Basic Economic Concepts unit test
A test on this unit alone, marked as a percentage and a letter grade — for the test your class is actually sitting, rather than for May. Answer everything, then submit once: seeing the answer to question 3 before attempting question 4 makes the final percentage meaningless.
The marginal decision rule
Terms of trade
Opportunity cost
Ceteris paribus
Leakages and injections
Why economics uses models
Positive vs normative statements
The three questions every system answers
Terms of trade range
What prices do, precisely
Substitution vs income effect
Gains from trade
Short answer 1. Define or explain: Growth versus efficiency
3 ptsShort answer 2. Define or explain: A straight-line PPC
3 ptsShort answer 3. Define or explain: Scarcity
3 ptsShort answer 4. Define or explain: Factors of production
3 ptsFree response
7 ptsTwo countries, Norland and Sudland, each have the same fixed quantity of resources. With all its resources Norland can produce 40 tons of grain or 20 tractors; Sudland can produce 30 tons of grain or 30 tractors. (a) Calculate Norland's opportunity cost of one tractor and identify which country has the comparative advantage in tractors. Show your work. (b) Identify the range of terms of trade, in tons of grain per tractor, that both countries would accept. Explain why terms outside that range would be rejected. (c) Sudland has an absolute advantage in tractors. Explain why absolute advantage does not determine whether trade is mutually beneficial. (d) Norland develops a technology that doubles its grain output per resource but leaves tractor output unchanged. State whether Norland's comparative advantage changes and justify your answer with a calculation.
Calculate Norland's opportunity cost of one tractor and identify the comparative advantage in tractors.
Identify the range of mutually acceptable terms of trade and explain why terms outside it are rejected.
Explain why absolute advantage does not determine whether trade is mutually beneficial.
State whether Norland's comparative advantage changes after the grain technology improvement, with a calculation.