It is now time to take a few moments and see how well you have mastered the techniques which have been the focus of the first parts of the course. Good luck
The following 5 questions based on the data below.
1. How much of the change in state support of RIU between 1988 and 1992 could be explained by changes in the state budget (general revenue)?
2. If we set 1982, the end of the national recession, as the base year, what would the index of State Appropriations to Higher Education be in 1989?
3. What would state appropriations to RIU be in 1996 if their share of the state budget for the entire period had remained at its 1990 level?
4. What happened to the share of state spending on RIU between 1990 and 1996?
5. What happened to the real level of state spending on RIU between 1982 and 1988?
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|
YEAR |
RIU STATE |
TOTAL STATE |
HIGHER EDUCATION |
CPI
|
|
|
APPROPRIATIONS |
GENERAL REVENUE |
STATE APPROPRIATIONS |
|
|
1980 |
$39,509 |
$675,386 |
$72,721 |
$82 |
|
1981 |
$42,058 |
$756,452 |
$76,074 |
$91 |
|
1982 |
$44,317 |
$821,247 |
$82,829 |
$97 |
|
1983 |
$47,662 |
$867,977 |
$89,149 |
$100 |
|
1984 |
$49,612 |
$901,640 |
$94,279 |
$104 |
|
1985 |
$53,842 |
$972,577 |
$101,822 |
$108 |
|
1986 |
$57,379 |
$1,052,435 |
$107,341 |
$110 |
|
1987 |
$60,869 |
$1,129,084 |
$113,270 |
$114 |
|
1988 |
$64,537 |
$1,239,341 |
$122,691 |
$118 |
|
1989 |
$68,671 |
$1,392,276 |
$130,963 |
$124 |
|
1990 |
$69,331 |
$1,489,371 |
$132,582 |
$131 |
|
1991 |
$62,561 |
$1,446,412 |
$120,382 |
$136 |
|
1992 |
$56,629 |
$1,711,078 |
$110,855 |
$140 |
|
1993 |
$57,123 |
$1,615,738 |
$112,656 |
$145 |
|
1994 |
$59,452 |
$1,530,926 |
$117,294 |
$148 |
|
1995 |
$62,915 |
$1,640,985 |
$127,094 |
$152 |
|
1996 |
$63,789 |
$1,706,683 |
$128,727 |
$159 |
6. It is important to look at economic variables from both an absolute and relative perspective because each has its strength and weakness. Consider the problem of analyzing the unemployment rate in RI during the 1980s. If we look at the graph of RI's relative unemployment rate (RI/US) we find it is negatively sloped for much of the 1980s. Which of the following would be the best explanation of this patterns would be that:
a. the unemployment rate in RI fell faster than it did in the US
b. the unemployment rate in RI was generally higher than in the US
c. the unemployment rate in RI was generally lower than in the US
d. the unemployment rate in RI grew faster than it did in the US
7. One of the issues that economists debate is the inflation-unemployment tradeoff. For now let us assume that there is evidence of a negative relationship between the level of unemployment and the inflation rate: as the inflation rate increases we see a decrease in the unemployment rate. This is a relationship that holds for Germany as well as the US. The major difference between the two countries is that in Germany the increase in the inflation rate resulting from any decrease in the unemployment rate is larger than it is in the US. Which of the following diagrams best represents this phenomenon.
8. Any reduction in the supply which increases the price of oil is forecast to have a minimal impact on the level of oil consumption in the US, while in Japan consumption is forecast to drop substantially. Which of the set of demand curves below is most likely to be representative of the relationship between the price of oil (P) and consumption of oil (Q) in Japan and the US?
9. The Laffer curve was developed by Arthur Laffer to describe the relationship between tax rates (t) and tax revenue(T). Dr. Laffer hypothesized that tax revenues increased as the tax rate increased up to a certain tax rate. After that tax rate however, tax revenues would fall as the tax rate increased. This relationship is best represented by which of the following graphs.
10. If you were trying to overestimate the growth of sales for your company than you would pick a ___ as the starting point and a ____ as the ending point in your analysis.
11. A study of the labor supply of rural people in Bangladesh has revealed that there tends to be a positive relationship between the hours worked (L) and the wage rate (W) at low wages but that once the wage rate reaches a certain level the amount of hours worked tends to fall with higher wages. This relationship can best be represented by which of the following graphs.
Which of the following diagrams would best represent the situations described below in the hypothetical surveys?
12. A survey of West German college students attitude towards economic aid to Eastern Germany was recently conducted. In that survey students at 50 universities were asked whether they supported the concept of providing aid to help the current regime weather the tough economic times of conversion to a capitalistic structure. One of the findings of the survey was that the percentage of the school's students who supported the idea of providing aid (x) appeared to be similar for all the schools and unrelated to the school's distance from the former East-West border (y). This result would best be represented in which of the scatter diagrams.
13. A survey of college students attitude towards economic aid to the USSR was recently conducted. In that survey students at 50 universities were asked whether they supported the concept of providing aid to help the current regime weather the tough economic times. One of the findings of the survey was that the percentage of the school's students who supported the idea of providing aid (P) was fairly constant across the universities and appeared to be unrelated to average family income at the school(I).
14. If you were interested in tracking down some data on unemployment rates, which agency would be the best place to find that information?
15. If you were interested in tracking down some data on GDP, which agency would be the best place to find that information?
16. If you were interested in tracking down some data on the prime rate, which agency would be the best place to find that information?
Use the following table to answer the next three questions.
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|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
|
1 |
|
pop |
<18 |
<25 |
25-64 |
65-74 |
75-84 |
>85 |
|
2 |
1970 |
203235 |
69689 |
93403 |
|
12443 |
6122 |
1408 |
|
3 |
1980 |
226546 |
63754 |
93776 |
|
15581 |
7729 |
2240 |
|
4 |
1990 |
248710 |
63924 |
90866 |
|
18045 |
10012 |
3021 |
|
5 |
2000 |
274815 |
70693 |
96810 |
|
18258 |
12339 |
4289 |
|
6 |
2010 |
298109 |
72063 |
102070 |
|
21235 |
12767 |
5702 |
|
7 |
2020 |
322602 |
76303 |
105988 |
|
37865 |
23592 |
8381 |
|
8 |
2030 |
344951 |
80778 |
112053 |
|
33678 |
28689 |
13221 |
|
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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10 |
1970 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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11 |
1980 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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12 |
1990 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
13 |
2000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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14 |
2010 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
15 |
2020 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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16 |
2030 |
|
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|
|
17. What formula would you put in cell A2?
18. What formula would you put in cell B10 if you wanted a table of population shares for each age and you would use only one formula for the entire table?
17. What formula would you put in cell B10 if you wanted a table of population indexes for each age bracket. [this is identical to the construction employment example and you would use only one formula for the entire table?