Economics MCQs – Set 13: Economic & Social Development for UPSC/PCS

  1. The Cobb-Douglas production function assumes –
    (A) Constant marginal returns
    (B) Diminishing marginal returns
    (C) Increasing returns to scale
    (D) Substitutability between inputs
    Answer: (D)
  2. Ricardian equivalence theory suggests that –
    (A) Tax cuts boost demand
    (B) Government debt does not affect overall demand
    (C) Fiscal deficits raise interest rates
    (D) Taxation always reduces investment
    Answer: (B)
  3. Okun’s Law shows the relationship between –
    (A) Inflation and GDP
    (B) Unemployment and GDP
    (C) Fiscal deficit and interest rates
    (D) Exchange rate and trade deficit
    Answer: (B)
  4. A price floor set above the equilibrium price will result in –
    (A) Shortage
    (B) Surplus
    (C) Equilibrium
    (D) Inflation
    Answer: (B)
  5. The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) is used to measure –
    (A) Inflation
    (B) Market concentration
    (C) Income inequality
    (D) Fiscal deficit
    Answer: (B)
  6. The LM curve shifts when there is a change in –
    (A) Government expenditure
    (B) Money supply
    (C) Investment demand
    (D) Savings rate
    Answer: (B)
  7. A kinked demand curve is typical in –
    (A) Perfect competition
    (B) Monopoly
    (C) Oligopoly
    (D) Monopsony
    Answer: (C)
  8. The Slutsky equation in microeconomics explains –
    (A) Wage-price spiral
    (B) Substitution and income effects
    (C) Investment multiplier
    (D) Trade deficit
    Answer: (B)
  9. GDP deflator includes –
    (A) All goods and services
    (B) Only final goods
    (C) Exports only
    (D) Government expenditure
    Answer: (A)
  10. The Pigovian tax is intended to –
    (A) Raise revenue
    (B) Control public borrowing
    (C) Internalize externalities
    (D) Reduce fiscal deficit
    Answer: (C)
  11. The J-curve effect is seen in –
    (A) Fiscal policy
    (B) Trade balance after currency devaluation
    (C) Budget deficit reduction
    (D) Inflation targeting
    Answer: (B)
  12. Permanent income hypothesis is associated with –
    (A) Milton Friedman
    (B) Paul Samuelson
    (C) John Hicks
    (D) Keynes
    Answer: (A)
  13. A backward bending supply curve of labor shows that –
    (A) Wage and labor supplied are always positively related
    (B) At higher wages, people may choose to work less
    (C) Labor supply is fixed
    (D) Unemployment rises with wage
    Answer: (B)
  14. Time inconsistency in economic policy refers to –
    (A) Lack of planning
    (B) Government’s inability to commit to long-term policies
    (C) Price rigidity
    (D) Sticky wages
    Answer: (B)
  15. Baumol’s cost disease applies to –
    (A) Manufacturing sector
    (B) Financial markets
    (C) Services with low productivity growth
    (D) Labor-intensive agriculture
    Answer: (C)
  16. The non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) implies –
    (A) Structural unemployment
    (B) The natural rate below which inflation rises
    (C) Constant unemployment rate
    (D) Rate that causes deflation
    Answer: (B)
  17. A Giffen good violates –
    (A) Law of diminishing marginal utility
    (B) Law of supply
    (C) Law of demand
    (D) Engel’s Law
    Answer: (C)
  18. Tragedy of the commons refers to –
    (A) Inefficient public finance
    (B) Overuse of shared resources
    (C) Rising tax burden
    (D) Wage inequality
    Answer: (B)
  19. The coefficient of price elasticity of demand is zero when –
    (A) Demand is highly responsive
    (B) Demand doesn’t change with price
    (C) Perfect substitutes exist
    (D) Total revenue increases
    Answer: (B)
  20. Marshall’s Scissors refers to –
    (A) Intersection of IS-LM
    (B) Demand and supply determining price
    (C) Fiscal and monetary policy
    (D) Labor and capital efficiency
    Answer: (B)
  21. Dornbusch’s overshooting model explains –
    (A) Price rigidity
    (B) Long-run unemployment
    (C) Exchange rate volatility
    (D) Credit rationing
    Answer: (C)
  22. The real exchange rate adjusts for –
    (A) Tax effects
    (B) Inflation differences
    (C) Trade surplus
    (D) Government borrowing
    Answer: (B)
  23. Stolper-Samuelson theorem links –
    (A) Trade and income distribution
    (B) Savings and investment
    (C) Exchange rate and exports
    (D) Money and inflation
    Answer: (A)
  24. Sen’s capability approach emphasizes –
    (A) Freedom and human development
    (B) GDP growth
    (C) Industrial efficiency
    (D) Tax equity
    Answer: (A)
  25. In a closed economy, GDP =
    (A) C + I + G + X – M
    (B) C + I + G
    (C) C + I
    (D) C + I + NX
    Answer: (B)
  26. Liquidity trap is a situation where –
    (A) Inflation rises sharply
    (B) Interest rate is high
    (C) Interest rate is near zero and monetary policy is ineffective
    (D) Banks have no reserves
    Answer: (C)
  27. The Harrod-Domar model focuses on –
    (A) Short-run fiscal policy
    (B) Long-term employment
    (C) Capital accumulation and growth
    (D) Income redistribution
    Answer: (C)
  28. General equilibrium analysis studies –
    (A) One market in isolation
    (B) All markets simultaneously
    (C) Trade policy
    (D) Fiscal policy impact
    Answer: (B)
  29. Ramsey Rule in public finance deals with –
    (A) Intergenerational equity
    (B) Optimal taxation
    (C) Fiscal federalism
    (D) Pricing of public goods
    Answer: (B)
  30. Sustainable development involves –
    (A) GDP growth only
    (B) Resource use without harming future generations
    (C) Consumption maximization
    (D) Financial independence
    Answer: (B)
  31. Externalities cause –
    (A) Market equilibrium
    (B) Efficient allocation
    (C) Market failure
    (D) Competitive pricing
    Answer: (C)
  32. Backward induction is a technique used in –
    (A) Monopoly pricing
    (B) Game theory
    (C) Input-output analysis
    (D) Fiscal planning
    Answer: (B)
  33. The income elasticity of demand for inferior goods is –
    (A) Zero
    (B) Positive
    (C) Negative
    (D) Greater than 1
    Answer: (C)
  34. Edgeworth Box is a tool for analyzing –
    (A) Monopoly
    (B) Efficiency in exchange
    (C) Government spending
    (D) Trade policy
    Answer: (B)
  35. Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient both measure –
    (A) Government efficiency
    (B) Inflation
    (C) Income inequality
    (D) Trade performance
    Answer: (C)
  36. The Samuelson condition applies to –
    (A) Public good provision
    (B) Tax elasticity
    (C) Supply chain management
    (D) Unemployment
    Answer: (A)
  37. Euler’s theorem in production theory implies –
    (A) Returns to scale
    (B) Factor pricing exhausts total product
    (C) Law of diminishing returns
    (D) Income elasticity
    Answer: (B)
  38. Leontief paradox challenged –
    (A) Comparative advantage
    (B) Factor proportions theory
    (C) Monopoly pricing
    (D) Keynesian assumptions
    Answer: (B)
  39. Hotelling’s rule is used for –
    (A) Pricing under monopoly
    (B) Resource extraction over time
    (C) Inflation adjustment
    (D) Taxation policy
    Answer: (B)
  40. Pareto optimality means –
    (A) Equal distribution
    (B) No one can be made better off without making someone worse off
    (C) Free market equilibrium
    (D) Efficient taxation
    Answer: (B)
  41. In the Solow growth model, long-run growth is driven by –
    (A) Capital accumulation
    (B) Technological progress
    (C) Population growth
    (D) Fiscal policy
    Answer: (B)
  42. Rational expectations theory assumes that –
    (A) Agents act randomly
    (B) Expectations are always wrong
    (C) Agents use all information efficiently
    (D) Government policy is always effective
    Answer: (C)
  43. A second-degree price discrimination involves –
    (A) Charging different prices for different groups
    (B) Price based on quantity purchased
    (C) Bargaining-based pricing
    (D) Pricing based on income
    Answer: (B)
  44. Inflation targeting as a policy was first adopted by –
    (A) USA
    (B) New Zealand
    (C) UK
    (D) India
    Answer: (B)
  45. Heckscher-Ohlin theory predicts trade based on –
    (A) Currency values
    (B) Technology
    (C) Relative factor endowments
    (D) Consumer tastes
    Answer: (C)
  46. Public choice theory studies –
    (A) Government budgeting
    (B) Political decision-making using economic tools
    (C) Market selection
    (D) Tax structure
    Answer: (B)
  47. Deadweight loss arises due to –
    (A) Efficient pricing
    (B) Taxes and subsidies
    (C) Market clearing
    (D) Optimal allocation
    Answer: (B)
  48. Crowding out happens when –
    (A) Private investment rises with public spending
    (B) Government borrowing reduces private investment
    (C) Tax cuts increase revenue
    (D) Public debt lowers inflation
    Answer: (B)
  49. A natural monopoly arises due to –
    (A) High competition
    (B) Government policy
    (C) Economies of scale
    (D) Legal restrictions
    Answer: (C)
  50. The income effect of a price change leads to –
    (A) Increase in real income
    (B) Change in quantity demanded due to price change
    (C) Increase in supply
    (D) Lower average cost
    Answer: (B)

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