Introduction Macroeconomics Self Text.

Send corrections or additions to this exam to cdahl@mines.edu.

Q1. Which Fallacy is best illustrated by the following statement: "I took the day off to go to the beach and that's why it rained."

a. Fallacy of Composition

b. Fallacy of exclusion

c. Fallacy of the false dilemma

d. A Post Hoc Fallacy

 

Q2. Which of the above production possibility frontiers represents perfectly substitutable outputs?

a. 1

b. 2

c. 3

d. None of above

 

Q3. More televisions sets are being sold today than one year ago and the selling price has decreased. This is most likely to have been caused by:

a. An exception to the law of supply

b. An increase in demand

c. An increase in supply

d. A decrease in supply

e. A decrease in demand.

 

Q4. Suppose your country is at war, and a key defense plant burns to the ground. The plant is fully insured for a replacement value of $30 million. The best measure of the opportunity cost of the defense plant burning is:

a. $30 million

b. $0, because the plant was fully insured.

c. Your countries reduced ability to wage war because of its inability to produce as much war materials.

d. None of the above.

 

Q5. Suppose the following is a quotation from the Wall Street Journal.

 

 

 52  weeks

  P-E

Vol

Net

High   Low

 Stock

 Yld

 DIV %

 Ratio

   100s

 Hi

   Low

 Close

 Chg

175    100

 IBM

 4.4

 3.9

 13

 14941

 131

 123

 124

 -1/4

50.75  33

 EXXON

  2.0

 4.8

 12

 19615

 42.5

 41.75

 42

 -1/4

 

Which of the following statements is true?

a. Exxon has sold for a higher price in the last year than IBM.

b. the last trading price for the day before this quote was lower for both stocks.

c. If only dividends are included, then IBM has a higher rate of return.

d. IBM is closer to its high for the year than Exxon.

e. Exxon sold more shares on this day than IBM

 

Q6. Suppose the CPI has increased from 100 to 110 while nominal interest rates have gone from 10% to 14%. Which of the following is true?

a. The real interest rate in year 2 is 4%

b. The real rate of inflation from year 1 to year 2 is 110

c. The real interest rate in year 2 is 12.7%

d. None of the above.

 

Q7. Which of the following statements, if any, is correct for a nation which is producing only consumption and investment goods?

a. Ceteris paribus, the more consumer goods a nation produces, the higher will be its future growth rate.

b. Ceteris paribus, the more investment goods a nation produces, the higher will be its future growth rate.

c. There is no general relationship between the current division of output between consumer and investment goods and the future growth rate.

d. None of the above statements is correct.

 

Q8. The following statistics are for the country of Grogbottom

 

Money

GNP

CPI

1966

750

100.0

1970

950

115.1

 

Which of the following statements is closest to being true?

a. Real GNP increased 15% between 1966-1970.

b. This economy is suffering from deflation.

c. Real GNP increased 11.5% between 1966-1970.

d. Money GNP increased 10% between 1966-1970.

 

Q9. The development of a low-cost synthetic fuel is expected to affect the market for crude oil in which of the following ways?

a. raise the price of oil.

b. raise the demand for oil.

c. increase quantity demanded and quantity supplied of oil

d. decrease the equilibrium quantity of oil

e. all of the above.

 

Q10. New York City has had rent control or a maximum price for sometime. What is the most likely effect of these controls if they are binding?

a. There will excess demand.

b. There will excess supply.

c. There should be an increase in quantity supplied and a decrease in the quantity demanded.

d. There will be excess quantity demanded.

 

Q11. A Federal budget deficit exists when:

a. Federal government assets are less than liabilities.

b. Federal government spending exceeds tax revenues.

c. Federal government spending is increasing.

d. taxes are reduced.

 

Q12. Suppose you expect the Fed to dramatically increase the money supply because of high unemployment. Which of the following would it be better to do before rather than after the change in the money supply. (Assume you are a Keynesian.):

a. Buy bonds

b. Take out a mortgage

c. Sell stocks

d. Buy a car on credit

 

Q13. Gains from specialization do not include:

a. more efficient use of scarce resources.

 

b. increased production of economic goods with no increase in resources.

 

c. increased ability to utilize the division of labor.

 

d. less interdependence.

 

Q14. Which one of the following is not an institution or an assumption underlying capitalist ideology?

a. private property

 

b. self-interest

 

c. centralized decision making

 

d. free enterprise and choice

 

Q15. Suppose the tax function is T = 220 + 0.2Y. Then for incomes 1000, 2000 and 3000:

a. this is a progressive tax.

 

b. this is a regressive tax.

 

c. this is a proportional tax.

 

d. the marginal propensity to tax is 0.8.

 

e. both b and d.

 

Q16. If the economy was encountering high unemployment, a Keynesian would call for:

a. Selling government securities, reducing the reserve ratio, reducing the discount rate, and a budgetary deficit.

 

b. Buying government securities, reducing the reserve ratio, raising the discount rate, and a budgetary deficit.

 

c. Selling government securities, raising the reserve ratio, raising the discount rate, and a budgetary surplus.

 

d. Buying government securities, reducing the reserve ratio, reducing the discount rate, and a budgetary deficit.

 

For Q17-Q21 assume that Trombonia can be represented by the following simple open economy Keynesian model.

C = 24 + 4/5 (Y-T)

 

T = 30

 

G = 42

 

I = 50

 

X=18

 

M=30

Where C = consumption, T = taxes, G = government spending, I = investment, X = exports, and M = imports

 

Q17. Equilibrium income in Trombonia is:

a. 282

 

b. 400

 

c. 500

 

d. 690

 

e. None of the above.

 

Q18. If you want to increase income in Trombonia by 80, which of the following policies would you recommend:

a. Increase G by 20

 

b. Decrease T by 10

 

c. Increase T by 20

 

d. Increase G and T by 80

 

e. None of the above.

 

Q19. What would you predict aggregate consumption to be at equilibrium income:

a. 192

 

b. 320

 

c. 185

 

d. 552

 

e. None of the above.

 

Q20. What are the government budget and merchandise trade account for this model?

a. Government budget has a surplus of 10 and the current trade account has a surplus of 12

 

b. Government budget has a surplus of 70 and the current trade account has a surplus of 48

 

c. Both are balanced

 

d. Government budget has a deficit of 10 and the current trade account has a deficit of 12

 

e. There is not enough information to calculate these two accounts

 

Q21. Which of the following financial instruments has the highest rate of return?

 

Price

Coupon

a.

50

5

b.

55

6

c.

80

9

d.

150

11

 

Q22. With which of these sets of policies is a monetarist most likely to agree:

a. Fine tuning, functional finance

 

b. Discretionary policy, balancing the budget over the cycle

 

c. Pegging the interest rate, balancing the full employment budget

 

d. Money growing at a constant rate, balancing the budget.

 

Q23. From an economist's perspective, which of the following is not considered to be investment?

a. construction of a new factory

 

b. purchase of shares of company stock

 

c. the building of an apartment complex

 

d. additions to inventories at steel plants

 

Q24. The expansion or contraction of business activity which occurs over a period of time (e.g. 5-10 years) is referred to by economists as:

a. the secular trend.

 

b. Kondratieff cycles.

 

c. a business cycle.

 

d. seasonal variation

 

Q25. In which of the following industries or sectors of the economy is output least likely to be affected by the business cycle:

a. housing construction.

 

b. automobile production.

 

c. agricultural commodities.

 

d. capital goods production.

 

Q26. The investment-demand curve will shift to the left as the result of:

a. business pessimism about future economic conditions.

 

b. a shortage of productive capacity.

 

c. an increase in the interest rate.

 

d. a decrease in business taxes.

 

Q27. A single commercial bank must meet a 25 percent reserve requirement. If it initially has no excess reserves and then $2,000 in cash is deposited in this bank, it can increase its loans by a maximum of:

a. $2,000.

 

b. $1,500.

 

c. $1,250.

 

d. $1,000.

 

Q28. Suppose banks borrow $10 million in reserves from the Fed, and the reserve requirement is 1/4. What is the maximum change in the money supply that could take place:

a. $50 million

 

b. $2.5 million

 

c. $30 million

 

d. $40 million

 

Q29. Which of the following ways of financing government spending is the least expansionary?

a. borrowing from the Federal Reserve.

 

b. borrowing from banks.

 

c. borrowing from the public.

 

d. taxation

 

Q30. A headline states: ""Real GNP falls again as the economy slumps."" This situation is most likely to produce what type of unemployment?

a. frictional

 

b. structural

 

c. cyclical

 

d. natural

 

Q31. Stagflation occurs because of a:

a. rightward shift in the aggregate demand curve.

 

b. leftward shift in the aggregate demand curve.

 

c. rightward shift in the aggregate supply curve.

 

d. leftward shift in the aggregate supply curve.

 

Q32. A new member of congress notes that: ""Personal income tax automatically fall and transfers and subsidies automatically rise as income declines."" This observation best describes how the personal income tax transfers and subsidies:

a. serve as a built-in stabilizer.

 

b. produce the full-employment budget.

 

c. cause crowding-out and reduce equilibrium NNP.

 

d. contribute to the recognition lag with fiscal policy.

 

Q33. The public debt is the:

a. difference between Federal assets and liabilities over time.

 

b. difference between annual tax revenues and government expenditure.

 

c. accumulation of Federal budget surpluses and deficits over time.

 

d. accumulation of payments for goods and services purchased by Federal government over time.

 

Q34. A budget philosophy that tends to be procyclical is:

a. functional finance or discretionary fiscal policy.

 

b. built-in stabilizers.

 

c. a cyclically balanced budget.

 

d. an annually balanced budget.

 

Q35. A rise in the international value of the dollar will tend to:

a. increase exports and reduce imports.

 

b. increase exports and increase imports.

 

c. reduce exports and reduce imports.

 

d. reduce exports and increase imports.

 

Q36. Suppose the need to finance large budget deficits increases interest rate in the United States. In the diagram FC is foreign currency. This would most likely:

a. increase the foreign demand for dollars to buy American securities and lower the price of the dollar.

 

b. increase the foreign demand for dollars to buy American securities and raise the price of the dollar.

 

c. decrease the foreign demand for dollars to buy American securities and lower the price of the dollar.

 

d. decrease the supply of dollars to foreign nations to purchase their securities and lower the price of the dollar.

 

Q37. Which set of events would increase the quantity of money demanded the most?

a. the interest rate increases and nominal GNP increases

 

b. the interest rate increases and nominal GNP decreases

 

c. the interest rate decreases and nominal GNP decreases

 

d. the interest rate decreases and nominal GNP increases

 

Q38. If an American can purchase 40,000 pounds for $ 240,000, the dollar rate of exchange for the pound is one pound equal to:

a. $.60.

 

b. $4.00.

 

c. $1.20.

 

d. $6.00.

 

Q39. Suppose that Romulous and the Klingon Empire are the only two planets in the Alpha Quandrant. The following represents the international accounts for Romulous:

Exports...................................................241

 

Imports...................................................153

 

Military spending by Romulous in the Klingon Empire....... 3

 

Foreign investment by Romulous in the Klingon Empire...... 35

 

Klingon investment in Romulous............................ 14

From these numbers you would conclude that the balance of payments of:

a. Romulous is in deficit.

 

b. the Klingon Empire is in deficit.

 

c. both countries are in balance.

 

d. the Klingon Empire is in surplus.

 

e. a and d are true.

 

Q40. If exchange rates are market determined and the U.S. inflation rate begins to grow faster than the rates for other economies, then:

a. the dollar is likely to appreciate.

 

b. the dollar is likely to depreciate.

 

c. the U.S. is likely to have a larger deficit on her balance of payments.

 

d. the U.S. is likely to have a smaller deficit on her balance of payments.

 

Q41. With which type of inflation do you get the short-run Phillips Curve trade-off between inflation and unemployment?

a. cost-push inflation.

 

b. structural inflation.

 

c. price-push inflation.

 

d. demand-pull inflation.

 

Q42. Which of the following would provide a supply of dollars:

a. French demand for California wines

 

b. Russian purchases of U.S. grain

 

c. Saudi purchases of U.S. banks

 

d. U.S. demand for Honda's

 

e. Japanese investments in VW plants

 

Q43. Suppose the total reserves available to the banking sector (monetary base) are 120 billion, r = 1/10, and banks hold no excess reserves. If the Fed changes r to 1/16, what is the change in the money supply:

a. -$480 billion.

 

b. +$480 billion.

 

c. $1200 billion.

 

d. $720 billion.

 

e. none of the above.

 

Q44. What is the official unit of account between government central banks and the IMF?

a. U.S. dollars.

 

b. high powered money.

 

c. gold.

 

d. special drawing rights.

 

Q45. Which of the following is true of business cycles?

a. Investment is the most volatile component of GNP.

 

b. Innovations can contribute to business cycles.

 

c. The business cycle is influenced by political cycles.

 

d. All of the above statements are true.

 

Q46. Which of the following is not a factor of production?

a. money

 

b. land

 

c. labor

 

d. capital

 

Q47. The national income of households consists of the sum of:

a. wages plus rents plus business interest plus profits.

 

b. consumption expenditures plus costs of resources.

 

c. wages plus salaries.

 

d. consumption plus investment plus government spending on goods and services plus exports minus imports.

 

Q48. In the simple circular flow model:

a. households are suppliers of resources and demanders of products.

 

b. households are suppliers of products and demanders of resources.

 

c. businesses are suppliers of resources and demanders of products.

 

d. businesses are suppliers of both resources and products.

 

Q49. An unanticipated increase in inflation tends to penalize:

a. people who save money in financial institutions.

 

b. individuals who borrow money from financial institutions.

 

c. businesses which borrow money from financial institutions.

 

d. governments which have a progressive personal income tax.

 

Q50. NATIONAL-INCOME DATA-INCOME
( in billion of dollars)

_________________________________________________________

 

WAGES AND SALARIES ------------------------------------ 141

 

INDIRECT BUSINESS TAXES -------------------------------- 32

 

CAPITAL CONSUMPTION ALLOWANCE ------------------ 16

 

RENT ------------------------------------------------------------ 8

 

PROFITS ( GROSS ) ------------------------------------------- 70

 

TRANSFER PAYMENTS -------------------------------------- 28

 

INTEREST ( BUSINESS ) --------------------------------------- 4

 

UNDISTRIBUTED CORPORATE PROFITS ------------------ 13

 

PERSONAL TAXES ------------------------------------------- 25

 

SOCIAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONS ---------------------- 9

 

CORPORATE INCOME TAXES ------------------------------ 14


________________________________________________________

From the above table, what is the Gross National Product?

a. $271

 

b. $279

 

c. $307

 

d. $368

 

e. over $368


 

Last updated August 8, 2011.

Mineral and Energy Economcs Program, Colorado School of Mines, USA