Practice Questions 2-

I. True/False and Explain:

1. Recent issues with Mad Cow Disease caused a decline in amount of beef demanded.

2. The Law of Demand states that demand falls as price rises.

3. An increase in the price of an input will decrease the quantity supplied.

4. In a market economy consumers determine the equilibrium quantity and price.

II. Fill in the Blanks:

1. The market demand curve is the __________ sum of individual demand curves.

2. An increase in the price of a _________ will increase the demand for the good.

3. When __________ is equal to _________ prices have no tendency to change. This is called _______.

4. A change in tastes or expectations leads to a change in _______.  That is why, tastes and expectations are called ________.

5. The government decided to help corn farmers, and declared the price of corn can be no less than 30 cents a ear this summer. This price is an example of a _________.

6. As your income increases you buy fewer packages of Ramen Noodles.  Ramen Noodles is a(n) _______.

7. Shoes are a normal good since you buy _________ of them as your income increases.

III. Problems:

1. Suppose the demand and supply curve for queen-size down comforters in Madison is:

Q_d = 7500- 60P_d

Q_s = - 2000 + 40P_s

a. Draw the Supply and the Demand curves and find the equilibrium price and quantity.

b. Calculate consumer surplus, producer surplus, and the dead-weight loss.

c. Name three changes that would cause the demand curve to shift in this market.

d. It has been pretty cold the last few weeks.   Show the impact of cold weather on this market using the graph. What will happen to the equilibrium price and quantity?

e. Suppose teh mayor, in order help Madisonians through the winter, decides to provide a 10 dollar subsidy per comforter.  Will this subsidy result in a shift in or a movement along the supply curve? Will this subsidy result in a shift in or a movement along the demand curve? What will happen to the equilibrium price and quantity?

f. Calculate the change in consumer surplus, producer surplus and the dead-weight loss. Show the corresponding areas in the diagram you draw.

g. Instead of the subsidy suppose the mayor proposes a price ceiling.  It is approved by the city council and it is decided that comforters cannot sell for more than 80 dollars each.  What will happen to the equilbrium?

2. Look at the following table showing three graduate students and their demand for coffee.  Each cell shows the cups of coffee they consume per day at a given price.  Derive the individual demand functions and graph them.  Using these indivual demand curves determine the market demand at each price level.  Derive the market demand function. What can you say about Orgul's demand?

3. And now suppose there are three coffee suppliers around  the economics department. Each cell shows the cups of coffee they supply per day at a given price.  Derive the individual supply functions and graph them.  Using these individual supply cuves determine the market supply at each price level.  Given these suppliers what will be the equilibrium number of cups of coffee consumed in economics department.  What will be the price? How many cups per day will each graduate student consume ? How many cups per day will each supplier provide?

4. Suppose there are only two countries in the world: Yourland and Myland and both of them produce the same good, pretzels.  Following table shows the demand and the supply for pretzels in both countries for a given price level (all quantities are measured in tons).

a. What will be the equilibrium price and quantity of pretzel in MyLAndand in YourLand when there is no international trade?

b. What is producer surplus and consumer surplus in both countries?

c. Suppose now these two countries decide to trade.  What will happen to the equilibrium in both countries? What is the level of the world price? How does it compare to the prices before trade?

d. How much pretzel will each country produce? Who will export and who will import pretzel? How much pretzel will be traded?

e. What are the levels of consumer and producer surplus in both countries after the trade? How do the new values compare to the values before trade?

f. Who benefits from trade in this example? Why?

g. Suppose now the importing country's government wants to impose a tariff on incoming pretzel.  They are not happy with increased pretzel consumption.  They set the tariff level at 50 cents per unit.  How will this affect the domestic market in this pretzel importing economy?

h. What happened to consumer surplus and producer surplus with teh imposition of teh tariff in part (g)? What does the government get out of this new policy?

i. What would happen instead if the government imposed a quota of 20 tons of pretzels. In other words, the government of the importing country limits imports to no more than 20 tons of pretzel. What will happen to the equilibrium in both countries? 

j. What is the new level of consumer surplus, producer surpluss and government surplus for these countries given the imposition of the quota in part (i)?

k. Compare the economic effects of quotas and tariffs.

5. Use a diagram to illustrate the difference between the concepts of a change in supply and a change in quantity supplied. Explain whether each of the following will change supply or quantity supplied.

a. An increase in the number of sellers

b. A decrease in the price of inputs

c. An improvement in technology

d. A change in the price of the good

e. A change in producer expectations

IV. Multiple Choices Questions:

1. Suppose a decrease in the price of good X leads to less  of good Y being sold. Then X and Y are:

a. Inferior Goods

b. Complements

c. Normal Goods

d. Substitutes

e. Consumption goods

2. The law of supply tells us that :

a. when price falls, quantity supplied rise

b. when price falls, supply falls

c. when price rises, supply rises

d. when price rises, quantity supplied rises

e. both a and d satisfy the law of supply

f. both b and c satisfy the law of supply

3. Which of these would cause a change in quantity demanded?

a. A change in the price of a substitute good

b. A change in tastes towards the good

c. An increase in population

d. A decrease in the price of the good

e. A change in expectations regarding prices