1997 Economics WAEC SSCE (School Candidates) May/June

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Economics 1 - Objective

Economics is often described as a science because it
1. adopts the use of laboratory experiments
2. involves accurate predictions of human beings
3. makes use of controlled experiment
4. use scientific methods to explain observed phenomena
5. deals with observation and field work
Scarcity in Economics means that
1. the economy can scarcely produce anything
2. human wants are limitless
3. the economy has very few resources
4. human wants are limited, relative to resources
5. resources are limited relative to wants
which of the following has a derived demand?
1. labour
2. butter
3. television set
4. breads
5. motor cars
In Economics production is complete when
1. Goods are manufactured in the factories
2. are sold to the final consumer
3. goods and services are distributed by the government
4. producers fixed the price of goods produced
5. goods and services gets to the retailer
Goods are said to be in competitive demand when they
1. Are substitutes
2. Are complementary to each other
3. Are jointly demanded
4. Have equal coefficient of elasticity
5. Are identical
The formula for calculating price elasticity of demand coefficient is
1. Percentage change in price/percentage change in quantity demanded
2. Absolute decline in price/absolute increase in quantity demanded
3. Percentage change in quantity demanded/percentage change in price
4. Absolute decline in quantity demanded/absolute increase in price
5. Change in quantity demanded/decrease in price
when the price of a given product is reduced from N100 to N90, the quantity demanded increases from 50 to 60 units. From this we can conclude that the product's
1. demand is elastic
2. demand is inelastic
3. demand is perfectly inelastic
4. supply is not elastic
5. demand has decline
a shift in supply curve to the right will result in a
1. fall in both the price and supply
2. fall in price but an increase in supply
3. rise in both price and supply
4. rise in price and fall in supply
5. no change in price and supply
one of the disadvantages of the division of labour is that it
1. saves time
2. makes work monotonous
3. encourages full utilization of capital
4. makes workers skilled at their work
5. allows greater use of machinery
The value of money is affected by the
1. speculative motive
2. price level
3. transactionary motive
4. precautionary motive
5. employment level
which of the following is not a problem in the barter economy?
1. multiple exchange rate
2. indivisibility of goods and services
3. double coincidence of wants
4. bulkness of commodities
5. inflation
The optimum population of a country is reached when the
1. production of goods and services is less than optimum
2. output per head is at its highest with a given volume of resources
3. total production increases with a given volume of resources
4. national resources increases as population increases
5. working population rises at a geometrical rate
when the death rate for old people and the infant mortality rate are high , with no migration , there will be in the population a higher number of
1. younger people in the population
2. children in the population
3. old people in the population
4. women in the population
5. men in the population
In the long-run, potential GNP is variable because. I technological change takes place II the quantity of labour and capital is not fixed III. unemployment is not constant
1. I only
2. II only
3. I and II only
4. I and III only
5. III only
for two commodities A and B, MA and MB are the respective marginal utilities while PA and PB are the respective prices. Marginal utilities of the commodities are maximized when
1. MA/PA = MB/PB
2. MA/PA > MB/PB
3. MA/PA < MB/PB
4. PA/MA < PB/MB
5. PA/MA > PB/MB
If the price of product K declines , the demand curve for the complementary product J will
1. remain unchanged
2. shift to the right
3. decrease
4. shift to the left
5. slopes upwards
a stock exchange is a market that
1. deals with the exchange of commodities
2. deals with purchase and sales of securities
3. exchanges stockfish for lady fish
4. exchanges treasury bills for bills of exchange
5. sells foreign exchange
The situation whereby government revenue is less than government expenditure is referred to as
1. budget deficit
2. balanced budget
3. budget surplus
4. budget statement
5. unfavourable budget
which of the following will not increase the population of a country?
1. an increase in birth rate
2. a decrease in death rate
3. better medical services
4. immigration
5. Emigration
the actual output of an economy is the output
1. which would exist if al resources were fully employed
2. produced by currently employed labour capital and land
3. produced in the consumer goods sector
4. produced in the capital goods sector
5. produced by agriculture sector
one of the instruments of protection of infants industries is the
1. price control board
2. open market operation
3. tarrif
4. GDP-deflator
5. multiplier
inflation caused by increase in demand can be curbed by
1. exporting more goods and services
2. hoarding of goods
3. increasing the level of output
4. increasing the level of money supply
5. reducing importation
which of the following is a function of commercial banks?
1. issuing currencies
2. accepts deposits
3. Are the bankers' bank
4. Determine the rate of interest
5. increase of time in learning a trade
Division of labour leads to
1. employment of everybody
2. decrease in output
3. monotony of work
4. increase of time in workshops
5. increase of time in learning a trade
The largest employment sector in a typical West African country is
1. construction
2. transportation
3. petroleum
4. agriculture
5. manufacturing
The indigenisation policy in Nigeria is aimed at
1. nationalising foreign businesses
2. alternating foreign investors
3. commandeering foreign businesses in Nigeria
4. expelling foreign investors and taking over their investment
5. increasing equity participation and control by Nigerians
the foregone alternative in Economics is simply the
1. marginal cost
2. cost of foreign products
3. total cost
4. opportunity cost
5. average cost
all the following are different forms of money except
1. bank notes
2. demand deposits
3. coins
4. currency
5. bank sellers
The developments banks are essentially different from commercial banks because they
1. medium and long term loans
2. open current accounts for their customers
3. discount bills of exchange
4. are lenders of last resort
5. carry out open market operations
The outward shift to the production possibility curve could be due to
1. military conquest
2. increased money supply
3. inflation
4. economic growth
5. massive importation
which of the following is not true of a firm in equilibrium condition in perfect competition?
1. MC is rising
2. MC curves cuts AC curves from below
3. MR>AR
4. MC = AC
5. MR = AR
Hoarding in distributive trade leads to
1. non-availability of commodities
2. production of inferior goods
3. increase in the supply of goods
4. decrease in the supply of goods
5. artificial scarcity of goods
Hoarding in distributive trade leads to
1. non-availability of commodities
2. production of inferior goods
3. increase in the supply of goods
4. decrease in the supply of goods
5. artificial scarcity of goods
If an economy grows at an annual rate of 6% of which 4% is deemed to be due to improvement in the productivity of labour and capital combined ,the remaining 2% is generally attributed to the
1. amount of natural resources
2. improvement in banking services
3. size of the population
4. quality of human resources
5. improvement in government fiscal policies
when the government imposes a unit tax on a commodity with perfectly inelastic demand, the
1. tax is borne entirely by the seller
2. tax is shared equally between the buyer and the seller
3. seller bears 70% and the consumer bears 30% of the tax
4. tax is borne entirely by the consumer
5. tax is borne by nobody
Free Trade means
1. producers are free to determine their prices
2. market forces are allowed to determine prices
3. non-restriction of international trade
4. goods are to be sold free of charge
5. people are free to buy in foreign countries
In a public company , entrepreneurial function are performed by the
1. workers
2. shareholders
3. creditors
4. board of directors
5. chairman
Term of trade is the
1. ratio of capital movement to export movements
2. ratio of import to short-term export
3. difference between export and import
4. ratio of short-term capital movement to long-term capital movements
5. ratio of index of export prices to index of import prices
Tariff can be define as a compulsory levy on
1. goods that are produced and consumed locally
2. foreign exchange earnings
3. imported but inferior goods
4. foreigners working in a country
5. imports and exports
international trade is different from internal trade because of the
1. manufactured goods involved
2. currency differentials
3. homogeneity of products
4. heterogeneity of products
5. uniformity of prices

Economics 2 - Essay

Section A

Answer one question only from this section.

The data here shows an hypothetical age distribution of the population of a town in Nigeria.

Sex		Age in years
	10 and below	11-14 15-3	36 - 64	65 and above
Male	1350	2275 1135	Y	3250
Female	2650	2725 1365	4265	Z
Total	4000	X 2500	7500	6000

From this data, calculate:

1. X, Y, Z.
2. The total population of the town.
3. The difference be-tween the population of male and female aged 14 and below.
4. The percentage of the population aged 14 and below.
5. The dependency ratio in the town.
Use the table to answer the following questions:

Quantity of yams(kg)	Total Revenue (TR)	Marginal Revenue (MR)	Total Cost (TC)	Marginal Cost (MC)
	N	N	N	N
0	0	-	5	-
1	9	9	8	3
2	18	9	6	T
3	24	6	21	5
4	28	Q	25	4
5	30	2	25	U
6	P	1	25	0
7	28	-3	S	1
8	24	R	24	-2

1. Complete the table by calculating the missing figures P,Q,R,S,T,U.
2. At what out-put is profit maximized?
3. Calculate the profit when quantity sold is 5.
4. At what output does MC begin to rise?

Section B

Answer three questions only from this section.

1. Explain the term opportunity cost.
2. Highlight the relevance of the opportunity cost concept to individuals, firms and government
Describe any five problems of distribution in Nigeria.
1. Define population census.
2. State the implications of
  1. optimum population.
  2. over-population
With the aid of a diagram, explain the super-normal profit of a monopolist.
What is money? Why do people prefer to hold money?
Explain any five reasons why a joint stock company is preferable to a one-man business.
State any three positive and any two negative effects of petroleum industry on the economy of Nigeria.
1. Define the term Balance of Payments.
2. What are its main components?