Free Microeconomics MCQs with Answers

• A. Marxism
• B. Social Darwinism
• C. Classical liberalism
• D. Classical conservatism

Explanation: Structural functionalism emphasizes order, stability and the contribution of institutions to society, ideas closely associated with…

• A. the families of the best hunters are permitted to hoard food
• B. the elder females make all the group,s rules
• C. there is a priestly caste
• D. none of the above

Explanation: The listed forms of inequality do not accurately describe the Siriono, who are generally portrayed as having an egalitarian social…

• A. Charles Darwin
• B. Karl Marx
• C. Talcott Parsons
• D. Kingsley Davis

Explanation: Conflict theory treats inequality as the result of competition between groups with unequal power and resources, following Karl Marx's…

• A. In simple societies social differences among individuals are nonexistent
• B. Slavery serfdom and caste are all instances of inequalities that are social in nature
• C. People rank themselves according to wealth prestige and power
• D. Stratification occurs in every society that has produced a surplus

Explanation: Even simple societies have social differences based on age, sex, skill or status, so it is incorrect to say that differences are…

• A. the social meanings people give these differences
• B. the evidence that some traits are more desirable than others
• C. the fact that to have more is better than to have less in all circumstances
• D. those with most power can determine cultural values

Explanation: Biological or cultural differences become socially important through the meanings and value that people attach to them.

• A. resulting from a need for order
• B. providing a stabilizing influence on society
• C. preventing conflicts among individuals
• D. all of the above

Explanation: Functionalists argue that stratification helps maintain order, assigns roles and encourages social stability, thereby reducing potential…

• A. create inequality
• B. help people decide whom they should marry
• C. provide a work force for society
• D. fulfill the laws of nature

Explanation: Stratification arranges people into unequal layers with different access to wealth, prestige and power, so its central effect is to create…

• A. Urban resident
• B. More educated than parents
• C. Comes from a large family of several brothers and sisters
• D. Marries later and limits family to no more than two children

Explanation: Upward mobility is commonly associated with education, urban residence and delayed marriage with a smaller family.

• A. households
• B. firms
• C. governments
• D. all of the above

Explanation: Households supply resources and demand goods, firms produce goods and hire resources, and governments tax, regulate, and purchase goods…

• A. land
• B. labor
• C. capital
• D. entrepreneurship

Explanation: Capital consists of produced means of production, such as machinery, tools, and buildings.

• A. the housing given factory workers
• B. The fact that in early industrialization work was done in the home
• C. a type of architecture popular in Britain
• D. The way young people were put out to go work in factories

Explanation: The putting-out system was an early form of industrial production in which merchants supplied raw materials and workers completed goods in…

• A. Untrained and unskilled
• B. High-cost, highly skilled
• C. Lean skilled and motivated
• D. Untrained and unmotivated

Explanation: Craft production depends on workers who possess specialized skills and can produce complete or highly customized goods.

• A. 50%
• B. 25%
• C. 35%
• D. 40%

Explanation: In mass-production plants, approximately 25 percent of total work hours was reported to be spent correcting assembly-line errors.

• A. combines the best features of craft and mass production
• B. has as its goal perfection
• C. pushes responsibility down the organizational ladder
• D. All of the above

Explanation: Lean production combines the flexibility of craft production with the efficiency of mass production, seeks continuous improvement toward…

• A. 50 times that of the average workers
• B. 100 times that of the average workers
• C. 250 times that of the average workers
• D. 262 times that of the average workers

Explanation: In 2005, the average CEO's compensation was reported as about 262 times that of the average worker.

• A. Domestic workers
• B. Accountants and financial consultants
• C. Senior and chief executive
• D. corporate attorneys

Explanation: Senior and chief executives received the greatest increase in compensation during the 1990s, reflecting the rapid growth of executive pay…

• A. Home construction
• B. Oil drilling
• C. Salmon canning
• D. All of these

Explanation: Oil drilling is part of the primary sector because it extracts a natural resource directly from the earth.

• A. PACs
• B. interlocking directorates
• C. investment portfolios
• D. All of the above

Explanation: Corporations can influence economic and political decisions through political action committees, ownership and control across investment…

• A. gradually narrowed
• B. remained stable
• C. slightly increased
• D. greatly increased

Explanation: The gap between average CEO compensation and average worker pay greatly increased, especially during the late twentieth century.

• A. fixed costs
• B. risk
• C. opportunity costs
• D. prime costs

Explanation: Every choice uses resources that could have been used for another purpose, creating an opportunity cost.