| Question | Answer |
| Welfare economics is the study of
the well-being of less fortunate people. | False |
| With respect to welfare economics,
the equilibrium price of a product is
considered to be the best price because it
maximizes total revenue to firms and total
utility to buyers. | False |
| Willingness to pay measures the
amount a buyer is willing to pay for a good
minus the amount the buyer actually pays
for it. | False |
| Consumer surplus is a buyer’s
willingness to pay minus the price. | True |
| A consumer’s willingness to pay
measures the cost of a good to the buyer | False |
| . If a consumer is willing and able to
pay $20.00 for a particular good but only
has to pay $14.00, the consumer surplus
is $6.00. | True |
| . Belva is willing to pay $65.00 for a
pair of shoes for a formal dance. She finds
a pair at her favorite outlet shoe store for
$48.00. Belva’s consumer surplus is $17. | True |
| Shannon buys a new CD player for
her car for $135. She receives consumer
surplus of $25 on her purchase. Her
willingness to pay is $25. | False |
| Janine would be willing to pay $50
to see Les Misérables, but buys a ticket
for only $30. Janine values the
performance at $20. | False |
| Amy buys a new dog for $150. She
receives consumer surplus of $100 on her
purchase. Her willingness to pay is $50. | False |
| If the price a consumer pays for a
product is equal to a consumer’s
willingness to pay, then the consumer
surplus of that purchase would be zero. | True |
| Suppose there is an early freeze in
California that ruins the lemon crop.
Consumer surplus in the market for
lemons decreases | True |
| If you pay a price exactly equal to
your willingness to pay, then your
consumer surplus is negative. | False |
| A demand curve measures a
buyer’s willingness to pay. | True |
| Consumer surplus equals the Value
to buyers – Amount paid by buyers. | True |
| The area below a demand curve
and above the price measures producer
surplus. | False |
| If the price of a good increases,
consumer surplus decreases. | True |
| When technology improves in the
ice cream industry, consumer surplus will
increase. | True |
| In most markets, consumer surplus
reflects economic well-being. | True |
| Out-of-pocket expenses plus the
value of the seller’s own resources used in
production are considered to be the
seller’s total revenue. | False |
| Cost is a measure of the seller’s
willingness to sell. | True |
| Cost refers to a seller’s producer
surplus. | False |
| A supply curve can be used to
measure producer surplus because it
reflects the actions of sellers. | False |
| . A seller would be willing to sell a
product ONLY IF the price received is less
than the cost of production. | False |
| Suppose the demand for nachos
increases. Producer surplus in the market
for nachos will increase. | True |
| If demand decreases, the price of a
product, as well as producer surplus,
increases. | False |
| The Surgeon General announces
that eating chocolate increases tooth
decay. As a result, the equilibrium market
price of chocolate increases, and producer
surplus increases. | False |
| Suppose consumer income
increases. If grass seed is a normal good,
the equilibrium price of grass seed will
decrease, and producer surplus in the
industry will decrease. | False |
| Producer surplus equals Value to
buyers – Amount paid by buyers. | False |
| Producer surplus is the area under
the supply curve to the left of the amount
sold. | False |
| The marginal seller is the seller
who cannot compete with the other sellers
in the market. | False |
| Producer surplus measures the
well-being of sellers. | True |
| Denea produces cookies. Her
production cost is $3 per dozen. She sells
the cookies for $8 per dozen. Her
producer surplus is $3 per dozen. | False |
| Donald produces nails at a cost of
$200 per ton. If he sells the nails for $500
per ton, his producer surplus is $200 per
ton. | False |
| If Roberta sells a shirt for $30, and
her producer surplus from the sale is $21,
her cost must have been $51. | False |
| . At Nick’s Bakery, the cost to make
his homemade chocolate cake is $3 per
cake. He sells three and receives a total of
$21 worth of producer surplus. Nick must
be selling his cakes for $2 each. | False |
| We can say that the allocation of
resources is efficient if producer surplus is
maximized. | False |
| total surplus = value to sellers –
costs of sellers is NOT correct. | True |
| Total surplus in a market is the total
costs to sellers of providing the goods less
the total value to buyers of the goods. | False |
| In a market, total surplus is equal to
producer surplus plus consumer surplus. | True |
| Total surplus in a market is
represented by the total area under the
demand curve and above the price. | False |
| At the equilibrium price, the good
will be purchased by those buyers who
value the good more than price. | True |
| Total surplus in a market equals
Value to buyers – Amount paid by buyers. | False |
| Total surplus in a market equals
Consumer surplus + Producer surplus. | True |
| . An allocation of resources is said to
be inefficient if a good is not being
produced by the sellers with the lowest
cost. | True |
| When economists say that markets
are efficient, they are assuming that
markets are perfectly competitive. | True |
| Efficiency occurs when total surplus
is maximized. | True |
| Inefficiency exists in any economy
when a good is not being consumed by
buyers who value it most highly | True |
| The “invisible hand” refers to the
marketplace guiding the self-interests of
market participants into promoting general
economic well-being. | True |
| Externalities are side effects
passed on to a party other than the buyers
and sellers in the market. | True |
| When markets fail, public policy can
do nothing to improve the situation. | False |
| If a market is allowed to move
freely to its equilibrium price and quantity,
then an increase in supply will increase
consumer surplus. | True |
| To analyze economic wellbeing in an
economy it is necessary to use demand
and supply | False |
| When a tax is levied on a good only
the quantity of the good sold will change. | False |
| A tax on a good raises the price
buyers pay and lowers the price sellers
receive. | True |
| When a good is taxed both buyers
and sellers are worse off. | True |
| A tax placed on a product causes the
price the buyer pays and the price the
seller receives to be higher. | False |
| Economic analysis uses consumer
and producer surplus to judge the effect of
taxes on economic welfare | True |
| A tax levied on the supplier of a
product shifts the supply curve upward
(or to the left). | True |
| A tax levied on the buyers of a
product shifts the supply curve upward
(or to the left). | False |
| If a tax is imposed on a market with
elastic demand and inelastic supply,
buyers will bear most of the burden of the
tax. | False |
| Suppose a tax is imposed on the
buyers of a product. The burden of the tax
will fall entirely on the buyers. | False |
| A tax imposed on a market with an
inelastic demand and an elastic supply
will cause sellers to pay the majority of the
tax. | False |
| When a tax is placed on the buyers of
orange juice, the size of the orange juice
market is reduced. | True |
| A tax imposed on gasoline, will have
buyers and sellers sharing the burden of
the tax. | True |
| The benefit received by buyers in the
market is measured by the demand curve. | False |
| The benefit received by the
government from a tax is measured by
deadweight loss. | False |
| Total tax revenue received by
government can be expressed as T/Q. | False |
| The benefit received by sellers in a
market is measured by the supply curve. | False |
| The benefit from a tax is measured by
the benefit received by those people who
gain from government’s expenditure of
the tax revenue. | True |
| Deadweight loss measures the loss in
a market to buyers and sellers that is not
offset by an increase in government
revenue. | True |
| The loss in total surplus resulting
from a tax is called a deficit. | False |
| Deadweight loss is the reduction in
total surplus that results from a tax. | True |
| A tax has a deadweight loss because
it induces the government to spend more. | False |
| Total surplus with a tax is equal to
consumer surplus and producer surplus. | False |
| Assume that the supply of gasoline
is relatively inelastic and the supply of
wheat is relatively elastic. A tax levied on
wheat will cause the loss of producer
surplus to be relatively large. | True |
| As the size of a tax increases the
deadweight loss from the tax declines | False |
| If the size of a tax increases, tax
revenue will increase. | False |
| The Laffer curve relates income tax
rates to total income taxes collected. | False |
| As the tax rate rises, tax revenue
rises for a while, but eventually begins to
fall; deadweight loss continually rises, this
is true for most markets | True |
| For the most part, all governments, federal,
state, and local, rely on taxes to raise revenue for
public purposes. | True |
| The term tax incidence refers to the Boston
Tea Party | False |
| The initial effect of a tax on the buyers of a
good is on the supply of that good. | False |
| If buyers are required to pay a $0.10 tax per
bag on Hershey’s kisses, the demand for kisses will
shift up by $0.10 per bag | False |
| A tax on the buyers of popcorn increases
the size of the popcorn market. | False |
| For the most part, buyers and sellers share
the burden of the tax. | True |
| When a tax is placed on the buyers of milk,
the size of the milk market is reduced. | True |
| If a tax is levied on the seller of a product
the demand curve will not change. | True |
| A tax placed on the seller of a product will
raise equilibrium price and lower equilibrium
quantity. | True |
| A tax placed on the seller of a good raises
the price buyers pay and lowers the price sellers
receive. | True |
| When a tax is placed on the sellers of a
product the size of the market is reduced | True |
| A tax on the sellers of cell phones will
reduce the size of the cell phone market. | True |
| A tax placed on the sellers of
blueberries increases costs, lowers profit and
shifts supply to the left (upward). | True |
| In the end, tax incidence depends on
the legislated burden. | False |
| If a tax is imposed on a market with
inelastic demand and elastic supply, buyers
will bear most of the burden of the tax. | True |
| Buyers of a product will pay the
majority of a tax placed on a product when
supply is more elastic than demand. | True |
| If a tax is imposed on a market with
elastic demand and inelastic supply, buyers
will bear most of the burden of the tax. | False |
| For the most part, a tax burden falls
most heavily on the side of the market that is
more inelastic. | True |
| The burden of a tax placed on a
product depends on the supply and demand
of that product. | True |
| Suppose that a tax is placed on
DVDs. If the seller ends up paying the
majority of the tax we know that the demand
curve is more inelastic than the supply curve | False |
| Suppose that a tax is placed on
books. If the buyer pays the majority of the tax
we know that the supply curve is more
inelastic than the demand curve | False |
| When analyzing the economic effects
of government policies, supply and demand
are useful tools of analysis. | True |