Deck 23: Economics, environment, and Sustainability

Question 1

Why do markets often fail at environmental protection?

A) They are focused on making profits for their investors.
B) They should bear no responsibility for protecting the environment.
C) There is no profit to be made in protecting the environment.
D) There is little agreement as to what environmental protection involves.
E) They do not assign a monetary value to the benefits provided by natural capital.

Answer 1

They do not assign a monetary value to the benefits provided by natural capital.

Question 2

A social institution through which goods and services are produced,distributed,and consumed to satisfy people's needs and wants,ideally in the most efficient way possible is a(n)____.

A) economy
B) network
C) capitalistic system
D) market
E) socialistic system

Answer 2

economy

Question 3

Some economists warn that,even if the population stabilizes,the environmental impact per person is likely to increase.Which is the best explanation for why would that happen?

A) The middle class will continue to grow and per person consumption will increase.
B) The upper class will increase its consumption to preserve its advantages.
C) Historic use of natural resources has created a tipping point that will necessitate higher consumption to maintain current living standards.
D) The working class will be essentially excluded from the economy and will be forced into less advanced methods of production.
E) Governments will seek to maintain growth by encouraging ecologically risky strategies.

Answer 3

The middle class will continue to grow and per person consumption will increase.

Question 4

Which school of economics assumes that the potential for economic growth is essentially unlimited and is necessary for providing profits for businesses and jobs for workers?

A) classical
B) neoclassical
C) capitalistic
D) ecological
E) socialistic

Question 5

Which school of economics views human economic systems as subsystems of the biosphere that depend heavily on the earth's irreplaceable natural resources and ecosystem services?

A) classical
B) neoclassical
C) capitalistic
D) ecological
E) socialistic

Question 6

Which school of economics considers natural capital to be important but not indispensable?

A) classical
B) neoclassical
C) capitalistic
D) ecological
E) socialistic

Question 7

The central characteristic of a high-throughput economy is that it ____.

A) generates large amounts of wealth throughout the population,resulting in continued growth
B) boosts economic growth by increasing the flow of matter and energy resources through the economic system
C) is extremely durable,although prone to cycles of downturn followed by rapid growth
D) is sustainable with slow but persistent growth and occasional periods of stagnation
E) generates large amounts of wealth for a few individuals who receive tax breaks to reinvest in the economy

Question 8

Which school of economics contends that conventional economic growth eventually will become unsustainable because it can deplete or degrade various irreplaceable forms of natural capital?

A) classical
B) neoclassical
C) capitalistic
D) ecological
E) socialistic

Question 9

In 2011,solar energy provided electricity for how many German homes?

A) less than 1 million
B) 2.5 million
C) 4 million
D) 5 million
E) more than 6 million

Question 10

Since 2000,how many jobs have been generated by Germany's switch to renewable energy?

A) 180,000
B) 280,000
C) 380,000
D) 480.000
E) 580,000

Question 11

Which of the following refers to people's physical and mental talents that provide labor,organizational and management skills,and innovation?

A) human capital
B) natural capital
C) artificial capital
D) manufactured capital
E) development capital

Question 12

What is a strategy recommended by environmental economists to help make the transition away from unsustainable economic growth?

A) Substitute ethanol or natural gas for oil.
B) Fine tune existing economic systems and tools.
C) Continue economic growth for the jobs.
D) Provide businesses with profits even though unsustainable.
E) Provide tax supports to fossil fuel processors.

Question 13

The point at which the supplier's price matches what buyers are willing to pay for some quantity of a good or service is called the ____.

A) demand curve
B) market price equilibrium point
C) supply curve
D) price line
E) market cost

Question 14

Which of the following includes services and resources produced by the earth's natural processes?

A) human capital
B) natural capital
C) artificial capital
D) manufactured capital
E) development capital

Question 15

Which of the following refers to tools and materials such as machinery,materials,and factories?

A) human capital
B) natural capital
C) artificial capital
D) manufactured capital
E) development capital

Question 16

A free-market system operating without government interference requires that sellers ____.

A) not try to take business away from their competitors
B) provide all the goods and services possible
C) not include all their indirect costs in the prices
D) increase profits by pushing others out of business
E) use all resources to their fullest

Question 17

Which school of economics views the earth's natural capital as a subset,or part,of a human economic system?

A) classical
B) neoclassical
C) capitalistic
D) ecological
E) socialistic

Question 18

Which school of economics warns that human economic systems could exceed the capacity of the environment to handle the pollutants and wastes we produce?

A) classical
B) neoclassical
C) capitalistic
D) ecological
E) socialistic

Question 19

Markets do well in the production and distribution of private goods,but are not so good at ____.

A) accumulating resources
B) distribution of resources
C) public services
D) protecting sources of information
E) developing strategies

Question 20

In 2012,what percentage of its total electricity did Germany generate using wind farms?

A) 5%
B) 10%
C) 15%
D) 20%
E) 25%

Question 21

The point at which the marginal cost of resource production meets the marginal benefit of resource use is called the ____.

A) optimum level of resource use
B) optimum level of resource production
C) break-even point
D) tipping point
E) benefit maximization point

Question 22

What is a direct cost of driving a domestic car?

A) non-renewable resource use
B) cost to manufacture
C) release of greenhouse gases
D) disturbing land
E) air and water pollution

Question 23

The traditional measurement of the annual economic value of all goods and services within a country is called the ____.

A) GDP
B) GNP
C) HPI
D) GNH
E) NIH

Question 24

Consider a graph in which demand and supply intersect.What would the point of intersection be called?

A) quantity
B) price
C) availability
D) market price equilibrium
E) full cost pricing

Question 25

What is an indirect cost of car ownership?

A) maintenance and repair
B) gasoline
C) pollution from production and use
D) raw materials and labor
E) dealer mark-up

Question 26

Which of the following is a nonuse value?

A) existence value
B) monetary cost
C) mitigation cost
D) willingness-to-pay value
E) utilitarian value

Question 27

What is an argument against the use of full-cost pricing?

A) Producers of harmful products would have to charge more.
B) Environmental costs are minimally important.
C) The difference between market- and full-cost pricing is minimal.
D) This method has consistently failed in the past.
E) Some businesses use political and economic power to retain government assistance.

Question 28

Which of the following is true about green taxes?

A) Seventy percent of voters support green taxes when they are explained.
B) U.S.Congress has introduced and passed green taxes because of lobbyists.
C) Green taxes fail reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
D) Green taxes reduce economic competitiveness.
E) Green taxes cost jobs.

Question 29

A team of ecologists and economists estimated the yearly ecological services provided by the earth's forests amount to ____.

A) $259 billion
B) $551 billion
C) $856 billion
D) $1.3 trillion
E) $4.7 trillion

Question 30

A car buyer and others in society,pay hidden costs of car ownership in the form of which of the following costs?

A) car production
B) labor to build the car
C) pollution control
D) manufacturer profits
E) fuel

Question 31

Economists use ____ to estimate a resource's future economic value compared to its present value.

A) internalized cost
B) discount rate
C) instrumental value
D) trend analysis
E) cost-benefit analysis

Question 32

Levying taxes on each unit of pollution discharged into the air or water is an example of ____.

A) tradable pollution rights
B) charging user fees
C) regulation
D) green taxes
E) subsidies for beneficial actions

Question 33

Innovation-friendly regulation does which of the following?

A) Create a paperwork nightmare.
B) Motivate companies to develop green products.
C) Decrease company profits.
D) Eliminate jobs.
E) Decrease international market competitiveness.

Question 34

What is an argument against the use of high discount rates?

A) Inflation can reduce the value of future earnings on a resource.
B) Consumer preferences can make a product or resource obsolete.
C) Resource owners can make more money by investing their capital in some other venture.
D) High discount rates can encourage rapid exploitation of resources for immediate payoffs.
E) They do not provide resource owners with reasonable with any monetary returns.

Question 35

What is true of many industry estimates of the costs associated with pollution control regulations?

A) They are almost always more (and often much more)than the actual costs of complying.
B) They typically underestimate the costs,resulting in the need for government assistance.
C) They are usually reasonably accurate.
D) They are usually quite similar to the estimates provided by environmental groups.
E) They are typically quite similar to the governmental estimates.

Question 36

Subsidies and tax breaks for environmentally harmful businesses cost the world's taxpayers what amount per year?

A) $2 trillion
B) $200 billion
C) $150 billion
D) $1 billion
E) $500 million

Question 37

The optimum level of pollution control is reached when ____.

A) marginal costs of pollution control begins to exceed what the public will pay for control
B) marginal costs of pollution begins to exceed the marginal costs of pollution control
C) the marginal cost of pollution control intersects with the marginal cost of pollution
D) demand for pollution clean-up exceeds the capacity to clean pollution
E) technologies become affordable to clean up pollution

Question 38

Which of the following is an environmental indicator?

A) GDP
B) HPI
C) GPI
D) GNH
E) NIH

Question 39

What is an economic decision-making tool that involves determining who/what may be affected,projecting outcomes,and then establishing who benefits or who is harmed?

A) existence value
B) monetary value
C) discount value
D) nonuse value
E) cost benefit analysis

Question 40

Your text indicates that economic systems take natural capital and produce the following outputs.Which of these is considered to be a positive output?

A) Depletion of nonrenewable resources
B) Heat
C) Pollution and waste
D) Degradation of renewable resources
E) Goods and services

Question 41

In Europe and the United States,70% of people surveyed indicated they support green taxes.

Question 42

What proportion of Grameen Bank loans have been repaid?

A) 15%
B) 35%
C) 55%
D) 75%
E) 95%

Question 43

The market price you pay for something does not include most of the costs related to harm to the environment and human health associated with the production of the product.

Question 44

The Genuine Progress Indicator adds to the GDP the estimated values of benefits not included in market transactions and subtracts the harmful environmental and social costs.

Question 45

After the easily removed natural resource,such as coal,has been taken,the cost of removal goes up with each additional unit of the resource taken.This is called the marginal cost.

Question 46

What is an example of a service-flow economy?

A) purchasing an automobile and paying internal costs for environmental impacts
B) including life-cycle costs in the price of a product
C) providing document services instead of selling photocopiers
D) selling carpet made from 100% recycled fibers
E) using ecotourism to promote and sustain local indigenous communities

Question 47

The Grameen Bank specializes in providing ____.

A) loans to governments to help the poor
B) loans to corporations that help the poor
C) microfinancing at very low interest rates
D) financing for ecologically related large projects
E) grants to not-for-profit organizations

Question 48

Developed countries,in the year 2000,pledged to devote 0.7% of their national income toward reducing hunger and poverty and moving toward environmental sustainability.What is the average actual amount donated by these countries?

A) 2.0%
B) 1.5%
C) 0.75%
D) 0.50%
E) 0.25%

Question 49

At what level has the United States donated to the Millennium Development Goals,established in the year 2000?

A) 1.5%
B) 1.0%
C) 0.5%
D) 0.16%
E) 0.05%

Question 50

The best solution for pollution is always total cleanup.

Question 51

In a truly free-market economic system no company or small group of companies would control the prices of any goods or services.

Question 52

Making the shift to more sustainable economies will require governments,schools,and industries to ____.

A) greatly decrease spending on research and development
B) decrease spending on scientific and engineering education
C) give all students a basic economic education
D) include neoclassical economic concepts in educational curricula
E) develop business schools that include sustainable business planning

Question 53

Neoclassical economists assume that the potential for economic growth is unlimited.

Question 54

The cap and trade system is a market-based approach to pollution in which a permit holder not using its entire allocation of acceptable levels of pollution can sell them to other companies.

Question 55

A drawback to implementing environmental taxes and fees is that it ____.

A) penalizes low-income groups unless safety nets are provided
B) helps bring about full-cost pricing
C) encourages businesses to develop environmentally beneficial goods
D) is easily administered by existing tax agencies
E) introduces environmentally beneficial technologies

Question 56

What proportion of Grameen Bank loans have been used by women?

A) 17%
B) 37%
C) 57%
D) 77%
E) 97%

Question 57

Full-cost pricing would discourage producers from inventing more resource-efficient methods of production,thereby cutting production costs.

Question 58

A discount rate is the estimate of a resource's future economic value compared to its present value.

Question 59

What proportion of the world's population lives in extreme poverty?

A) less than one-tenth
B) about one-fifth
C) about one-quarter
D) about one-third
E) nearly half

Question 60

Ray Anderson is known for ____.

A) leasing organic solvents for chemical service companies
B) leasing carpets
C) designing a car-sharing network
D) creating a company to recycle and recondition home appliances
E) establishing the world's leading document service company

Question 61

Changing to a recycling and reuse economy will enable us to meet the needs of an ever-growing population indefinitely.

Question 62

____________________ has numerous harmful health and environmental effects and reducing it would benefit individuals,economies,and the environment.

Question 63

Ecological economists and ____________________ view economic systems as subsystems of the biosphere.

Question 64

A low-throughput economy is a more sustainable economy.

Question 65

One idea for reducing pollution and resource waste is to shift from the current material-flow economy to a(n)____________________.

Question 66

When implementing ____________________ taxes,governments should enforce a safety net for poor and middle class citizens.

Question 67

Donella Meadows contrasted the beliefs of neoclassical economists and ecological economists this way: "Economics discounts the future...The earth says: Never ____________________ in your generation than you ____________________ to the next."

Question 68

Experience shows markets cannot be relied upon to provide adequate levels of ____________________.

Question 69

The solar energy generates twice as many jobs as the nuclear energy industry.

Question 70

____________________ pricing is the inclusion of the harmful environmental and health effects of producing economic goods and services in the market prices.

Question 71

Three types of capital are used to produce goods and services: __________ capital;__________ capital;and __________ capital.

Question 72

The annual economic value of all goods and services produced within a country,regardless of whether they are beneficial or harmful,is the ____________________.

Question 73

Comparing estimated costs and benefits for actions such as implementing a pollution control regulation is called a(n)____________________.

Question 74

The repayment rate at the Grameen Bank on microloans is about 45-50%.

Question 75

Japan,France,and Belgium have phased out all ____________________ and Germany plans to do so by 2018.

Question 76

Kramer and Brownell started the SOIL program in Haiti.

Question 77

Environmentalists think that ____________________ regulations can encourage companies to develop green products and processes that can create jobs and increase company profits.

Question 78

The coal industry spent $45 million on an ad campaign to plant the phrase "clean coal" in the minds of Americans even though coal remains a dirty fossil fuel.This is an example of a practice known as _______________ .

Question 79

As new and more innovative businesses replace older ones that can no longer thrive under changing economic conditions in a dynamic capitalist economy,____________________ occurs.

Question 80

As more high-throughput economies develop,resource consumption will ____________________ the capacity of the environment to provide sufficient renewable resources.