International Economics, 6e (Gerber)
Chapter 2 International Economic Institutions Since World War II
2.1 Introduction: International Institutions and Issues Since World War II
1) Institutions are
A) the same thing as organizations.
B) associations of individuals or groups.
C) always embodied in a written set of rules.
D) a set of rules governing behavior, whether written or not.
E) only relevant on international issues.
2) Which of the following is an example of an institution whose primary concern is global
stability?
A) NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
B) OPEC (Oil Producing and Exporting Countries)
C) IMF (International Monetary Fund)
D) Mekong River Commission
E) Asian Development Bank
3) Many of the important international governmental institutions that deal with the global
economy have their roots in the Bretton Woods conference at the end of World War II.
2.2 The IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO
1) The international organization that serves as a forum for trade discussions and the
development of trade rules is called
A) the WTO.
B) the World Bank.
C) the IMF.
D) Bretton Woods.
E) the United Nations.
2) Which of the following was NOT a creation of the Bretton Woods conference?
A) World Bank
B) IMF
C) IBRD
D) WTO
E) None of the above.
3) One of the strongest motivations for holding the Bretton Woods Conference was to design
new international institutions that would
A) contain communism.
B) help countries avoid the mistakes of the 1920s and 1930s.
C) provide a collective defense security for Western Europe and North America.
D) ensure that world prices were not rising too rapidly.
E) create a single currency in Western Europe.
4) One of the most important and most visible roles of the IMF is to
A) hold regular negotiations over tariff reductions.
B) investigate countries that are charged with being unfair traders.
C) provide loans to countries that need capital to develop their economies.
D) intercede by invitation when countries cannot pay their international debts.
E) serve as a forum for negotiating free trade agreements between groups of nations.
5) The original mission of the World Bank was to
A) provide capital to underdeveloped countries.
B) provide capital to firms around the world.
C) provide financial assistance for the reconstruction of war-damaged nations.
D) provide a safe place for people around the world to put their money.
E) help countries manage their exchange rates.
6) The primary mission of the World Bank today is to
A) provide capital to underdeveloped countries.
B) provide capital to firms around the world.
C) provide financial assistance for the reconstruction of war-damaged nations.
D) provide a safe place for people around the world to put their money.
E) help countries manage their exchange rates.
7) From the late 1940s until the creation of the WTO, the organization that was primarily
responsible for conducting rounds of trade negotiations was the
A) World Bank.
B) IMF.
C) ITO.
D) United Nations.
E) GATT.
8) Until the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, which of the following sectors were NOT
included in the rules for international trade?
A) Steel and agriculture
B) Automobiles and electronics
C) Agriculture and apparel
D) Steel and textiles
E) Automobiles and agriculture
9) Most favored nation (MFN) status means that a country treats another country
A) better than its other trading partners.
B) the same as its other trading partners.
C) worse than its other trading partners.
D) any way it chooses since it is the “most favored nation.”
E) None of the above.
10) When the United States gives MFN status to China, it means that
A) China is treated better than other U.S. trading partners.
B) China is treated the same as other U.S. trading partners.
C) China is treated worse than other U.S. trading partners.
D) China is better than all the nations in the WTO.
E) China is legally bound to reciprocate.
11) The Tokyo Round of the GATT negotiations was notable because it was the first round
A) that included Japan.
B) that included textiles and apparel.
C) to begin establishing rules on subsidies.
D) to begin discussions of exchange rates.
E) to limit the tariffs of the United States.
12) IMF conditionality refers to the
A) technical assistance the IMF gives.
B) minimum size of a national debt problem that a country must have before the IMF gets
involved.
C) minimum-sized loan the IMF will make.
D) maximum-sized loan the IMF will make.
E) changes a country must make in order to receive IMF financial assistance.
13) Which of the following is TRUE?
A) A country experiencing a debt or currency crisis would contact the World Trade
Organization.
B) The World Trade Organization was formed at the Bretton Woods conference.
C) The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade created the World Trade Organization in the
negotiations and treaty known as the Uruguay Round.
D) The World Trade Organization has no power to resolve trade disputes and to enforce their
resolution.
14) Having MFN status means that the country is getting the most favorable trade terms possible
with a trading partner.
15) A country experiencing a debt or currency crisis would contact the World Bank.
16) The World Bank was created as a result of the Bretton Woods conference and was originally
focused on the reconstruction of Europe after World War II.
17) The IMF, because it can force nations to take loans and bail out packages, has more power
than other international governmental organizations dealing with the global economy.
18) The World Bank formed the World Trade Organization when it became clear that to alleviate
poverty in developing nations, agricultural trade barriers were going to have to be reduced.
19) A nation’s votes at the IMF are proportional to its population.
20) MFN status means that a trading partner is getting the best trade deal possible given current
national trade policies.
21) WTO talks in the late 1990s led to openings in both financial services and
telecommunications.
22) Describe the primary functions of the World Bank, the IMF, and the WTO. When was each
of these organizations formed?
23) What is MFN status? How does the WTO reconcile the principle of equal treatment with the
preferential treatment created by regional trade agreements?
24) Trade policies in which industries have been the most contentious in the Doha Round?
25) Which round of GATT first addressed subsidies?
26) What result of the Uruguay Round was the most significant for global trade?
27) How is the IMF funded?
28) The IBRD part of the World Bank is set up to lend to whom and for what types of projects?
29) Which round of GATT led to the formation of the WTO?
1) A free trade agreement plus a common set of tariffs toward non-members is called
A) a common market.
B) a customs union.
C) a free trade area.
D) an economic union.
E) a partial trade agreement.
2) Which of the following is FALSE?
A) A common market is more deeply integrated than an economic union.
B) NAFTA is an example of a free trade area.
C) The European Union is a deeper form of integration than NAFTA.
D) Common markets allow for labor mobility between participating nations.
3) Which of the following is TRUE?
A) A common market is more deeply integrated than a customs union.
B) The European Union is a shallower and broader form of integration than NAFTA.
C) NAFTA is an example of a customs union.
D) Customs unions require the creation of a common currency.
4) Which of the following is NOT a feature of a common market?
A) Substantial coordination of macroeconomic policies among the members
B) Free trade in goods and services between the members
C) Common external barriers to trade
D) Factor mobility
5) Which of the following is a problem that arises when trying to classify regional trade
agreements?
A) Many agreements combine elements from different categories.
B) The definition of free trade area includes that of a customs union.
C) Some agreements include cultural issues while others do not.
D) The most favored nation clause includes all of them.
E) None of the above.
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6) With a partial trade agreement
A) goods and services are allowed to cross boundaries without tariffs.
B) two or more countries agree to liberalize trade in a selected group of categories.
C) two or more countries set common tariffs toward non-members.
D) two or more countries allow the free mobility of inputs such as labor and capital.
E) two or more countries agree on establishing a common currency.
7) Describe the potential benefits and the potential costs to global trade of the tremendous
growth in regional trade agreements.
2.4 The Role of International Economic Institutions
1) One reason markets may fail to provide the optimal quantity of public goods is the problem of
A) determining what the public wants.
B) nontariff barriers.
C) nondiscrimination.
D) free riders.
E) economic integration.
2) If a good or service does not get used up as it is consumed, then it is said to be
A) nonexcludable.
B) nonrival.
C) nondiscrimination.
D) nonconsumable.
3) An important function of international institutions during times of crisis is to
A) make goods nonrival.
B) make goods nonexcludable.
C) prevent free riding.
D) prevent nondiscrimination.
E) encourage free riding.
4) Which multilateral institution serves as the lender of last resort?
2.5 Criticism of International Institutions
1) Which of the following is NOT a criticism of international institutions such as the IMF, the
World Bank, or the WTO?
A) They lack openness in their decision-making process.
B) They violate national sovereignty by imposing unwanted domestic policies.
C) They fail to understand the effects of their policies on the vulnerable.
D) Their decision making is biased in favor of underdeveloped nations and against the interests
of nations already industrialized.
E) They ignore potentially large adjustment costs for developing nations of implementing their
policies.
2) Which of the following criticisms is NOT directed to the IMF?
A) It lacks openness in its decision-making process.
B) It serves the interests of wealthier countries.
C) It creates a free-riding problem.
D) It violates national sovereignty.
E) It is heavily bureaucratic and at times gives harmful advice.
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3) Which of the following is FALSE?
A) National sovereignty limits outsiders’ ability to change the trade laws and practices of
individual nation states.
B) Because of international recognition of national sovereignty, individual nations are unaffected
by global trade and capital flows.
C) Foreign investors may not have a legal right to impose policies on a nation state, but the
nation state may still experience consequences of poor policies.
D) Because trade policies are laws of individual nations, it is difficult for other nations and
international organizations to force changes on unwilling nation states.
4) Which of the following is FALSE about the International Monetary Fund (IMF)?
A) The IMF was created after the Bretton Woods Conference to help to maintain the
international fixed exchange rate system that was introduced.
B) The IMF lends to national governments, initially to maintain the fixed exchange rate system,
and today to deal with debt or currency crises.
C) Multinational corporations can get IMF loans if they agree to invest in economies that are
internationally perceived as risky and otherwise unlikely to receive direct foreign investment.
D) One of the criticisms of the IMF and other international governmental organizations that deal
with the global economy is that their decision making may be biased toward policies that favor
industrialized nations.
5) Because of the recognition internationally of the principles of national sovereignty, nations
cannot be affected by the policies of other nations and international governmental organizations.
6) The majority of economists favor open capital flows.
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7) Describe the criticisms about decision making at the IMF and the World Bank. Which types
of policies are thought to reflect bias? What types of costs are not considered? What is the
fundamental question critics raise about the operations of the international governmental
economic institutions?