曼昆经济学原理复习资料整理(共11页).doc

《曼昆经济学原理复习资料整理(共11页).doc》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《曼昆经济学原理复习资料整理(共11页).doc（11页珍藏版）》请在淘文阁 - 分享文档赚钱的网站上搜索。

1、精选优质文档-倾情为你奉上1Q4Why should policy makers think about incentives?Policymakers need to think about incentives so they can understand how people will respond to the policies they put in place. The texts example of seat belts shows that policy actions can have quite unintended consequences. If incentive

2、s matter a lot, they may lead to a very different type of policy; for example, some economists have suggested putting knives in steering columns so that people will drive much more carefully! While this suggestion is silly, it highlights the importance of incentives.Q6what does the invisible hand of

3、 the marketplace do?The invisible hand of the marketplace represents the idea that even though individuals and firms are all acting in their own self-interest, prices and the marketplace guide them to do what is good for society as a whole.2Q1How is economics like a science?Economics is like a scien

4、ce because economists use the scientific method. They devise theories, collect data, and then analyze these data in an attempt to verify or refute their theories about how the world works. Economists use theory and observation like other scientists, but they are limited in their ability to run contr

5、olled experiments. Instead, they must rely on natural experiments.Q5 Use a production possibilities frontier to describe the idea of “efficiency”?The idea of efficiency is that an outcome is efficient if the economy is getting all it can from the scarce resources it has available. In terms of the pr

6、oduction possibilities frontier, an efficient point is a point on the frontier, such as point A in Figure 4. A point inside the frontier, such as point B, is inefficient since more of one good could be produced without reducing the production of another good.Q7What is the difference between a positi

7、ve and a normative statement? Give an example of that.Positive statements are descriptive and make a claim about how the world is, while normative statements are prescriptive and make a claim about how the world ought to be. Here is an example. Positive: A rapid growth rate of money is the cause of

8、inflation. Normative: The government should keep the growth rate of money low.3Q1 Explain how absolute advantage and comparative advantage differ.Absolute advantage reflects a comparison of the productivity of one person, firm, or nation to that of another, while comparative advantage is based on th

9、e relative opportunity costs of the persons, firms, or nations. While a person, firm, or nation may have an absolute advantage in producing every good, they cant have a comparative advantage in every good.Q4Will a nation tend to export or import goods to Question2.A nation will export goods for whic

10、h it has a comparative advantage because it has a smaller opportunity cost of producing those goods. As a result, citizens of all nations are able to consume quantities of goods that are outside their production possibilities frontiers.4Q5Propeyes income declines, and as a result, he buys more spina

11、ch. Is spinach an inferior or a normal goods? What happens to Popeyes demand curve for spinach?Since Popeye buys more spinach when his income falls, spinach is an inferior good for him. Since he buys more spinach, but the price of spinach is unchanged, his demand curve for spinach shifts out as a re

12、sult of the decrease in his income.Q8 Dose a change in producers technology lead to a movement along the supply curve? Does a change in price lead to a movement along the supply curve or a shift in the supply curve? A change in producers technology leads to a shift in the supply curve. A change in p

13、rice leads to a movement along the supply curve.Q9 Define the equilibrium of a market. Describe the forces that move a market towards its equilibrium.The equilibrium of a market is the point at which the quantity demanded is equal to quantity supplied. If the price is above the equilibrium price, se

14、llers want to sell more than buyers want to buy, so there is a surplus. Sellers try to increase their sales by cutting prices. That continues until they reach the equilibrium price. If the price is below the equilibrium price, buyers want to buy more than sellers want to sell, so there is a shortage

15、. Sellers can raise their price without losing customers. That continues until they reach the equilibrium price.Q11 Describe the role of prices in market economies.Prices play a vital role in market economies because they bring markets into equilibrium. If the price is different from its equilibrium

16、 level, quantity supplied and quantity demanded are not equal. The resulting surplus or shortage leads suppliers to adjust the price until equilibrium is restored. Prices thus serve as signals that guide economic decisions and allocate scarce resources.5Q2 List and explain the four determinants of t

17、he price elasticity of demand discussed in the chapter.The determinants of the price elasticity of demand include how available close substitutes are, whether the good is a necessity or a luxury, how broadly defined the market is, and the time horizon. Luxury goods have greater price elastic ties th

18、an necessities, goods with close substitutes have greater elastic ties, goods in more narrowly defined markets have greater elastic ties, and the elasticity of demand is higher the longer the time horizon.Q4 On a supply-and-demand diagram, show equilibrium price, equilibrium quantity, and the total

19、revenue received by producers.Figure 1 presents a supply-and-demand diagram, showing equilibrium price, equilibrium quantity, and the total revenue received by producers. Total revenue equals the equilibrium price times the equilibrium quantity, which is the area of the rectangle shown in the figure

20、.Figure 16Q2Which causes a shortage of a gooda price ceiling or a price floor? Which causes a surplus?A shortage of a good arises when there is a binding price ceiling. A surplus of a good arises when there is a binding price floor.Q6How does a tax on a good affect the price paid by buyers, and the

21、quantity sold?A tax on a good raises the price buyers pay, lowers the price sellers receive, and reduces the quantity sold.Q7What determines how the burden of a tax is divided between buyers and sellers? Why? The burden of a tax is divided between buyers and sellers depending on the elasticity of de

22、mand and supply. Elasticity represents the willingness of buyers or sellers to leave the market, which in turns depends on their alternatives. When a good is taxed, the side of the market with fewer good alternatives cannot easily leave the market and thus bears more of the burden of the tax.7Q1Expl

23、ain how buyers willingness to pay, consumer surplus, and the demand curve are related. Buyers willingness to pay, consumer surplus, and the demand curve are all closely related. The height of the demand curve represents the willingness to pay of the buyers. Consumer surplus is the area below the dem

24、and curve and above the price, which equals each buyers willingness to pay less the price of the good.Q2 Explain how sellers costs, producers surplus, and the supply curve are related.Sellers costs, producer surplus, and the supply curve are all closely related. The height of the supply curve repres

25、ents the costs of the sellers. Producer surplus is the area below the price and above the supply curve, which equals the price minus each sellers costs.Figure 413Q2 Give an example of an opportunity cost that accountant might not count as a cost. Why would the accountant ignore the cost?An accountan

26、t would not count the owners opportunity cost of alternative employment as an accounting cost. An example is given in the text in which Helen runs a cookie business, but she could instead work as a computer programmer. Because shes working in her cookie factory, she gives up the opportunity to earn

27、$100 per hour as a computer programmer. The accountant ignores this opportunity cost because no money flow occurs. But the cost is relevant to Helens decision to run the cookie factory.Q3What is marginal product, and what does it means if it is diminishing?Marginal product is the increase in output

28、that arises from an additional unit of input. Diminishing marginal product means that the marginal product of an input declines as the quantity of the input increases.Q8Defind economies of scale and explain why they might arise. Define diseconomies of scale and explain why then might arise.Economies

29、 of scale exist when long-run average total cost falls as the quantity of output increases, which occurs because of specialization among workers. Diseconomies of scale exist when long-run average total cost rises as the quantity of output increases, which occurs because of coordination problems inhe

30、rent in a large organization.14Q2Draw the cost curves for a typical firm. For a given price, explain how the firm chooses the level of output that maximizes profit. Figure 2 shows the cost curves for a typical firm. For a given price (such as P*), the level of output that maximizes profit is the out

31、put where marginal cost equals price (Q*), as long as price is greater than average variable cost at that point (in the short run), or greater than average total cost (in the long run).Figure 2Q6 Does a firms price equal marginal cost in the short run, in the long run, or both? Explain.The firms pri

32、ce equals the minimum of average total cost only in the long run. In the short run, price may be greater than average total cost, in which case the firm is making profits, or price may be less than average total cost, in which case the firm is making losses. But the situation is different in the lon

33、g run. If firms are making profits, other firms will enter the industry, which will lower the price of the good. If firms are making losses, they will exit the industry, which will raise the price of the good. Entry or exit continues until firms are making neither profits nor losses. At that point,

34、price equals average total cost.15Q3Why is monopolists marginal revenue less than the price of its goods? Can marginal revenue be negative? Explain. A monopolists marginal revenue is less than the price of its product because: (1) its demand curve is the market demand curve, so (2) to increase the a

35、mount sold, the monopolist must lower the price of its good for every unit it sells. (3) This cut in prices reduces revenue on the units it was already selling.A monopolists marginal revenue can be negative because to get purchasers to buy an additional unit of the good, the firm must reduce its pri

36、ce on all units of the good. The fact that it sells a greater quantity increases revenue, but the decline in price decreases revenue. The overall effect depends on the elasticity of the demand curve. If the demand curve is inelastic, marginal revenue will be negative.Q4 Draw the demand, marginal-rev

37、enue, and marginal-cost curve for a monopolist. Show the profit-maximizing level of output. Show the profit-maximizing price.Figure 1 shows the demand, marginal-revenue, and marginal-cost curves for a monopolist. The intersection of the marginal-revenue and marginal-cost curves determines the profit

38、-maximizing level of output, Qm. The demand curve then shows the profit-maximizing price, Pm.Figure 116Q1If a group of sellers could form a cartel, what quantity and price would they try to set?If a group of sellers could form a cartel, they would try to set quantity and price like a monopolist. The

39、y would set quantity at the point where marginal revenue equals marginal cost, and set price at the corresponding point on the demand curve.Q5What is the prisoners dilemma and what does it have to do with oligopoly?The prisoners dilemma is a game between two people or firms that illustrates why it i

40、s difficult for opponents to cooperate even when cooperation would make them all better off. Each person or firm has a great incentive to cheat on any cooperative agreement to make himself or itself better off.17Q2 Draw a diagram of the long-run equilibrium in a monopolistically competitive market.

41、How is price related to average total cost? How is price related to marginal cost?In Figure 2, a firm has demand curve D1 and marginal-revenue curve MR1. The firm is making profits because at quantity Q1, price (P1) is above average total cost (ATC). Those profits induce other firms to enter the ind

42、ustry, causing the demand curve to shift to D2 and the marginal-revenue curve to shift to MR2. The result is a decline in quantity to Q2, at which point the price (P2) equals average total cost (ATC), so profits are now zero.Figure 223Q1 Explain why an economys income must equal its expenditure.An e

43、conomys income must equal its expenditure, since every transaction has a buyer and a seller. Thus, expenditure by buyers must equal income by sellers.24Q2 Describe the three problems that make the consumer price index an imperfect measure of the cost of living.The three problems in the consumer pric

44、e index as a measure of the cost of living are: (1) substitution bias, which arises because people substitute toward goods that have become relatively less expensive; (2) the introduction of new goods, which are not reflected quickly in the CPI; and (3) unmeasured quality change.25Q2List and describ

45、e four determinants of productivity.The four determinants of productivity are: (1) physical capital, which is the stock of equipment and structures that are used to produce goods and services; (2) human capital, which consists of the knowledge and skills that workers acquire through education, train

46、ing, and experience; (3) natural resources, which are inputs into production that are provided by nature; and (4) technological knowledge, which is societys understanding of the best ways to produce goods and services.Questions are chosen from problems and applications.Chapter 1: Q9 By specializing

47、in each task, you and your roommate can finish the chores more quickly. If you divided each task equally, it would take you more time to cook than it would take your roommate, and it would take him more time to clean than it would take you. By specializing, you reduce the total time spent on chores.

48、Similarly, countries can specialize and trade, making both better off. For example, suppose it takes Spanish workers less time to make clothes than French workers, and French workers can make wine more efficiently than Spanish workers. Then Spain and France can both benefit if Spanish workers produc

49、e all the clothes and French workers produce all the wine, and they exchange some wine for some clothes.Chapter 2: Q2 a.Figure 6 shows a production possibilities frontier between guns and butter. It is bowed out because when most of the economys resources are being used to produce butter, the frontier is steep and whe