Exam 20: Public Choice and Special-Interest-Group Politics

It often appears as if there are "too few" workers at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)to service all of its customers at a given point in time.Based on one of theories discussed in the textbook,this is probably because

Economists often evaluate a theory in terms of how consistently and accurately it predicts what happens.Implicit in this position is the belief that

A theory is a perfect description of reality.

The instructors at College A are regularly late for their office hours.Based on a theory presented in the textbook,we would predict that the gap between the ______________student tuition and ___________equilibrium tuition is ___________ at College A.

Smith says that criminals are rational and that they consider both the benefits and costs of criminal activity.Jones disagrees.He says criminals are irrational and can't possibly be considering both the benefits and costs of criminal activity.If they did,he argues,they wouldn't be criminals.An economist who wants to figure out if criminals are rational,would most likely build a

A person tends to be ______________ likely to lose her temper with a boss than with a friend because the opportunity cost of losing her temper with her boss tends to be _____________ than the opportunity cost of losing her temper with her friend.

For economic imperialists,economics is more of a method of analysis than a specific field of study.

Universities A and B are substitutes in the minds of many college students.Initially the student tuition at each university is the same and far below the equilibrium tuition.Then,the tuition at A is raised and B is not.As a result of a rising tuition at A,some students who would have applied and enrolled in A,apply to B instead.Based on the logic presented in one of the theories discussed in the textbook,we would expect that

One theory discussed in the textbook is that there is a direct relationship between the opportunity cost of having children and the number of children a woman will have.

Theories should be judged based upon how

Those who say that economics is becoming an increasingly imperialist social science are suggesting that economics is

The efficient number of gifts that a gift-giver wants to give is the number at which the marginal benefits of giving a gift are__________________the marginal costs of giving a gift.

If a theory gives a scientist results that she does not want,then she should not believe in that theory.

A theory predicts that the more a student studies,the higher his or her grades will be.This theory is

The _________________ the opportunity cost of bad behavior,the _________________ likely one is to exhibit bad behavior.

Theories should be judged based upon how consistently and precisely they predict and how well they explain things.