Chapter 02: Economic Tools and Economic Systems
absolute advantage determination.
comparative advantage determination.
must answer the three economic questions to the satisfaction of everyone in society.
must not allow some members of society to gain an unfair advantage when answering the three economic
questions.
must choose pure capitalism to adequately answer the three economic questions.
is a set of social institutions and mechanisms organized to answer society’s three primary economic questions.
can address problems of scarcity only by embracing the social institution of private property.
150. Which of the following is not a characteristic of pure capitalism?
A reliance on prices to direct resources to their best uses
151. Adam Smith’s term “the invisible hand” refers to:
the hidden role of government in setting regulations that govern trading in markets.
the most capable entrepreneurs in the economy.
the unseen work of the financial markets that facilitates trade.
the role of technological change and random events in the economy.
152. A major distinguishing feature between capitalist and socialist (or command) economies is that:
the average citizen is always wealthier in capitalist economies than in socialist economies.
decision making is typically decentralized in socialist economies and is centralized in capitalist economies.
resources are privately owned in capitalist economies and private property rights are enforced by a dictator in
command economies.
resources are publicly owned in capitalist economies.
decision making is typically decentralized under capitalism, while it is centralized in command economies.
153. Adam Smith believed that people’s pursuit of their own self-interests:
tended to promote general welfare.
required the government’s “invisible hand” to keep the economy running smoothly.
might cause aggregate demand to be greater than aggregate supply.
would increase the wealth of a nation, which was the quantity of gold and silver it owned.
would decrease the wealth of a nation, which was its ability to produce goods and services.