APMac: Problem Set #1

Directions: Using all prior information discussed in class, content from the text, & video from VOD/Khan Academy, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

Due Date: Wed. Dec. 5, 2012 (No Exceptions!)

Weight: Test Grade

1.Darryl can read 20 pages of economics in an hour. He can also read 50 pages of sociology in an hour. He spends five hours per day studying.

  1. Draw Darryl’s PPC.
  2. What is Darryl’s opportunity cost of reading 100 pages of sociology?

2.American and Japanese workers can each produce four cars a year. An American worker can produce ten tons of grain a year, whereas a Japanese worker can produce five tons of grain a year. To keep things simple, assume that each country has 100 million workers.

  1. Graph the PPC of the American and Japanese economies. (separate)
  2. For the US, what is the opportunity cost of a car? Of grain? For Japan, what is the opportunity cost of a car? Of grain?
  3. Which country has an absolute advantage in producing cars? In producing grain?
  4. Which country has the comparative advantage in producing cars? In producing grain?
  5. Without trade, half of each country’s workers produce cars and half produce grain. What quantities of cars and grain does each country produce?
  6. Starting from a position without grade, given an example in which trade makes each country better off.

3.England and Scotland both produce scones and sweaters. Suppose thatan English workers can produce 50 scones per hour of one sweater per hour. Suppose that a Scottish worker can produce 40 scones per hour or two sweaters per hour.

  1. Which country has the absolute advantage in the production of each good? Which country has the comparative advantage in producing each good?
  2. If England and Scotland decide to trade, which commodity will Scotland trade to England & how much would be traded in order to be considered beneficial to both countries? Explain.
  3. If a Scottish worker could produce only one sweater per hour, would Scotland still gain from trade? Would England still gain from trade? Explain.

4.Explain each of the following statements using supply & demand graphs.

  1. “When a cold snap hits Florida, the price of orange juice rises in supermarkets throughout the country”
  2. “When the weather turns warm in New England every summer, the price of hotel rooms in Caribbean resorts plummets.”
  3. “When war break out in the Middle East, the price of gasoline rises, and the price of a used Cadillac falls.”

5.Consider the market for minivans. For each of the events listed below, identify which of the determinants of demand or supply are affected. Also indicate whether supply or demand increases or decreases. Then draw a diagram to show the effect on the price and quantity of minivans.

  1. People decide to have more children.
  2. A strike by steelworkers raises steel prices.
  3. Engineers develop new automated machinery for the production of minivans.
  4. The price of sports utility vehicles rises.
  5. A stock market crash lowers people’s wealth.

6.Consider these two statements from ‘In the News”:

  1. “Political unrest overseas threatens to disrupt the supply of America’s sweetest temptations.”
  2. “As the price goes up, farmers have motivation to do anything they can to get their product to market.”

Graph both scenarios on separate supply graphs. Which of these statements refers to a movement along the supply curve? Which refers to a shift in the supply curve? Explain your answers.

7.Because bagels and cream cheese are often eaten together, they are complements.

  1. We observe that both the equilibrium price of cream cheese and the equilibrium quantity of bagels has risen. What could be responsible for this pattern – a fall in the price of flour or a fall in the price of milk? Illustrate and explain your answer.
  2. Suppose instead that the equilibrium price of cream cheese had risen but the equilibrium quantity of bagels has fallen. What could be responsible for this pattern – a rise in the price of flour or a rise in the price of milk? Illustrate and explain your answer.

8.Beachfront resorts have an inelastic supply and automobiles have an elastic supply. Suppose that a rise in population doubles the demand for both products (that is, the QD at each price in twice what it was).

  1. What happens to the EP & EQ in each market?
  2. Which product experiences a larger change in price?
  3. Which produce experiences a larger change in quantity?
  4. What happens to the total consumer spending on each product?

9.The New York Times reported that subway ridership declined after a fare increase: “There were nearly four million fewer riders in December 1995, the first full month after the price of a token increase 25 cents to $1.50, than in the previous December, a 4.3% decline.”

  1. Use these data to estimate the price elasticity of demand for subway rides.
  2. According to your estimate, what happens to the Transit Authority’s revenue when the fare rises?

10.Pharmaceutical drugs have an inelastic demand and computers have an elastic demand. Suppose that technological advance doubles the supply of both products (that is, the QS at each price is twice what it was).

  1. What happens to the EP & EQ in each market?
  2. Which product experiences the larger change in price?
  3. Which product experiences the greater change in quantity?

11.Consider public policy aimed at smoking:

  1. Studies indicate that the price elastic of demand for cigarettes is about .4. If a pack of cigarettes currently costs $2 and the government wants to reduce smoking by 20%, by how much should it increase the price?
  2. If the government permanently increases the price of cigarettes, will the policy have a larger effect on smoking one year from now or five years from now?
  3. Studies also find that teenagers have a higher price elasticity than adults. Why might this be true?

12.The government has decided that the free market price of cheese is too low.

  1. Suppose the government imposes a binding price floor in the cheese market. Draw a supply and demand diagram to show the effect of this policy on the price of cheese and the quantity of cheese sold. Is there a shortage or a surplus?
  2. Farmers complain that the price floor has reduced their total revenue. Is this possible? Explain.
  3. In response to farmers’ complaints, the government agrees to purchase all of the surplus cheese at the price floor. Compared to the basic price floor, who benefits from this new policy? Who loses?

13.Congress and the President decide that the United States should reduce air pollution by reducing its use of gasoline. They impose a $.50 tax for each gallon of gas.

  1. Should they impose this tax on producers or consumers? Explain carefully using a supply and demand graph.
  2. If the demand for gasoline were more elastic, would this tax be more effective or less effective in reducing the quantity of gasoline consumed? Explain.
  3. Are consumers of gasoline helped or hurt by this tax? Why?
  4. Are workers in the oil industry hurt by this tax? Why?

14.A farmer sells wheat to a baker for $2. The baker uses the wheat to make bread, which is sold for $3. What is the total contributed of these transactions to the GDP?

15.In the year 2005, the economy produces 100 loaves of bread that sell for $2 each. In the year 2006, the economy produces 200 loaves of bread that sell for $3 each. Calculate nominal GDP, real GDP, and the GDP deflator for each year. (Use 2005 as the base year). By what percentage does each of these three statistics rise from year one to the next?

16.Consider the following data on US GDP:

Year / Price of Milk / Quantity of Milk (qts) / Price of Honey / Quantity of Honey (qts)
2005 / $1 / 100 / $2 / 50
2006 / $2 / 200 / $2 / 100
2007 / $3 / 300 / $4 / 100
  1. Compute nominal GDP, real GDP, and the GDP deflator for each year.
  2. Compute the percentage change in nominal GDP, real GDP, and the GDP deflator in 2006 and 2007 from the preceding year. For each year, identify the variable that does not change. Explain.
  3. Did economic well being rise more in 2006 or in 2007? Explain.

17.Beginning in 1994, environmental regulations have required that gasoline contain a new additive to reduce air pollution. This requirement raised the cost of gasoline. The Bureau of Labor Statistics decided that this increase in cost represented an improvement in quality.

  1. Given this decision, did the increased cost of gasoline raise the CPI?
  2. What is the argument in favor of the BLS’s decision? What is argument for a different decision?

18.Consider the following information for a country:

Number of employed individuals: 300,000

Number of unemployed individuals: 75,000

Number of unemployed individuals outside the labor force: 650,000

  1. Calculate the size of labor force.
  2. Calculate the unemployment rate.
  3. Calculate the labor force participation rate.