

there are unlimited resources.

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Question 10 (1 point)

The range of topics, or issues, that fit within the definition of economics is

Question 10 options:

limited to market activities, e.g., buying soap.

limited to individuals and firms.

extremely wide, requiring only the ideas of choice and scarcity.

limited to governments and nations.

very limited.

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Question 11 (1 point)

When economists make predictions using the framework of a given economic model, it is usually based on

Question 11 options:

personal experiences.

important relationships between particular variables.

mathematical abstractions.

political implications.

the profit-maximizing objective.

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Question 12 (1 point)

The cost of spending an evening partying instead of studying economics is

Question 12 options:

the resulting decrease in the test score in Economics.

the time spent at the party.

the score of the test.

the cost of the textbook.

university tuition.

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Question 13 (1 point)

As one progresses from a one-person economy to a large, multi-person economy, the shape of production possibilities curve changes from

Question 13 options:

downward sloping to upwards sloping.

linear to convex (bowed into the origin).

concave (bowed out from the origin) to linear.

convex (bowed into the origin) to concave (bowed out from the origin).

linear to concave (bowed out from the origin).

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Question 14 (1 point)

Which is NOT a sunk cost?

Question 14 options:

Monthly rent of $1,000 contractually specified in a one-year lease.

An insurance premium of $50 per year, paid last month.

An attorney's retainer of $50,000 per year.

A worker's wage of $15 per hour.

A non-refundable deposit for a tender.

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Question 15 (1 point)

"We should support government intervention because the market produces undesirable outcomes" is an example of

Question 15 options:

positive economics.

normative economics.

comparative economics.

negative economics.

formative economics.

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amberchimpanzee966

1. The cost-benefit approach to deciding whether or not to undertake any activity argues that you should engage in the activity if:
a. The marginal cost of the activity exceeds the marginal benefit of the activity.
b. The marginal benefit of the activity exceeds the marginal cost of the activity.
c. There are benefits associated with the activity
d. There are costs associated with the activity

2. In the circular flow model, the household sector:
a. Demand goods and services in output markets, while the business sector supplies them.
b. Supplies goods and services in output markets, while the business sector demands them.
c. Demands and supplies goods and services in output markets.
d. Neither demands nor supplies goods and services in output markets.

3. In resource markets, households operate on the ________ side and business firms operate on the ______ side; these activities represent ______for households and _______ for business firms.
a. Demand; supply; income; revenue
b. Demand; supply; expenditures; revenue
c. Supply; demand; expenditures; costs
d. Supply; demand; income; costs

4. Ice cream sales and the incidence of polio were strongly correlated prior to the development of the polio vaccine. Assuming that eating ice cream caused polio is an example of the:
a. Fallacy of composition
b. Fallacy of division
c. Fallacy of false cause
d. Fallacy of ceteris paribus

5. Assuming that everyone is better off when a bridge is built in Alaska to serve a small community is an example of the:
a. Fallacy of composition
b. Fallacy of division
c. Fallacy of false cause
d. Fallacy of ceteris paribus

6. A production possibilities frontier for two outputs is drawn assuming that:
a. Opportunity cost is fixed, but the quantity and quality of resources changes
b. Both outputs use the same quantity of each resource, but the technology differs
c. The amount of resources currently available for production is fixed
d. The technology available can only be applied to producing one of the outputs

7. When wants and needs exceed the resource available to satisfy them:
a. Scarcity exists and society must rely on the government to allocate resources.
b. Scarcity exists and society must rely on free markets to allocate resources.
c. Scarcity exists and decisions must be made about how to allocate limited resources among competing uses.
d. Scarcity does not exist so it is not necessary to allocate resources.

8. If Carl is able to produce a greater number of baskets per hour than Sheila, then:
a. Carl cannot have a comparative advantage in the production of baskets
b. Carl has an absolute advantage in the production of baskets
c. Sheila has an absolute advantage in the production of baskets
d. Sheila has a comparative advantage in the production of baskets

9. If Carl's opportunity cost per basket is 4 bowls, but Sheila's opportunity cost per basket is 3 bowls, then:
a. Carl has a comparative advantage in the production of baskets
b. Carl has an absolute advantage in the production of baskets
c. Sheila has an absolute advantage in the production of baskets
d. Sheila has a comparative advantage in the production of baskets

10. Which of the following is not an example of the factor of production or economic resource referred to as capital?
a. An office building
b. Computers used by a tax preparation business
c. Lawnmowers owned by a landscaping firm
d. Money used to start a new business.

lavenderhippopotamus513

1. The marginal product of labor is:

A. equal to the demand for labor.

B. the payment made to workers for their contribution to the output they produce.

C. the change in a firm's revenue as a result of hiring one more worker.

D. the additional output a firm produces as a result of hiring one more worker.

2. What does the phrase "internalizing an external cost" mean?

A. limiting the extent to which domestic firms can outsource production

B. prohibiting economic activities that create externalities

C. finding a way to address cross-border pollution

D. forcing producers to factor into their production costs the cost of the externalities created in the production of their output

3. The highest-valued alternative that must be given up to engage in an activity is the definition of

A. implicit cost

B. opportunity cost.

C. utility.

D. economic sacrifice.

4. What is market failure?

A. It refers to the inability of the market to allocate resources efficiently up to the point where marginal social benefit equals marginal private cost.

B. It refers to a situation where an entire sector of the economy (for example, the airline industry) collapses because of some unforeseen event.

C. It refers to a breakdown in a market economy because of widespread corruption in government.

D. It refers to the inability of the market to allocate resources efficiently up to the point where marginal social benefit equals marginal social cost.

5. Suppose a competitive firm is paying a wage of $12 an hour and sells its product at $3 per unit. Assume that labor is the only input. If the last worker hired increases output by three units per hour, then to maximize profits the firm should

A. lay off some of its workers.

B. does not change the number of workers it currently hires.

C. hire additional workers.

D. There is not enough information to answer the question.

6. When the price of summer tank tops falls and you buy more of them because they are relatively less expensive, this is called

A. the deadweight loss effect.

B. the income effect.

C. the substitution effect.

D. the elasticity effect.

7. An externality is

A. a benefit realized by the purchaser of a good or service.

B. a benefit or cost experienced by someone who is not a producer or consumer of a good or service.

C. a cost paid for by the producer of a good or service.

D. anything that is external or not relevant to the production of a good or service.

8. Firms pay famous individuals to endorse their products because

A. apparently demand is affected not just by the number of people who use a product but also by the type of person that uses the product. '

B. famous people only consume high-quality products.

C. famous people obviously know what are the best goods and services.

D. the firms are irrational and are wasting advertising expenditures.

9. If a consumer receives 20 units of utility from consuming two candy bars, and 25 units of utility from consuming three candy bars, the marginal utility of the second candy bar is

A. 25 utility units.

B. 20 utility units.

C. 5 utility units.

D. unknown as more information is needed to determine the answer.

10. When there is a negative externality, the private cost of production ________ the social cost of production.

A. is less than

B. is greater than

C. eliminates

D. is equal to

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ECON 103 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Economic Efficiency, Fallacy, Government Failure

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