SECTION ONE (Compulsory):Single-choice questions
3 O ]6 B1 e2 }- V3 m Multiple-choice questions: from the following four options, select a correct and fill in its labeling the brackets. (A total of 10 points)
9 _ |1 N6 G3 n+ _- { 1. Tom cannot tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi. For Tom, these goods are: () ( I4 E# k7 m Y+ `; H/ N- I) O
A. Perfect substitutes. 5 f2 P, r$ X% e& R9 v! W
B. Perfect complements. 3 k: C, r# z5 p; ~
C. Necessities.
' I, {& P; X& R; ?3 A3 c) B/ E D. None of the above. 8 V( ]) p- Y/ d" a4 Q, \
2. Suppose the economy is running at the level of potential GDP, an increase in government spending in the long run will ___ the price level and ___ the output level,
. X" d) J* N; z' R" I3 S. G A. Increase, not change
4 |: v* Z3 q! _9 @ e0 ] B. Increase, increase " u% P0 b% y z
C. Increase, decrease
8 B6 a, \; P8 P0 B; c9 e: G D. Decrease, increase : b, D& l( Z2 v; {. I
3. For a natural monopoly, the optimal policy for a regulator to set is a price such that: () 1 ? _3 U: W# k* q
A. The price level equals marginal cost. + N& }% r* H0 C3 x1 a! z3 h$ @" v; Q, r: Y
B. The price level equals average variable cost.
' R1 |' C! \1 E' o W9 `9 K R: q C. The price level equals average total cost but higher than marginal cost.
" G. F& B4 A* _" m z3 l D. The price level is lower than marginal cost but higher than average total cost.
; v$ f r% i9 r% C0 V& C6 b 4. If AD shifts to the right to adapt to oil shocks from OPEC, then: ()
4 x$ O* W# f% C2 U" P A. P and GDP will remain normal automatically. ) ]' k6 ]1 C- k- t( ^7 j' c
B. GDP may be unchanged although P will rise.
1 k* m1 e5 {5 o9 ]' b0 R C. GDP will rise and P will drop.
. g( K' a9 x% F0 s, H D. The domestic P of oil will drop.
9 z( ]5 |7 ~, \0 C d; u' |$ w 5. School students paying a lower fare than adults on the MTR trains, or cheaper tickets to the theatre, is an example of: () 4 K/ T3 Q- f, n: l
A. The suppliers making less profit because some customers pay a lower price. ) g: |: V4 A! Y& p
B. Consumers obtaining more consumer surplus. 8 s0 w% L* [7 }0 V3 t% R# S
C. Price discrimination allowing the suppliers to make more profit from charging a higher price to customers whose demand is more elastic. + a$ ^" l/ z% |% `. x2 g
D. Price discrimination allowing the suppliers to make more profit from charging a lower price to customers whose demand is more elastic.
* [) c0 A5 E9 {3 D; B 6. When the nominal interest rate rises, ()
2 a& ~) k# ?! P% H! E A. Economic activity is encouraged.
2 n( D; a5 d; s. E& Y: c# Y& [ B. The real interest rate rises and the price of bonds rises. * R0 T1 K+ H! Q/ ^! }" X
C. Inflation rises and the real interest rate falls.
: v4 H: V% Q3 t( Z D. The real interest rate rises and the price of bonds falls.
9 M. S! z) f/ R! b9 _' L5 n) d 7. A firm has fixed costs of £100,000 per month and variable costs of £25 for item. It proposes to sell these items for £50 each. What is the break-even output for this firm? ()
$ Z- w$ g5 E/ D! Y& q A. 4,000 units 7 V1 I/ i Z1 i( w
B. 4,000 units in a month. ; q& W1 f) [4 d' y
C. Cannot be worked out from the information. & T, k# B8 F; U7 C4 W/ ^, C
D. 2,000 units per month.
' f/ [ G1 [% Y$ V- h 8. For an A- rated corporate bond that has deteriorating fundamentals, but is expected to remain investment grade, the greatest risk is most likely: () - M6 o3 W$ k+ h. X. k" u9 e
A. Event risk.
( i0 {4 H' ^; Z. d! ^ B. Default risk.
: f5 M" Y/ H: u! X G8 g$ w C. Liquidity risk. . n y6 w/ k9 N# u% }8 G; v4 H. {/ \
D. Credit spread risk.
) B7 E4 V( J& I( ? 9. An investor currently has a portfolio valued at $700,000. The investor’s objective is long-term growth, but the investor will need $30,000 by the end of the year to pay her son’s college tuition and another $10,000 by year-end for her annual vacation. The investor is considering four alternative portfolios: 5 Q [; M9 ~% W5 a, U/ ?4 o& b9 c
Portfolio Expected Return Standard Deviation of Returns
1 t% ]6 D4 x E 1.8% 10% $ {! w5 O+ j4 F7 e" {% i/ T5 A z, L
2.10% 13%
4 ?% {4 T4 q9 u( A0 [0 T 3.14% 22% $ R4 g' }- K O% h/ B
4.18% 35%
% h' V) V4 d: J! s' a O+ Q4 D Using Roy’s safety-first criterion, which of the alternative portfolios minimizes the probability that the investor’s portfolio will have a value lower than $700,000 at year-end? ()
) V/ H6 G+ I+ L& W! z$ e/ G A. Portfolio 1.
/ c$ o/ r" [5 X0 G B. Portfolio 2.
( p4 \ ^$ H- s {/ d" Y6 I6 _ C. Portfolio 3. 5 G- Z% J- i% e7 L
D. Portfolio 4.
" V3 K7 D' f0 I' L 10. A futures trader must deposit an additional amount of money into a margin account at the clearinghouse if the margin account ending balance is below the: ()
- H2 {6 _! t' @9 h$ a: I A. Initial margin requirement.
9 d5 R5 J% o5 Z+ h2 m, F0 v B. Variation margin requirement.
6 C( o5 D. d0 z8 p C. Maintenance margin requirement.
: @2 x, p$ {" v, u0 i" G- a- f# m D. Amount of the loan borrowed from the clearinghouse. |