Thinking Like an Economist Quiz

Economists, like mathematicians, physicists, and biologists,

• make use of the scientific method.

• try to address their subject with a scientist's objectivity.

• devise theories, collect data, and then analyze these data in an attempt to verify or refute their theories.

• All of the above are correct.

For an economist, the idea of making assumptions is regarded generally as a

• bad idea, since doing so leads to the omission of important ideas and variables from economic models.

• bad idea, since doing so invariably leads to data-collection problems.

• good idea, since doing so helps to simplify the complex world and make it easier to understand.

• good idea, since economic analysis without assumptions leads to complicated results that the general public finds hard to understand.

Economists make assumptions(giả định) to

• provide issues for political discussion.

• make a complex world easier to understand.

• make it easier to teach economic concepts and analysis.

• create policy alternatives that are incomplete or subject to criticism.

A circular-flow model and production possibilities frontier are similar in that

• neither allows economic analysis to occur.

• neither can be represented visually on a graph.

• both make use of assumptions.

• both make use of complex equations to arrive at solutions.

When studying the effects of public policy changes, economists

• always refrain from making assumptions.

• sometimes make different assumptions about the short run and the long run.

• consider only the direct effects of those policy changes and not the indirect effects.

• consider only the short-run effects of those policy changes and not the long-run effects.

A model can be accurately described as a

• theoretical abstraction with very little value.

• device that is useful only to the people who created it.

• realistic and carefully constructed theory.

• simplification of reality.

In building economic models, economists often omit

• assumptions.

• theories.

• details.

• equations.

Which of the following statements about economic models is correct?

• Economic models are built to mirror reality exactly.

• Economic models are useful, but they should not be used for the purpose of improving public policies.

• Because economic models omit many details, they allow us to see what is truly important.

• Economic models seldom incorporate equations or diagrams.

Economic models

• cannot be useful if they are based on false assumptions.

• were once thought to be useful, but that is no longer true.

• must incorporate all aspects of the economy if they are to be useful.

• can be useful, even if they are not particularly realistic.

Which of the following is not correct about most economic models?

• They are composed of equations and diagrams.

• They contribute very little to economists' understanding of the real world.

• They omit (bỏ qua) many features of the real-world economy.

• In constructing models, economists make assumptions.