JAMB Economics Past Questions & Answers - Page 181

901.

One of the assumptions of ordinal utility theory is that

A.

Choice is not consistent

B.

Utility can be ranked

C.

Total utility is a function of price

D.

Satisfaction is measurable

Correct answer is B

An ordinal utility function is a function representing the preferences of an agent on an ordinal scale. Ordinal utility theory claims that it is only meaningful to ask which option is better than the other, but it is meaningless to ask how much better it is or how good it is. This means that utility can only be ranked and not measured as claimed by other theories.

902.

Consumer surplus tends to be higher when demand is

A.

Inelastic

B.

Perfectly elastic

C.

Elastic

D.

Unitarily elastic

Correct answer is C

No explanation has been provided for this answer.

903.

If the price of a commodity with elastic demand increases, the revenue accruing to the producer will 

A.

Double

B.

Increase

C.

Be constant

D.

Decrease

Correct answer is D

If the demand for a good is elastic, the producer revenue will reduce. This is because, when there is an increase in price it will lead to a decrease in the quantity demanded, consumers would most likely move on to consume a substitute, hence the producer of that product would loose revenue as a result of a drop in sales.

904.

If the demand for a good is more elastic than its supply, the tax burden is borne

A.

Equally by consumers and producers

B.

More by producers

C.

More by consumers

D.

More by retailers and producers

Correct answer is B

If the demand for a good is elastic it means a change in price would affect a change in quantity demanded.

Now if the demand for that good is more elastic than its supply, the tax burden is borne by the producer. This is because, when there is an increase in price it will lead to a decrease in the quantity demanded, consumers would most likely move on to consume a substitute, hence the producer of that product would be left to bear the burden of any other additional increment in taxes or running cost.

905.

The most popular sizes of dresses and shoes are determined by the

A.

Range

B.

Mean

C.

Mode

D.

Median

Correct answer is C

The mode of a set of data is the value that appears most often. 

From the question above, the size of dresses and shoes with the highest occurence or appearance would be easily determine by the mode. This is so because, after the data is organized according to different sizes putting the numbers in order, then count how many of each number. A number that appears most often is the mode.