1996 Economics WAEC SSCE (School Candidates) May/June

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Economics 1 - Objective

1. The basic problem that Economics attempts to solve is the
   1. ranking of goods and services
   2. pricing of goods and services
   3. scarcity of resources
   4. foregoing of alternatives
   5. satisfaction of producers needs
2. The ranking of a consumers’ needs in order of importance is termed
   1. an opportunity cost
   2. economies of scale
   3. a scale of preference
   4. the making of choices
   5. direct production.

      

      Use the diagram below to answer questions 3 to 5.

      The total number of fruits consumed by a family in a year is 720, and this is represented by the pie chart here.
3. The quantity of banana consumed by the family is
   1. 20
   2. 120
   3. 200
   4. 240
   5. 300
4. The sum total of the quantity of mango and orange consumed by the family is
   1. 120
   2. 200
   3. 300
   4. 400
   5. 520
5. The quantity of carrot consumed by the family is
   1. 200
   2. 360
   3. 400
   4. 520
   5. 600
6. If the price of a commodity rises from N2.00 to N4.00 and its supply increases from 100 to 125 then the co-efficient of elasticity of supply is
   1. 0.025
   2. 0.24
   3. 0.22
   4. 0.25
   5. 0.23
7. If as a result of a fall in the price of commodity X, the quantity demanded of commodity Y falls, then commodities X and y are
   1. complementary
   2. in joint demand
   3. luxuries
   4. in composite demand
   5. substitutes
8. MUX = PX (where X and Y = good X and good Y, MU = Marginal Utility P = Price) MUY = PY. The above represents the
   1. marginal utility equation
   2. equation for consumer dis-equilibrium
   3. utility maximization equation
   4. equation for total utility
   5. equation for price elasticity
9. Subsistence agriculture means
   1. cultivation for external use.
   2. cultivation for local industries
   3. farming for the urban dwellers
   4. cultivation for household consumption
   5. cultivation for foreign currency.
10. Farm produce are graded, packed and distributed by
    1. purchasing co-operatives
    2. agricultural co-operative bank
    3. consumers co-operative society
    4. marketing co-operatives
    5. wholesale co-operatives.
11. Localization of industries is
    1. the industrialization of country
    2. the concentration of the firms of an industry in a particular area
    3. the location of a firm at a particular locality
    4. the economic development of a locality
    5. government intervention in the location of industry
12. Which of the following correctly illustrates the chain of distribution?
    1. Manufacturer → wholesaler → retailer → consumer
    2. Consumer → retailer → wholesaler → manufacturer
    3. Wholesaler → manufacturer → retailer → consumer
    4. Distributor → consumer → wholesaler → manufacturer
    5. Producer → manufacturer → wholesaler→ retailer
13. The natural growth rate of a population is the
    1. death rate plus net immigration
    2. rate of migration divided by birth rate
    3. birth rate minus death rate
    4. sum of birth rate and net immigration rate
    5. sum of birth rate and death rate.
14. Decreasing returns to scale implies that if all factors of production are doubled, output will
    1. more than doubled
    2. less than doubled
    3. doubled
    4. unchanged
    5. trebled
15. Rent and interest are rewards to
    1. labour and capital respectively
    2. land only
    3. capital only
    4. labour and land respectively
    5. land and capital respectively.
16. The process that leads to an agreement on the conditions of service between employers and employees is termed
    1. salary negotiations
    2. arbitration
    3. collective bargaining
    4. conciliation
    5. reconciliation
17. Diminishing returns occur in the short run when there is a reduction in the
    1. average product of the fixed factor the fixed factor
    2. total product of the variable factor
    3. total product of factor
    4. marginal product of the variable
    5. marginal product of the fixed factor.
18. In production factory buildings are regarded as
    1. variable costs
    2. average costs
    3. marginal costs
    4. total costs
    5. fixed costs
19. The ownership of a Pubic Limited Company is made up of
    1. two to twenty persons.
    2. a minimum of seven shareholders.
    3. a minimum of fifty and maximum of one hundred shareholders.
    4. two to fifty shareholders.
    5. a maximum of fifty shareholders.
20. All the following are the economic reasons for establishing public enterprises except the provision of
    1. an avenue for expressing national prestige
    2. services at a cheaper cost
    3. socially necessary facilities
    4. services which are natural monopolies
    5. employment opportunities.
21. The unemployment associated with decrease in demand is referred to as
    1. disguised
    2. imposed
    3. cyclical
    4. voluntary
    5. functional
22. Monopoly can best be described as a market in which
    1. a single seller sells a product which has no close substitute
    2. few sellers sell a product at different prices
    3. the entry of other firms is restricted by the few firms in the market
    4. two or more sellers sell a product which is differentiated
    5. a single buyer buys a product which has no close substitute.
23. Which of the following market structures are imperfect in competition? I. Monopoly ll. Duopoly III. Oligopoly
    1. I only
    2. II and III only
    3. I and II only
    4. I and III only
    5. I, II and III
24. Demand-pull inflation results when there is
    1. inadequate improvement in the wage rate of workers
    2. excessive demand due to high purchasing power
    3. excessive supply of raw materials for production
    4. rise in the productivity of the factors of production
    5. excessive rise in the standard of living.
25. Changes in the value of money can be measured by
    1. the distributors
    2. a price index
    3. a demand index
    4. a supply index
    5. the use of cheque
26. The efficiency of a country’s labour force depends on all the following except
    1. improved working conditions
    2. better health care facilities
    3. adequate training
    4. stable economy
    5. frequent strikes and lock-outs
27. Which of the following is a bank's responsibility to its shareholders?
    1. making profits
    2. creating money
    3. paying high interest rates
    4. preventing inflations
    5. issuing currencies
28. Deficit financing means
    1. receiving grants from the l. M. F
    2. having budget surplus
    3. excessive government spending on banks
    4. borrowing to finance a budget
    5. inadequate supply of money from the finance companies.
29. Development banks mainly provide
    1. savings account facilities for a developing economy
    2. foreign exchange facilities for importers and exporters
    3. capital for development of specific sectors
    4. capital for hire-purchase of machinery
    5. capital for the development of special banks
30. In calculating the Gross National Product (GNP) by the income approach, all the following are included except
    1. wages and salaries
    2. direct taxes paid by persons and companies
    3. rents on houses
    4. retirement benefits
    5. business profits.
31. Exchange control is a weapon used in regulating
    1. internal trade
    2. stock exchange
    3. foreign trade
    4. barter trade
    5. exchange of personal property
32. The current and capital accounts in Nigeria's balance of payments contain all of the following items except
    1. oil export
    2. receipts for shipping services
    3. cost of aviation
    4. foreign investment
    5. IMF’s Standard Drawing Right (SDR)
33. Who bears the greater burden of the indirect tax when the demand for a commodity is inelastic? The
    1. wholesaler
    2. shareholder
    3. retailer
    4. consumer
    5. entrepreneur
34. Economic growth specifically refers to the
    1. reliance on imported goods in preference to home-made goods
    2. sustained increase in the output of goods and services per head
    3. changes in technical and institutional arrangements of the economy
    4. continued increase in the depletion of a country's natural resource
    5. increase in the total number of people in the economy.
35. The hourly wages of five employees of the Nigerian Ports Authority are N2.52, N3.96, N3.28, N9.20 and N3.75 respectively. The median hourly wage is
    1. N2.52
    2. N3.28
    3. N3.75
    4. N3.96
    5. N9.20
36. The petroleum industry in Nigeria is an example of a
    1. capital-intensive industry
    2. service industry
    3. labour- intensive industry
    4. tertiary production industry
    5. localised industry.
37. The international cartel formed to stabilise the World Oil Market is
    1. Economic Commission for Africa
    2. International Monetary Fund
    3. Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
    4. Organisation of Petroleum Importing Countries
    5. International Trade Organization.
38. The United Nations Conference on Trade And Development(UNCTAD) is a forum designed specifically for discussing the
    1. political conflicts in the United Nations Security Council
    2. educational needs of the developed countries
    3. religious affairs in Southern Africa
    4. revenue allocation in Nigeria
    5. better terms of trade in the world.
39. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organisation which
    1. gives annual grants to all developing countries
    2. assists countries to solve their balance of payments problems
    3. helps countries to execute their development projects
    4. helps to promote regional economic groupings
    5. is owned by all the developed countries.
40. An economic system in which most means of production are owned and controlled by the State is known as a
    1. socialist economy
    2. capitalist economy
    3. mixed economy
    4. political economy
    5. feudal economy

Economics 2 - Essay

Section A Answer one question only from this section.

1. Utility Schedule

Quality of goods consumed	Total Utility	Marginal Utility
0	0	0
1	10	10
2	16	?
3	?	4
4	?	?
5	23	1
6	23	?

1. Complete the above utility schedule
2. Draw the marginal utility curve
4. 1. At what quantity does TU equal MU?
   2. What is the value of MU when TU reaches the maximum?
   3. What happens to the values TU as the quantity consumed increases?
   4. What happens to the values of MU as the quantity consumed increases?

2. The daily sales of a department store for one week are as follows;

Days	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat
Sales ₦	1,750	1,000	3,500	2,250	1,000	2,500

1. Present the above data in a bar graph. (The use of graph sheet is essential).
2. Calculate the average daily sales for the week.

Section B

Answer three questions only from this section.

3. In what ways can the government improve agricultural production in Nigeria?
4. Define ageing population and explain its effects on an economy.
5. Explain any three weapons that can be used by a trade union and any two weapons that can be used by an Employers' Association during a trade dispute.
6. Explain five sources of finances that are available to a Public Limited Company.
7. State any two ways by which monopolistic competition and perfect competition are similar and any three ways in which they are different.
8. 1. Explain the method of measuring the national income of a country.
   2. State any three problems associated with measuring national income.
9. 1. What is meant by devaluation?
   2. Explain the measure by which a country can correct its balance of payments deficit.
10. 1. Explain the term economic planning.
    2. Outline the problems of development plans in Nigeria.