YOUR NAME Seat Initials ECO201: PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS FIRST MIDTERM EXAMINATION Prof. Bill Even March 6, 2017 FORM 4 Directions 1. Fill in your scantron with your unique-id and the form number listed on this page. Proper completion of this step of the directions is worth the equivalent of one question. 2. There are 37 questions. All answers should be recorded on the scantron sheet. No credit will be given for answers placed elsewhere. Record your answers on the exam as well because this will be the record of your answers which you can use to determine which questions you got right or wrong on the exam. 3. A calculator is allowed. Cell phones or any other electronic device are prohibited. Access to any electronic device other than a calculator will be treated as a case of academic dishonesty. 4. You have until the end of the class period to finish the exam and complete the scantron. Additional time may be purchased at a price of 5 percentage points per minute.
Page 2 1) With lower corn prices, we would expect the following: a. an increase in the supply of beans since beans are a substitute in production for corn b. an increase in the supply of beef since corn is an input in the production for corn-fed beef c. a decrease in the demand for beans since consumers consider beans and corn to be substitutes in consumption. d. all of the above 2) Over the past several years, there has been a sharp decline in the price of corn and an increase in the amount of corn produced and sold. Which of the following factors (by itself) could explain both lower prices and greater production? a. better corn seed that increases corn production per acre b. the federal ethanol mandate which drove up the need for corn to produce more ethanol c. a decrease in cattle production which reduced the need for corn to feed cattle. fish coconuts 3. Which of the following would cause the PPF to shift as illustrated in the diagram above? a. discovery of a better way to catch fish. b. discovery of a better way to gather coconuts c. more workers. d. each of the above would cause the PPF to shift as illustrated.
Page 3 To answer the next 4 questions, suppose there is a small island economy with 20 Redhawks (Miami University graduates) and 20 Bobcats (Ohio University graduates). Each Redhawk is capable of producing either 10 fish or 20 coconuts. Each Bobcat can produce either 5 fish or 15 coconuts. Both Redhawks and Bobcats can split their time across activities to produce a mix of coconuts or fish in a given day. 4) The comparative advantage in fish is held by the and the comparative advantage in coconuts is held by the. a. Redhawks; Bobcats b. Redhawks; Redhawks c. Bobcats; Redhawks d. Bobcats; Bobcats 5) If the economy is organized efficiently and produces 220 fish per day, what is the maximum amount of coconuts? a. 140 b. 240 c. 340 6. If the economy is organized efficiently and produces 220 fish per day, Redhawks will produce and Bobcats will produce. a. fish and coconuts; only fish b. only fish; fish and coconuts c. only fish; only coconuts d. only fish; only coconuts 7. If the economy is organized efficiently and produces 220 fish per day, what is the opportunity cost of an additional fish? a. ½ coconut b. 1/3 coconut c. 2 coconuts d. 3 coconuts
Page 4 8) Suppose that OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) makes a surprise announcement that it will cut oil production starting 3 months from today. This news should cause: a. oil prices to rise today as supply decreases and demand increases. b. oil prices to fall today as supply increases and demand decreases c. no change in oil prices today since the cut in oil production won t change supply or demand today. 9) Suppose that there is new information that leads everyone to believe that the price of titanium will be 20% lower one month from today. In today s titanium market, a. the equilibrium price should fall and the equilibrium quantity should fall. b. the equilbrium price should fall, but the equilibrium quantity could rise or fall. c. the equilibrium price could rise or fall, but the equilibrium quantity will fall. d. the equilibrium price could rise or fall, but the equilibrium quantity will rise. 10) Suppose that over the next year, the equilibrium price of platinum falls while its production rises. These two simultaneous changes could be caused by: a. an increase in the price of titanium since it is a substitute in consumption for platinum. b. an increase in the price of mining equipment that is used to mine titanium c. an increase in the demand for the minerals that are simultaneously extracted from the ground when platinum is mined 11) Which of the following statements is false? a. an increase in the price of a substitute in production will increase the demand for a good. b. a decrease in the price of a complement in production will increase the demand for a good. c. a decrease in the price of a complement in production will decrease supply of a good. d. a decrease in the price of a substitute in production will decrease supply of a good. 12) Suppose that beef is a luxury good in Viet Nam but a normal good in Ohio. Other things being the same, if incomes rise by 10% in both countries, we should expect that beef prices will a. rise more in Viet Nam because demand will increase more in Viet Nam. b. rise more in Viet Name because supply will increase more in Viet Nam. c. rise less in Viet Name because demand will increase less in Viet Nam. s. rise less in Viet Name because supply will increase less in Viet Nam.
Page 5 13) A recent study estimated that the elasticity of demand for residential water was 0.7. This implies that if the city raises the price of water by 10% it should expect water consumption would drop by and the total revenue from water sales will. a. 7 percent; drop 3 percent b. 3 percent; rise 7 percent c. 7 percent; rise 3 percent d. 3 percent; fall 3 percent 14) If a firm raises its price and its total revenue rises, we can conclude that: a. demand is inelastic b. demand is elastic c. supply is inelastic d. supply is elastic 15) Which of the following would make the supply of avocados more inelastic? a. a new technology that makes it easier to preserve avocados for longer periods of time. b. if the supply of farm labor that helps harvest avocados becomes more inelastic c. if the time period that avocado farmers have to respond to the price change is increased. 16) If the supply of avocados becomes more inelastic, an increase in demand will cause the equilibrium quantity to increase by a (smaller, larger) amount and the equilibrium price to rise by a (smaller, larger) amount. a. smaller; smaller b. smaller; larger c. larger; larger d. larger; smaller 17) If two commodities have a positive cross price elasticity of demand, this suggests that the products are: a. substitutes in production. b. complements in production c. substitutes in consumption d. complements in consumption. 18) Which of the following would make the demand for a product more inelastic? a. a population with higher incomes. b. fewer substitutes in consumption for the product c. a shorter length of time to adjust to a price change d. all of the above.
Page 6 To answer the next 3 questions, consider the hypothetical market for computer chips described in the diagram below. Price per computer chip (in $) 150 140 S 130 120 110 D 90 200 300 400 l Computer chips per day 19) With a price ceiling of $110 and assuming no search costs or black markets, there would be a deadweight loss of a. $1,000 b. $2,000 c. $3,000 20) Compared to the equilibrium price and assuming no search costs, a price ceiling of $110 would make producers a. worse off by $1,500 b. worse off by $2,000 c. better off by $1,500 21) Compared to the equilibrium price and assuming no search costs or black markets, a price ceiling of $110 would cause consumers to be a. better off by $1,500 b. better off by $2,000 c. worse off by $2000
Page 7 To answer the next 2 questions, consider the hypothetical market for computer chips described in the diagram below. Price per computer chip (in $) 150 140 S 130 120 110 D 90 200 300 400 l Computer chips per day 22) If there is a price ceiling set at $110 per chip, there will be a. a shortage of chips b. a shortage of 200 chips c. a surplus of chips 23) If the market is at the equilibrium price and quantity, consumers surplus will be and producers surplus will be. a. $4,500; $4,500 b. $3,000; $3,000 c. $36,000; $72,000 24). What is the price elasticity of demand for computer chips for the price range of $110 to $120? a. 0.3 b. 0.7 c. 1.3 d. 3.3
Page 8 To answer the next 3 questions, consider the hypothetical market for computer chips described in the diagram below. Price per computer chip (in $) 150 140 S 130 120 110 D 90 200 300 400 l Computer chips per day 25) If the production of computer chips increased from 200 to 300 per day, the total benefits of the extra computer chips to consumers would be: a. $10,000 b. $12,500 c. $15,000 26) If the production of computer chips increased from 200 to 300 per day, the total cost of the extra computer chips would be: a. $10,000 b. $12,500 c. $15,000 27) Suppose that for each computer chip manufactured, there is toxic waste produced that generates a negative externality of $20. With this information, we know that a. the social marginal benefit curve will be $20 above the demand curve and the market will produce less than the allocatively efficient number of chips. b. the social marginal benefit curve will be $20 above the demand curve and the market will produce more than the allocatively efficient number of chips. c. the social marginal cost curve will be $20 above the supply curve and the market will produce more than the allocatively efficient number of chips..
Page 9 28) In general, the producer s share of a tax is greater if demand is more (elastic, inelastic) or supply was more (elastic, inelastic). a. elastic; elastic b. elastic; inelastic c. inelastic; elastic d. inelastic inelastic 29) Which of the following is false? a. when there is a positive externality, social marginal benefit exceeds private marginal benefit. b. regardless of whether externalities exist, private marginal benefit equals demand c. regardless of whether externalities exist, private marginal cost equals supply d. if there is a positive externality, the market produces more than the allocatively efficient amount.
Page 10 To answer the next 3 questions, suppose that Cincinnati government imposes a tax of $20 on every hotel room sold in the city limits. The tax is levied on the hotel owner. Assume that the market for hotel rooms in Cincinnati before the tax is imposed is described in the diagram below. Price per room (in $) 105 S 95 90 85 80 D 75 500 0 1500 To examine the effect of the $20 tax, you should draw the new supply and/or demand curves on top of the diagram above. Be careful to account for the fact that the tax is $20 when determining where to draw the new curve. 30) If the $20 tax is imposed on the hotel owners, the price paid by consumers will and the price (net of the tax) received by producers will. a. rise $10; rise $10 b. rise $10; fall $10 c. rise $20; not change 31) The excess burden (deadweight loss) from the $20 tax is a. $0 b. $10,000 c. $20,000 2000 l rooms per day 32) How much tax revenue should the Cincinnati government. expect from the $20 room tax? a. less than $10,000 per day b. $10,000 per day. c. more than $10,000 per day, but less than $30,000 d. $30,000 per day. 33) In general, this room tax will generate a larger amount of tax revenue for the city if demand for rooms is more or if the supply of rooms is more. a. elastic; elastic b. elastic; inelastic c. inelastic; elastic d. inelastic; inelastic
Page 11 34) Prior to the entry of Uber and similar cab services, many cities limited the number of cabs that were allowed to operate in the city with a medallion system. This operated like a quota on the number of taxi cabs. Assuming that the quota is binding, when the limit on the number of cabs was imposed, it a. would definitely increase the producers surplus for cab drivers. b. would definitely decrease consumers surplus for the those who use cabs. c. both a and b d. neither a or b is true. 35) If the maximum number of cabs in a city is allowed to increase, the decline in the price of cab rides will be greater if consumers have (more, less) substitutes for cabs (like buses or the subway) since demand will be more (elastic, inelastic). a. more; elastic b. more; inelastic c. less; elastic d. less; inelastic
Page 12 To answer the next two questions, suppose that the market for wind turbines when no subsidy is provided are described by the supply and demand curves below. In an attempt to spur more green energy production, the federal government offers a subsidy of $4,000 to anyone who buys a wind turbine. Price per turbine (in 0s of $) 13 S 12 11 10 9 8 D 500 0 1500 2000 Turbines per year 36) The $4000 subsidy to the buyer will cause a. the price paid by the buyer (net of subsidy) to fall by less than $4,000 b. the price received by the seller to rise by less than $4,000 c. cost the government more than $4 million d. all of the above 37) If wind turbines create negative externalities for people whose properties are near the turbines, the subsidy a. will move the market further from the socially efficient level of output b. will move the market closer to the socially efficient level of output c. will move the market closer to the socially efficient level of output unless supply is elastic d. will move the market closer to the socially efficient level of output unless demand is elastic Be sure that your unique id and form number are properly filled in on your scantron. Your unique id should be used (e.g. smithjb), not your banner id (+0123456xx). This is worth the equivalent of one question.