CH13 QB The economic environment of business and finance Flashcards
Anu manufactures pieces of classic furniture. Anu predicts that “if people’s incomes rise
next year, then the demand for my furniture will increase”.
The accuracy of Anu’s prediction depends on whether the pieces of furniture he produces:
A are normal goods
B have few substitutes
C have many complements
D have few complements
A With normal goods, a rise in incomes will be accompanied by a rise in demand for
them as opposed to a fall in demand for inferior goods. The existence of complements
and substitutes have no effect in this context.
A market trader has noticed that when the price of cakes rises, consumers tend to buy more
biscuits instead. The effect operating here is:
A the income effect
B the diminishing marginal utility effect
C the substitution effect
D the price elasticity of demand
C The effect of a price rise in one good is to make the prices of other goods relatively
cheaper. The resultant shift in demand towards the relatively cheaper goods is an
example of the substitution effect.
Potatoes are a Giffen good. An increase in the price of potatoes will cause:
A an increase in demand for potatoes
B a decrease in demand for substitutes for potatoes
C a decrease in demand for potatoes
D an increase in demand for substitutes for potatoes
A If potatoes are a Giffen good, then an increase in the price of potatoes will cause an
increase in demand for potatoes.
Which of the following are examples of complementary goods? A Milk and orange juice B Pepsi and Coca-Cola C French fries and tomato sauce D Lamb and beef
C Complements are goods that tend to be bought and used together, so that an increase
in demand for one is likely to cause an increase in demand for the other. Options A, B
and D are substitutes rather than complements.
Y is a complement of X in consumption. An increase in the price of Y will:
A increase the demand for Y and decrease the demand for X
B decrease the demand for Y and increase the demand for Y
C increase the demand for both Y and X
D decrease the demand for both Y and X
D If X is a complement of Y then they tend to be consumed together, so if demand for Y
falls as a result of the increase in its price then demand for X will also fall.
A brand of cheese is an inferior good. A consultant has made two statements about the
cheese.
Statement (1) Demand for the cheese will rise as incomes rise.
Statement (2) Demand for the cheese only exists because of the effects of advertising.
Identify whether each statement is true or false.
A Statement (1) true; Statement (2) false
B Statement (1) false; Statement (2) false
C Statement (1) true; Statement (2) true
D Statement (1) false; Statement (2) true
B Both statements are false. Demand for an inferior good will fall with rises in income as
consumers shift to better quality goods that they can now afford with their higher
incomes. Demand for the inferior product could exist because of its price and the level
of incomes, not just because of advertising.
Redium is a normal good which has become increasingly unfashionable during the past
year. What changes to supply, demand and market price will this change in tastes have
created?
A No impact on the demand curve, but a fall in market price and a fall in quantity supplied
B A shift in the demand curve to the right, a fall in market price and a fall in quantity
supplied
C A shift in the demand curve to the left, a fall in market price and a fall in quantity supplied
D No impact on the demand curve, no impact on the supply curve but a fall in market price
C A normal good which has become increasingly unfashionable will see its demand
curve shift to the left, a fall in market price and a fall in quantity supplied.
The market for a product is a natural monopoly. Production of the product must be
associated with:
A high marginal costs
B low marginal costs
C economies of scope acting as a barrier to entry
D low fixed costs
B With a natural monopoly, fixed costs will be high, marginal costs will be low (B) and
economies of scale (rather than scope) provide an effective barrier to entry.
Which of the following is an example of government intervention to correct a market
failure?
A An increase in corporation tax during an economic boom
B An increase in the rate of value added tax (VAT) on all goods and services
C The taxation of goods with negative externalities
D The taxation of Giffen goods
C Negative externalities (C) are an example of market failure because they represent
situations where the private costs of an activity differ from the social costs of the
activity. Economic booms (A) and Giffen goods (D) are not market failures. No market
failure is apparent in (B)
The cross elasticity of demand between the Terra product and the Nova product is zero. The two products are: A complements B substitutes C veblen goods D unrelated
D Zero cross-elasticity means the goods are unrelated.
The price of Yellands has fallen by 4%. Over the same period demand for Dellows, where
there has been no price change, has risen by 6.5%. The cross elasticity of demand between
the two products is:
A –1.625
B –0.620
C 1.625
D 0.620
A +0.065/–0.04 = –1.625
The UK government has recently imposed a maximum price on Pratex which is set at a
lower level than its equilibrium price. In future, therefore, it can be expected that there will
be:
A excess supply of the product
B excess demand for the product
C no effect on supply but an increase in demand
D no effect on demand but a decrease in supply
B A price below the market equilibrium price will attract demand but deter suppliers.
An analyst with Lanes plc has drawn a supply curve for one of the company’s major
products, the Ledo. The curve is a vertical straight line. This indicates that supply of the
Ledo is:
A perfectly inelastic
B of unitary elasticity
C perfectly elastic
D one
A A vertical straight line implies that the supply of the Ledo is fixed whatever price is
offered.
There has been a significant rise in factor costs for the Tempo product during recent
months. It can be expected that there will be:
A a contraction in demand and supply
B an expansion in demand and supply
C a contraction in demand and an expansion in supply
D an expansion in demand and a contraction in supply
A When factor costs rise demand contracts (moves along the demand curve) since the
price goes up, and the supply curve shifts to the left (contracts)
In the market for the Optica product competitors do not compete through price. Instead
they spend substantial sums of money on raising consumer awareness through advertising.
There is some differentiation between products, often achieved through branding. There
are many buyers and sellers in the market for the product. The market for the Optica
product is characterised as:
A monopolistic competition
B oligopoly
C perfect competition
D monopol
A The key differentiator here is the large number of competing sellers. The earlier issues
identified in the question are shared by both monopolistic competition and oligopoly,
but it is the large number of sellers in the market that defines this market specifically as
monopolistic competition. SAMPLE PAPER
Which three of the following are associated with conditions of perfect competition?
A Suppliers are price-makers
B Suppliers earn ‘normal’ profits
C Consumers lack influence over market price
D Differentiated products
E A single selling price
B,C,E
Suppliers are price-takers meaning that they can sell as much as they supply but only if
they sell at the market-determined equilibrium price (E). Differentiated products (D) are
a market imperfection creating imperfect rather than perfect competition
Gromet plc has been able to achieve significant external economies of scale. This indicates
that the market for the company’s only product has been:
A static, so forcing the company to achieve economies of scale in production
B growing, so enabling the economies of scale to be achieved
C contracting, so enabling the company to cut costs in distribution
D volatile, meaning that internal economies of scale were unattainable
B External economies of scale arise by virtue of the market for the product growing,
enabling greater levels of business across which to spread the company’s costs.
If the price of a particular product is £9.00 per unit, on average 150 units of the product are
sold per month. At a price of £10.00 per unit, on average 110 units per month are sold. The
price elasticity of demand for the product is:
A –0.42
B –2.40
C –0.27
D –0.11
B Proportional change in quantity demanded = 40/150 100 = –26.6%
Proportional change in price = 1/9 100 = 11.1%
PED = –26.6/11.1 = –2.40
The minimum price for a good is set by the government above the current free market
equilibrium price. What will be the effect (if any) on demand for and supply of the good in
the short term?
A Demand for the good will fall; supply of the good will rise
B Demand for the good will rise; supply of the good will fall
C Both demand for and supply of the good will rise
D There will be no effect on either demand for or supply of the good
A Suppliers will be encouraged to supply at that price so supply will increase, whilst at a
price above the market equilibrium price demand will fall.
Bench Ltd produces chairs. An economist predicts that, if average incomes rise next year,
demand for the chairs will increase in direct proportion to the rise in incomes (assuming all
other factors remain unchanged). The accuracy of the economist’s prediction depends on
whether the chairs:
A are normal goods
B have many complementary goods
C have few complementary goods
D have few substitutes
A With normal goods, if incomes rise demand for the product will rise and this will be the
case regardless of the existence of either substitutes or complements. SAMPLE PAPER
The basic economic problem facing all national economies is: A maximising economic growth B unemployment C inflation D allocating scarce resources
D The basic economic problem is one of allocating scarce resources and economics is
the study of how those scarce resources are or should be used.
Which of the following is regarded by economists as a factor of production? A Demand B Enterprise C Supply D Innovation
B Enterprise is one of the four factors of production, along with labour (including
management), land and capital.
Which of the following is a source of economies of scale?
A The introduction of a new product
B Bulk buying
C The use of skills in production
D Cost savings resulting from new production techniques
B The ability to obtain discounts because of the size of orders (bulk buying, B) is a direct
result of larger scale operations. Technical improvements (D) could apply at any scale
of operations, as well as the employment of skills (C) and the introduction of a new
product (A).
The marginal propensity to consume measures:
A the relationship between changes in consumption and changes in consumer utility
B the proportion of household incomes spent on consumer goods
C the proportion of total national income spent on consumer goods
D the relationship between changes in income and changes in consumption
D The relationship between changes in income and changes in consumption.