Economic History Chapter 1

Front 1

Holding other things constant, wages tend to _______ in capital-exporting regions, and wages tend to _______ in capital-importing regions

Back 1

decrease; increase

Front 2

Holding other things constant, wages tend to ______ in labor-exporting regions, and wages tend to _______ in labor-importing regions

Back 2

increase; decrease

Front 3

Refer to Figure 1 on the last page of test 1. Which of the graphs accurately reflects changes in the world agricultural market in the late 19th century?

Back 3

Graph D

Front 4

Often, new inventions don't generate meaningful productivity gains until businesses learn how to use them. For example, Paul David's research has shown that this was the case for the invention of

Back 4

the electric motor

Front 5

Which of the following statements correctly characterizes changes in farming during the period between 1860 and 1920?

Back 5

the number of farms, as well as the number of acres under cultivation rose

Front 6

The income elasticity of demand for food is

Back 6

between 0 and 1

Front 7

Conrad and Meyer used an asset-pricing model to study antebellum slavery. Using their model, which of the following could theoretically cause slave prices to increase?

Back 7

an increase in the price of cotton

Front 8

Cliometrics differs from earlier approaches to studying economic history because it

Back 8

uses the scientific method

Front 9

If the annual growth rate of real GDP is 10%, real GDP will double in about _____ years

Back 9

7

(70/10)=7

Front 10

Which of the following statements accurately reflects data presented in your text on western grain production between 1870 and 1910?

Back 10

Wheat output per worker was increasing

Front 11

Between 1875 and 1895, US farmers' terms of trade were ______ 100 and _______

Back 11

less than; falling

Front 12

Over the past 250 years, real US GDP per capita has grown, on average, at a rate of

Back 12

about 2 percent per year

Front 13

The "income gap" between the top quintile and the lower four quintiles rose between 1980 and 2005 in the US Research shows that _____ is a significant factor in explaining this trend

Back 13

firms' increased use of information technology

Front 14

Economists generally believe that a zero percent rate of _____ unemployment is desirable

Back 14

cyclical

Front 15

Sources of productivity growth include all of the following except

Back 15

increases in immigration

Front 16

According to cliometric research on midwestern farm mortgages 1870-1890,

Back 16

real interest rates were falling, nominal interest rates were falling, nominal interest rates were less than real interest rates, and interest rates were higher in the west than in the east

Front 17

In the late 1800s, transportation costs generally ______, and real prices for farm equipment generally______

Back 17

fell; fell

Front 18

A high and unpredictable inflation rate can

Back 18

discourage lending and borrowing, erode consumers' purchasing power, hamper the efficient operation of markets, impede a country's economic development

Front 19

Consider the principal goals of federal land policy that are listed in your text. Given the listed goals, which of the following was least important in the 19th century?

Back 19

national security

Front 20

If a firm is experiencing economies of scale, a 5% increase in all inputs will yield an increase in ___ of ____

Back 20

output; greater-than-5%

Front 21

US biomedical data show that since 1940,

Back 21

the infant mortality rate for white births has fallen

Front 22

The homestead act was passed in 1862. However, only about 20% of newly-added farm land between 1870 and 1900 belonged to homesteads because

Back 22

the available land was best suited for grazing livestock, but 160 acre homesteads were too small to do so profitably

Front 23

Suppose the demand for a good is price inelastic. Thus, when price falls by 10%, quantity demanded ____ by _____ 10%

Back 23

rises; less than

Front 24

Recent research on the US finds that income is distributed very unequally, and the movement of people from lower to higher income quintiles is very uncommon

Back 24

FALSE

Front 25

Robert Higgs finds some evidence of monopoly pricing for short hauls of western freight.

Back 25

TRUE

Front 26

By 1899, manufacturing was the largest sector of the US economy in terms of commodity output

Back 26

TRUE

Front 27

Data indicate that the average height of adult, white, American males fell in the mid 1800s

Back 27

TRUE

Front 28

A producer should specialize in the production of the good with the highest market price relative to other goods

Back 28

FALSE

Front 29

According toe Walton and Rockoff, history provides the data needed to test economic theories

Back 29

TRUE

Front 30

The opportunity cost of a decision is the sum of the value of all foregone alternatives

Back 30

FALSE

Front 31

Economists use the term "capital" to refer to stocks, bonds and other financial instruments

Back 31

False

Front 32

Quantitative evidence on federal land policy has led current economic historians to conclude that the policy was inefficient and reduced total output

Back 32

FALSE

Front 33

Patent laws create incentives for invention and innovation

Back 33

TRUE

Front 34

In the late 1800s, US farmers' output grew more rapidly than their real income

Back 34

TRUE

Front 35

Anne Mayhew's research shows that rising debt levels made US farmers increasingly vulnerable to foreclosure when agricultural prices fell

Back 35

TRUE

Front 36

The "globalization" of US agriculture meant that the short run market price of farm products could rise or fall when domestic supply decreased

Back 36

TRUE

Front 37

GDP per capita in the US is currently higher than in any other developed country

Back 37

FALSE

Front 38

Phillips concluded that slave ownership was becoming increasingly unprofitable in the 1840s and 1850s because slave maintenance costs were rising rapidly

Back 38

FALSE