Assignment 15
1. Concerning land ownership, some of the characteristics of tenure in fee simple include
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
transferability
it could be inherited
it could be sold
the owner could waste the land if he wanted to
all of the above
2. In the U.S. capitalist system, what residual property rights does the government retain?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
the power to tax
arbitrary expropriation of land without compensation
police power
both a and c
all of the above
3. When individuals or groups of individuals try to obtain special privileges from government, it is
called
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
rent seeking
judicial instrumentalism
eminent domain
priority rights
ceteris paribus
4. Which of the following is not one of Jefferson's main ideas about public lands policy
a) the government should have no further tenure rights on land once it was secured by
private individuals
b) the distribution of land should be proceeded by scientific survey
c) new territories would be eligible for statehood with the same rights as existing states
d) the government should oversee the use of any land it gave away for free
5. What drew settlers from the East to the West in the first half of the 19th century?
a) California beaches
b) Higher wages driven by an increase of available public land that increased the marginal
product of labor in the West relative to the East.
c) Federalist land policy that maximized the sale of public lands, thus enabling western
communities to pay higher wages to migrants
d) A depression that hit only the eastern U.S., while western isolation mitigated its effects
there.
6. Most current land debate issues revolve around
a)
b)
c)
d)
property rights on federal lands
property rights on private lands
the Federalist privatization scheme
the Anti-Federalist privatization scheme
7. Which of the following are examples of push factors causing immigration?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
religious persecution
high wages
cheap land
none of the above
all of the above
8. Which of the following are examples of pull factors causing immigration?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
religious freedom
high wages
cheap land
none of the above
all of the above
9. When did immigration in the U.S. peak?
a)
b)
c)
d)
1846-1855
1860-1900
1901-1915
1915-1975
10. What is intensive growth?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
growth spurred by a matched increase in availability of all inputs
growth from other inputs, besides labor, that make labor relatively more valuable
the kind of growth that allows output per worker to increase
the kind of growth that keeps output per worker constant
both a. and d.
both b. and c.
11. The major anti-trust act(s) is (are) the
a)
b)
c)
d)
Sherman and Clayton Act
Fair Labor Standards Act
Wagner Act
Taft-Hartely Amendments
12. Which of the following is the correct explanation of the infant-industry argument
a) textiles used in infant clothing will propel the workforce, making it more competitive
b) new industries should be left to themselves so they can grow up
c) industries making goods that harm innocent civilians (e.g. infants) should be heavily
regulated by government
d) the government should protect new industries from foreign competition until they have a
chance to gain a comparative advantage
13. Which of the following represents the critique of the infant industry argument
a) they don't grow up
b) once government acts to resolve the problem, those actions are hard to phase out after
the industry has grown up
c) there is a reduced incentive to become more efficient
d) all of the above
14. Human capital is
a)
b)
c)
d)
the total amount of capital owned by a human demographic
the size of the labor force
the idea that capitalism is the best way to organize economic activity
the knowledge, technology, and know-how embedded within the workforce
15. The American System heralded by Europeans in 1851 employed the new technique of
a)
b)
c)
d)
Eli Whitney's cotton gin
James Watt's steam engine
Interchangeable parts
Broadcast farming
16. The U.S. is relatively well-endowed with natural resources (timber, water, climate, etc.).
a) True
b) False
17. Self-selection means that emigrants represented the most ambitious and mobile workers from
their country.
a) True
b) False
18. Emigrants take jobs from natives in the market for unskilled labor, because employers would
rather have emigrants working than the natives.
a) True
b) False
19. Immigration has historically been a major source of U.S. population growth.
a) True
b) False
20. U.S. cotton textile output grew immensely between 1815 and 1860.
a) True
b) False
21. Without tariff protection, the U.S. cotton textile industry would never have grown and
prospered to the extent that it did.
a) True
b) False
22. Evidence from American development suggests that less-developed countries may be able to
borrow technology to spur faster economic growth.
a) True
b) False
23. The first industrial revolution started in the U.S.
a) True
b) False
24. The second industrial revolution started in the U.S.
a) True
b) False
25. Land is owned alloidally (i.e. by absolute right) in the United States.
a) True
b) False
Essay Questions
1. Define property rights and describe the rules governing them in the U.S.
2. What conclusions did Fogel and Engerman reach about slavery in the first half of the 19th
century?