Micro Economics - Problem Set 1

(1)2. Attending college is a case where the ________________ exceeds the monetary cost. A. budget constraint B. marginal analysis C. opportunity cost D. marginal utility (1)7. Why is there scarcity? A. Because the opportunity set determines this. B. Because theory dictates it. C. Because our unlimited wants exceed our limited resources D. Because human wants are limited. (1)9. Scarcity implies that: A. consumers would be willing to purchase the same quantity of a good at a higher price. B. it is impossible to completely fulfill the unlimited human desire for goods and services with the limited resources available. C. at the current market price, consumers are willing to purchase more of a good than suppliers are willing to produce. D. consumers are too poor to afford the goods and services available. (1)8. Scarcity exists because of: A. the market mechanism. B. specialization and division of labor. C. the allocation of goods by prices D. unlimited wants and limited resources. (1)10. Gomer decides to spend an hour playing basketball rather than studying. His opportunity cost is: A. nothing, because he enjoys playing basketball more than studying. B. the increase in skill he obtains from playing basketball for that hour. C. the benefit to his grades from studying for an hour D. nothing, because he had a free pass into the sports complex to play basketball. (1)11. "If I didn't have class tonight, I would save the $4 campus parking fee and spend four hours at work where I earn $10 per hour." The opportunity cost of attending class this evening is: A. $0 B. $4 C. $40 D. $44 (1)12. The opportunity cost of attending university is likely to include all except which of the following? A. the cost of haircuts received during the school term B. the income you forgo in order to attend classes C. tuition fees D. the cost of required textbooks Possibility A Economics History I 94 76 II 87 84 III 77 91 Table 2-1 (1)13. Referring to Table 2-1: A student has only a few hours to prepare for two different exams this afternoon. The above table shows alternative possible exam scores with three alternative uses of the student's time. The opportunity cost of scoring a 94 on the economics exam rather than a 77 is: A. 8 points on the history exam. B. 15 points on the history exam. C. 14 points on the history exam. D. 17 points on the history exam. (1)14. Refer to Table 2-1. A student has only a few hours to prepare for two different exams tomorrow morning. The above table shows alternative possible exam outcomes with three alternative uses of the student's time. The opportunity cost of scoring an 84 on the history exam rather than 76 is: A. 10 points on the economics exam B. 8 points on the history exam C. 7 points on the economics exam D. 12 points on the economics exam (1)15. The opportunity cost of an action: A. can be determined by considering both the benefits that flow from as well as the monetary costs incurred as a result of the action. B. can be determined by adding up the bills incurred as a result of the action. C. can be objectively determined only by economists. D. is a subjective valuation that can be determined only by the individual who chooses the action. (1)16. The slope of the _________________ is determined by the relative price of the two goods, which is calculated by taking the price of one good and dividing it by the price of the other good. A. personal preference B. utility level C. budget constraint D. opportunity set (1)30. The slope of the _________________ is determined by the relative price of the two goods, which is calculated by taking the price of one good and dividing it by the price of the other good. A. Opportunity cost B. productive efficiency C. budget constraint D. production possibilities frontier (1)31. In many cases, it is reasonable to refer to the ________________ as the price. A. budget constraint B. sunk cost C. opportunity cost D. budget constraint (1)34. The model that economists use for illustrating the process of individual choice in a situation of scarcity is the budget constraint, sometimes also called the _______________, a diagram which shows what choices are possible. A. opportunity set B. consumption choice C. time value of money D. risk premium Short answer questions (1)3. When most people want to know the cost of an item or a service, they look for a price tag. When economists want to determine cost, they go one step further. They use the idea of opportunity cost. Explain the concept of opportunity cost and illustrate with an example. (1)7. When economists analyze how individuals make choices, they divide the decision process into two steps. Define these two steps and label the resultant model.