FRAMINGHAM STATE COLLEGE
PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
PROBLEM SET NUMBER 2
My Name is? ________________________________________
Text Chapter 2: Page 34
3.
Draw a circular-flow diagram.
Identify the parts of the model that Correspond to the flow of goods and services and the flow of
dollars for each of the following activities.
a. Sam pays a storekeeper $1 for a quart of milk.
b. Sally earns $4.50 per hour working at a fast food restaurant.
c. Serena spends $7 to see a movie
d. Stuart earns $10,000 from his 10 percent ownership of Acme Industrial.
See Figure 1; the four transactions are shown.
Figure 1
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Problem Set Number 2
5.
The first principle of economics discussed in Chapter 1 is that people face tradeoffs. Use a
production possibilities frontier to illustrate society's tradeoff between a clean environment and
the quantity of industrial output. What do you suppose determines the shape and position of the
frontier? Show what happens to the frontier if engineers develop an automobile engine with
almost no emissions
See Figure 2. The shape and position of the frontier depend on how costly it is to maintain a clean
environment⎯the productivity of the environmental industry. Gains in environmental productivity, such as the
development of a no-emission auto engine, lead to shifts of the production-possibilities frontier, like the shift from
PPF1 to PPF2 shown in the figure.
Figure 2
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Problem Set Number 2
7.
Classify each of the following statements as positive or normative AND explain why.
a. Society faces a short-run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment.
The statement that society faces a short-run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment is a positive statement. It
deals with how the economy is, not how it should be. Since economists have examined data and found that there is
a short-run negative relationship between inflation and unemployment, the statement is a fact, thus it is a positive
statement.
b. A reduction in the rate of growth of money will reduce the rate of inflation.
The statement that a reduction in the rate of growth of money will reduce the rate of inflation is a positive statement.
Economists have found that money growth and inflation are very closely related. The statement thus tells how the
world is, and so it is a positive statement.
c. The Federal Reserve should reduce the rate of growth of money.
The statement that the Federal Reserve should reduce the rate of growth of money is a normative statement. It
states an opinion about something that should be done, not how the world is.
d. Society ought to require welfare recipients to look for jobs.
The statement that society ought to require welfare recipients to look for jobs is a normative statement. It doesn't
state a fact about how the world is. Instead, it is a statement of how the world should be and is thus a normative
statement.
e. Lower tax rates encourage more work and more saving.
The statement that lower tax rates encourage more work and more saving is a positive statement. Economists
have studied the relationship between tax rates and work, as well as the relationship between tax rates and saving.
They have found a negative relationship in both cases. So the statement reflects how the world is, and is thus a
positive statement.
Text Chapter 3: Page 58
3.
American and Japanese workers can each produce 4 cars a year. An American worker can produce
10 tons of grain a year, whereas a Japanese worker can produce 5 tons of grain a year. To keep
things simple, assume that each country has 100 million workers.
a. For this situation, construct a table analogous to Table 1.
U.S.
Japan
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Workers needed to make:
One Car
One Ton of Grain
1/4
1/10
1/4
1/5
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Problem Set Number 2
b. Graph the production possibilities frontier of the American and Japanese economies.
See Figure 3. With 100 million workers and four cars per worker, if either economy were devoted completely to
cars, it could make 400 million cars. Since a U.S. worker can produce 10 tons of grain, if the United States
produced only grain it would produce 1,000 million tons. Since a Japanese worker can produce 5 tons of grain, if
Japan produced only grain it would produce 500 million tons. These are the intercepts of the production possibilities
frontiers shown in the figure. Note that since the tradeoff between cars and grain is constant, the production
possibilities frontier is a straight line.
Figure 3
c. For the United States, what is the opportunity cost of a car? Of grain? For Japan, what is the
opportunity cost of a car? Of grain? Put this information in a table analogous to Table 3.
Since a U.S. worker produces either 4 cars or 10 tons of grain, the opportunity cost of 1 car is 2½ tons of grain,
which is 10 divided by 4. Since a Japanese worker produces either 4 cars or 5 tons of grain, the opportunity cost of
1 car is 1 1/4 tons of grain, which is 5 divided by 4. Similarly, the U.S. opportunity cost of 1 ton of grain is 2/5 car (4
divided by 10) and the Japanese opportunity cost of 1 ton of grain is 4/5 car (4 divided by 5). This gives the
following table:
U.S.
Japan
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Opportunity Cost of:
1 Car (in terms of tons of 1 Ton of Grain (in terms
grain given up)
of cars given up)
2 1/2
2/5
1 1/4
4/5
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Problem Set Number 2
d. Which country has an absolute advantage in producing cars? In producing grain?
Neither country has an absolute advantage in producing cars, since they're equally productive (the same output per
worker); the United States has an absolute advantage in producing grain, since it is more productive (greater output
per worker).
e. Which country has a comparative advantage in producing cars? In producing grain?
Japan has a comparative advantage in producing cars, since it has a lower opportunity cost in terms of grain given
up. The United States has a comparative advantage in producing grain, since it has a lower opportunity cost in
terms of cars given up.
f. Without trade, half of each country's workers produce cars and half produce grain. What
quantities of cars and grain does each country produce?
With half the workers in each country producing each of the goods, the United States would produce 200 million
cars (that is 50 million workers times 4 cars each) and 500 million tons of grain (50 million workers times 10 tons
each). Japan would produce 200 million cars (50 million workers times 4 cars each) and 250 million tons of grain
(50 million workers times 5 tons each).
g. Starting from a position without trade, give an example in which trade makes each country
better off.
From any situation with no trade, in which each country is producing some cars and some grain, suppose the United
States changed 1 worker from producing cars to producing grain. That worker would produce 4 fewer cars and 10
additional tons of grain. Then suppose the United States offers to trade 7 tons of grain to Japan for 4 cars. The
United States will do this because it values 4 cars at 10 tons of grain, so it will be better off if the trade goes through.
Suppose Japan changes 1 worker from producing grain to producing cars. That worker would produce 4 more cars
and 5 fewer tons of grain. Japan will take the trade because it values 4 cars at 5 tons of grain, so it will be better off.
With the trade and the change of 1 worker in both the United States and Japan, each country gets the same amount
of cars as before and both get additional tons of grain (3 for the United States and 2 for Japan). Thus by trading
and changing their production, both countries are better off.
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Problem Set Number 2
4.
Pat and Kris are roommates. They spend most of their time studying (of course), but they leave
some time for their favorite activities: making pizza and brewing root beer. Pat takes 4 hours to
brew a gallon of root beer and 2 hours to make a pizza. Kris takes 6 hours to brew a gallon of root
beer and 4 hours to make a pizza.
a. What is each roommate's opportunity cost of making a pizza? Who has the absolute advantage
in making pizza? Who has the comparative advantage in making pizza?
Pat's opportunity cost of making a pizza is 1/2 gallon of root beer, since she could brew 1/2 gallon in the time (2
hours) it takes her to make a pizza. Pat has an absolute advantage in making pizza since she can make one in two
hours, while it takes Kris four hours. Kris' opportunity cost of making a pizza is 2/3 gallons of root beer, since she
could brew 2/3 of a gallon in the time (4 hours) it takes her to make a pizza. Since Pat's opportunity cost of making
pizza is less than Kris's, Pat has a comparative advantage in making pizza.
b. If Pat and Kris trade foods with each other, who will trade away pizza in exchange for root
beer?
Since Pat has a comparative advantage in making pizza, she will make pizza and exchange it for root beer that Kris
makes.
c. The price of pizza can be expressed in terms of gallons of root beer. What is the highest price
at which pizza can be traded that would make both roommates better off? What is the lowest
price? Explain.
The highest price of pizza in terms of root beer that will make both roommates better off is 2/3 of a gallon of root
beer. If the price were higher than that, then Kris would prefer making her own pizza (at an opportunity cost of 2/3
of a gallon of root beer) rather than trading for pizza that Pat makes. The lowest price of pizza in terms of root beer
that will make both roommates better off is 1/2 gallon of root beer. If the price were lower than that, then Pat would
prefer making her own root beer (she can make 1/2 gallon of root beer instead of making a pizza) rather than
trading for root beer that Kris makes.
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Problem Set Number 2