JAMB UTME - Economics - 2010

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A firm enjoying economies of scale is said to be reducing average cost as production increases. This means that as the firm produces more output, it experiences a decrease in the average cost of producing each unit. Economies of scale can arise from various factors such as specialization, technological advancements, and increased bargaining power with suppliers. As a result, a firm that is able to enjoy economies of scale is able to produce and sell its output at a lower cost than its competitors, which can give it a competitive advantage in the market.

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The demand curve for factors of production slopes downwards. This means that as the price of a factor of production (e.g. labor) decreases, the quantity demanded of that factor increases. Conversely, as the price of the factor of production increases, the quantity demanded decreases. This is because producers will demand less of a factor of production as its price increases, since they will be looking to minimize their costs and will seek out cheaper alternatives if available. However, they will be willing to purchase more of the factor of production as its price decreases, since it becomes relatively cheaper compared to other factors. This relationship is captured by the downward slope of the demand curve for factors of production.

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A strategy for curbing unemployment is to increase government expenditure and decrease taxes. This is because when the government spends money on public goods and services, it creates job opportunities and stimulates economic growth. Additionally, when taxes are lowered, it leaves more money in the hands of consumers, which can increase demand for goods and services and lead to businesses hiring more workers to meet the demand. Overall, increasing government expenditure and decreasing taxes can help boost employment levels in the economy.

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Localization of industries refers to the concentration of firms of an industry in a specific geographic area. In other words, it refers to the tendency of firms in the same industry to cluster together in a particular location. This can happen due to various factors such as access to resources, labor, and markets, as well as the presence of a skilled workforce or favorable government policies. The concentration of firms in a particular area can lead to economies of scale, increased competition, and knowledge sharing, which can benefit both the firms and the local economy.

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Consumer surplus tends to be higher when demand is elastic. This is because when demand is elastic, consumers are more sensitive to changes in price and are willing to buy more when prices are low. As a result, they can obtain a larger quantity of goods or services for a given price, which increases their consumer surplus. In contrast, when demand is inelastic, consumers are less sensitive to changes in price, and as a result, their consumer surplus tends to be lower.

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An agreement among firms on price and segmentation is termed as a "cartel". A cartel is a group of firms or businesses that work together to control prices and restrict competition. The firms in a cartel agree to limit the production and distribution of their products or services, which results in higher prices and profits for the members of the cartel. This practice is generally illegal and considered anti-competitive behavior in most countries, as it restricts consumer choice and can lead to economic inefficiencies.

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The most popular sizes of dresses and shoes are determined by the mode. The mode is the value that appears most frequently in a dataset. Therefore, when determining the most popular sizes of dresses and shoes, we look for the size that appears most often in sales or orders data. This is the mode, and it is the most representative measure of the most popular size.

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The ultimate aim of agricultural policies in Nigeria is to achieve food sufficiency. Agricultural policies are designed to ensure that the country produces enough food to feed its population. These policies are geared towards increasing agricultural productivity, providing incentives to farmers, improving access to credit, and promoting research and development in agriculture. By achieving food sufficiency, Nigeria can reduce its reliance on food imports, ensure that its citizens have access to healthy and nutritious food, and improve the overall standard of living of its people.

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Monopolistic competition is a market structure where there are many sellers offering similar but not identical products. One of the characteristics of monopolistic competition is that no single seller dominates the market, meaning that there is no monopoly power. Instead, each firm has a small share of the market, so they have to compete with each other on the basis of price, quality, and marketing. This means that the firms are not price-takers and have some control over the price they charge for their products. Consumers do not have perfect knowledge of price and quality, so they have to search for information and make trade-offs based on their preferences. Factors of production are relatively mobile, meaning that they can move from one firm to another depending on the relative profitability of each firm.

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Government can introduce price control boards to reduce hardship faced by consumers due to high prices. These boards are responsible for regulating and setting maximum prices for essential goods and services in the economy. This is aimed at preventing price gouging and ensuring that consumers can still afford basic necessities, especially during times of economic hardship.

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The maximum number of shareholders for a limited liability company is **infinite**. A limited liability company (LLC) is a business structure that provides limited liability protection to its owners (referred to as members). The owners of an LLC are not personally responsible for the company's debts or liabilities. Unlike a sole proprietorship or partnership, an LLC can have an unlimited number of members. This means that anyone can invest in the company and become a member, subject to the company's articles of organization and state laws.

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The government can boost agricultural output in Nigeria primarily by granting subsidies on farm inputs. This is because subsidies can help farmers to access affordable and quality inputs like fertilizers, improved seeds, and pesticides, which are necessary for increasing yields. By reducing the cost of production, farmers can be encouraged to produce more crops and increase their income. Buffer stock programmes and placing farmers on monthly income may help stabilize food prices and provide income support, but they do not directly increase agricultural output. Placing embargo on food importation may protect local farmers from foreign competition, but it may also lead to food shortages and higher prices for consumers.

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The ultimate aim of agricultural policies in Nigeria is to achieve food sufficiency. This means that the policies put in place are geared towards ensuring that there is enough food to meet the needs of the population. Agricultural policies are designed to increase agricultural productivity, encourage farmers to grow more food, improve food storage and distribution systems, and increase access to credit and other resources that farmers need to produce more food. The goal is to make Nigeria self-sufficient in food production and reduce the reliance on imported food products. Achieving food sufficiency will not only improve the health and well-being of Nigerians but also create employment opportunities and reduce poverty in the country.

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The rising portion of the long-run average cost curve of a firm is an indication that it is experiencing diseconomies of scale. This means that as the firm expands its production in the long run, its average costs increase. This could be due to various factors such as a lack of coordination among workers, increased managerial complexity, or increased transportation costs. In other words, the firm is no longer benefiting from economies of scale and is experiencing diminishing returns to scale. This is why the average cost per unit of output is increasing, and the firm's profitability may be affected if it cannot find ways to reduce its costs.

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The velocity of money represents how fast money is circulating in an economy. It is calculated as the ratio of nominal GDP (the total value of all goods and services produced in an economy at current market prices) to the money supply (the total amount of money in circulation within an economy at a given point in time). Therefore, the correct option is "Nominal GDP / Money supply".

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If the demand for a commodity is elastic, it means that a small change in the price of the commodity will lead to a relatively larger change in the quantity demanded. Therefore, if the price of a commodity with elastic demand increases, the quantity demanded by consumers will decrease. As a result, the revenue accruing to the producer will decrease, since the decrease in the quantity demanded will not be enough to offset the increase in price. Hence, the correct option is "decrease".

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The function of money which makes division of labour possible is its medium of exchange. Money acts as a common medium of exchange which is accepted by all parties in a transaction. This allows individuals to specialize in certain areas of production and trade their goods or services for money. Without money as a medium of exchange, barter trade would be necessary which would make it difficult for individuals to specialize and exchange goods and services efficiently.

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In developing countries, governments influence the location of industries to spread development across different regions. They do this by offering incentives such as tax holidays, subsidies, and infrastructure development to attract industries to regions that are underdeveloped. By encouraging industries to locate in these areas, governments hope to create jobs, increase economic growth, and reduce regional inequalities.

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One of the functions of commercial banks is granting loans to customers. This means that commercial banks lend money to individuals, businesses, and other organizations who need it for various purposes, such as starting or expanding a business, buying a home, or paying for education. Commercial banks earn interest on the loans they grant, which is a major source of revenue for the banks. In addition to lending, commercial banks also provide other services such as checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and online banking.

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Ordinal utility theory is a theory used in microeconomics to explain how individuals make choices when faced with different options. One of the main assumptions of this theory is that utility can be ranked. This means that individuals can express a preference for one option over another based on the satisfaction they derive from each option. However, ordinal utility theory does not assume that utility can be measured in a precise or quantitative way, only that individuals can express a relative ranking of preferences.

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When the demand for a good is more elastic than its supply, it means that consumers are more sensitive to changes in the price of the good than the producers. Thus, if a tax is imposed on the good, the producers will have to bear most of the tax burden by reducing the price they charge for the good. If the producers cannot reduce their prices, they will have to pay the tax out of their profits, reducing the quantity they supply to the market. As a result, the consumers' price may not change much, and they will continue to buy the same quantity of the good. Therefore, the tax burden is more likely to be borne by the producers. Hence, the correct answer is "more by producers."

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In perfect competition, the price is determined by the market. In a perfectly competitive market, there are many buyers and sellers, and no single buyer or seller can influence the market price. The market price is determined by the interaction of buyers and sellers, based on the forces of supply and demand. The sellers in the market are price-takers, which means that they have to accept the market price for their goods or services, and cannot set their own prices. This is because there are many other sellers in the market who are selling similar goods or services, and buyers can easily switch between sellers if the price is too high. Therefore, in a perfectly competitive market, the price is determined solely by the market forces of supply and demand.

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National development plans in Nigeria fail mainly because of poor implementation strategies. Development plans are designed to achieve certain goals, objectives and targets for the country, but these goals and objectives cannot be achieved if the strategies put in place for implementation are ineffective. Poor implementation strategies in Nigeria can be attributed to a lack of political will, corruption, lack of accountability, and weak institutions. The lack of political will by the government to implement development plans often results in inadequate funding of projects, which hinders the successful implementation of the plan. Corruption is another major factor that contributes to the failure of development plans in Nigeria, as it diverts resources away from the intended projects. Weak institutions also contribute to the failure of development plans as they are unable to provide the necessary checks and balances to ensure that the plan is being implemented effectively. Therefore, addressing the issue of poor implementation strategies is essential for the successful implementation of development plans in Nigeria.

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The amount of labor hired depends on the marginal productivity of labor. Marginal productivity of labor refers to the amount of output produced by an additional unit of labor. In other words, a firm will continue to hire labor until the cost of an additional unit of labor equals the additional revenue generated by that unit. Therefore, if the marginal productivity of labor is high, a firm will hire more labor, and if it is low, a firm will hire less labor. The other options listed (number of skilled labor available, skill of labor, and price of the inputs) can all influence the marginal productivity of labor and therefore impact the amount of labor hired, but they are not the sole determining factor.

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Economics is a social science that studies human behavior in relation to the efficient allocation of scarce resources. In other words, it seeks to understand how people make decisions about what to produce, how to produce it, and for whom to produce it, given the limited resources available. The goal of economics is to improve the standard of living by maximizing the efficient use of resources to generate income and produce goods and services.

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The standard deviation of a set of data is a measure of dispersion. It tells us how much the data deviates from the mean. A high standard deviation indicates that the data is widely spread out, while a low standard deviation indicates that the data is clustered around the mean. It is not always measured from the mode or median, but rather from the mean of the data. Therefore, and (a) are incorrect. While the standard deviation is a type of average, it is not the most representative one, as it only tells us about the variability of the data, and not about its central tendency. Therefore, is also incorrect.

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Nigeria's dependence on imported petroleum products has a disadvantage in the form of instability in the supply of the product. Nigeria is one of the largest oil-producing countries in the world, but its refineries are poorly maintained and cannot meet the domestic demand for petroleum products. Therefore, Nigeria has to rely on imports to meet its demand for fuel, which makes the country vulnerable to fluctuations in global oil prices and supply disruptions. The importation of petroleum products is also dominated by multinational corporations, which can further exacerbate Nigeria's dependence on imported products.

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MPC refers to the Marginal Propensity to Consume. It is the fraction of additional income that an individual or a household spends on consumption. When the government spends more money, it leads to an increase in the total expenditure in the economy, and the amount of money in circulation increases. This increase in expenditure leads to an increase in the national income by a multiple of the initial expenditure. The multiple is determined by the MPC. The formula for the equilibrium national income is given by: Equilibrium national income = Initial increase in expenditure / (1 - MPC) Substituting the values given: Equilibrium national income = 150m / (1 - 0.7) = 150m / 0.3 = N 500 million Therefore, the equilibrium national income is N 500 million.

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The African Development Bank (ADB) was established to promote economic and social development across its member countries. Therefore, one of the objectives of ADB is to promote the economic and social development of its member countries. This is done through various means such as providing loans, grants, and technical assistance to support development projects in member countries. The ADB aims to improve the standard of living and quality of life for people in Africa by fostering economic growth, reducing poverty, and promoting sustainable development.

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The law of diminishing marginal utility states that as an individual consumes more and more of a good or service, the additional satisfaction or utility that they derive from each additional unit of the good or service decreases. This helps explain why the slope of a normal demand curve is negative - as the price of a good or service increases, individuals will consume less of it because the marginal utility of each additional unit is decreasing. Conversely, an abnormal demand curve slopes upwards because the marginal utility of each additional unit is increasing. The law of diminishing marginal utility is also used to explain why consumers may shift from consuming inferior goods to normal goods as their income increases, as the marginal utility of inferior goods decreases with higher income levels.

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The formula for calculating the mean is: ¯x = ∑fx / N Where ¯x is the mean, ∑fx is the sum of the product of the frequencies and their corresponding values, and N is the total number of observations. Given that ¯x = 6 and N = 6, we can solve for ∑fx as follows: 6 = ∑fx / 6 Multiplying both sides of the equation by 6, we get: 6 * 6 = ∑fx 36 = ∑fx Therefore, the value of ∑fx is 36.

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Consumer surplus is the difference between what a consumer is willing to pay for a product or service and what they actually pay. In this case, the consumer planned to spend 120k on four oranges but spent 80k instead. If we assume that the consumer was willing to pay 120k for four oranges, then the consumer surplus would be the difference between what he was willing to pay (120k) and what he actually paid (80k), which is 40k. Therefore, the answer is N0.40 (40k/4).

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