What are the two major ways in which an economy can grow and push out its production possibilities curve?

  1. Better weather and nicer cars
  2. Higher taxes and lower spending
  3. Increases in resource supplies and advances in technology
  4. Decreases in scarcity and advances in auditing

Short Answer

Expert verified

Option (c) Increase in resource supplies and advances in technology.

Step by step solution

01

Explanation for the correct answer

An increase in resource supplies will multiply the possibilities of producing more goods. On the other hand, advanced technology will catalyze the process of production.Thus, the increase in the supply of resources and technological advances will help the economy to increase overall production.

As the production rises, the available combinations in the economy increase significantly. So, the production possibilities frontier will move outside, and the economy will grow.

02

Explanation for the incorrect answers

Option (a): The production possibilities curve depends upon the resources required to produce the goods. Better weather can be one of the supportive conditions for manufacturing a good, but it cannot constitute all the resources for production. On the contrary, nicer cars are themselves a product, not a resource. Therefore, better weather and nicer cars will not help the production possibilities curve to move out and grow the economy.

Option (b): Higher taxes will reduce the income and purchasing power of an individual, such as his spending decreases. The lower spending will further lower the income generation in the economy. The economy will not have the capacity to consume nor to produce more. Therefore, higher taxes and lesser spending will pull the production possibilities curve inside, and the economic growth will slow down.

Option (d): Scarcity is permanently in the economy. Any individual or economy can only control the wants for some time. Controlling the wants does not mean that the production has increased. Also, advances in auditing can ensure the quality of output. It will not increase the quantity of production and income generation to help the economy grow. So, the PPF curve will not shift outwards, leading to a decrease in the scarcity and an advance in the audit.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Refer to the following production possibilities table for consumer goods (automobiles) and capital goods (forklifts).

  1. Show these data graphically. Upon what specific assumptions is this production possibilities curve based?
  2. If the economy is at point C, what is the cost of one more automobile? Of one more forklift? Which characteristic of the production possibilities curve reflects the law of increasing opportunity costs: its shape or its length?
  3. If the economy characterized by this production possibilities table and curve is producing 3 automobiles and 20 forklifts, what could you conclude about its use of its available resources?
  4. Is production at a point outside the production possibilities curve currently possible? Could a future advance in technology allow production beyond the current production possibilities curve? Could international trade allow a country to consume beyond its current production possibilities curve?

Production Alternatives

Type of Production

A

B

C

D

E

Automobiles

0

2

4

6

8

Forklifts

30

27

21

12

0

Pham can work as many or as few hours as she wants at the college bookstore for \(12 per hour. But due to her hectic schedule, she has just 15 hours per week that she can spend working at either the bookstore or other potential jobs. One potential job at a café will pay her \)15 per hour for up to 6 hours per week. She has another job offer at a garage that will pay her \(13 an hour for up to 5 hours per week. And she has a potential job at a daycare center that will pay her \)11.50 per hour for as many hours as she can work. If her goal is to maximize the amount of money she can make each week, how many hours will she work at the bookstore?

For each of the following situations involving marginal cost (MC) and marginal benefit (MB), indicate whether it would be best to produce more, fewer, or the current number of units.

a. 3,000 units at which MC = \(10 and MB = \)13.

b. 11 units at which MC = \(4 and MB = \)3.

c. 43,277 units at which MC = \(99 and MB = \)99.

d. 82 units at which MC < MB.

e. 5 units at which MB < MC.

Explain how (if at all) each of the following events affects the location of a country's production possibilities curve.

a. The quality of education increases.

b. The number of unemployed workers increases.

c. A new technique improves the efficiency of extracting copper from ore.

d. A devastating earthquake destroys numerous production facilities.

Suppose that you initially have \(100 to spend on books or movie tickets. The books start off costing \)25 each, and the movie tickets start off costing \(10 each. For each of the following situations, would the attainable set of combinations that you can afford increase or decrease?

a. Your budget increases from \)100 to \(150, while the prices stay the same.

b. Your budget remains \)100, and the price of books remains \(25, but the price of movie tickets rises to \)20.

c. Your budget remains \(100, and the price of movie tickets remains \)10, but the price of a book falls to $15.

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