JAMB Economics Past Questions & Answers - Page 173

861.

If demand increases without a change in supply, equilibrium price and quantity will

A.

Remain unchanged

B.

Shift inward

C.

Fall

D.

Rise

Correct answer is D

If demand increases without a corresponding increase in supply, prices will go up because consumers would be willing to buy the available commodity at any price due to scarcity.

862.

If the demand for one commodity excludes another, it is said to be

A.

Complementary demand

B.

Competitive demand

C.

Composite demand

D.

Derived demand

Correct answer is B

Competitive demand is a market situation where a prospective buyer could choose between two competing products and still receive roughly the same level of satisfaction. The selection of one product which are normally substitutes would lead to the exclusion of the other product. Example if Mr X intends to buy detergent, he can either choose to buy omo or sunlight detergent but not the two. Choosing between these two alternatives is what is referred to as competitive demand.

863.

A consumer surplus measures the

A.

Benefits derived from consuming a cheap commodity

B.

Excess of total expenditure over total uility

C.

Difference between marginal utility and marginal cost

D.

Excess of marginal utility over price

Correct answer is C

Consumer Surplus is the difference between the price that consumers pay and the price that they are willing to pay. For instance if mr A budgeted N100 for commodity X and ended up buying it for 150, consumer surplus is 150-100=50. 

864.

Demand patterns are determined by the market on the basis of

A.

Scale of preference

B.

Consumer sovereignty

C.

Consumer rationality

D.

Price of the commodity

Correct answer is B

Demand patterns are predictions on how consumers react to different products and services in the market. One of the major tools that affects demand patterns is consumer sovereignty. In consumer sovereignty it is believed that the desires and needs of consumers control the output of producers.

865.

A major disadvantage of the arithmetic means is that it is

A.

Not useful for large data

B.

Not suitable for further statistical analysis

C.

Cumbersome to determine the actual value

D.

Affected by extreme data

Correct answer is D

One of the disadvantage of the arithmetic mean is that it is not the best measure to use with data sets containing a few extreme values or with more dispersed (volatile) data sets in general.