25. A tax of 20 cents per unit of imported garlic is an example of a(n)
(a) specific tariff. (b) ad valorem tariff. (c) nominal tariff.
(d) effective protection tariff. (e) None of the above.
Answer: A
26. A tax of 20 percent per unit of imported garlic is an example of a(n)
(a) specific tariff. (b) ad valorem tariff. (c) nominal tariff.
(d) effective protection tariff. (e) None of the above.
Answer: B
27. Which type of tariff is forbidden in the United States on Constitutional grounds?
(a) Import tariff (b) Export tariff (c) Specific tariff (d) Prohibitive tariff (e) None of the above. Answer: B 28. The deadweight loss of a tariff
(a) is a social loss because it promotes inefficient use of national resources. (b) is a social loss because it reduces the revenue of the government.
(c) is not a social loss because it merely redistributes revenue from one sector to another. (d) is not a social loss bacuase it is paid for by rich corporations. (e) None of the above. Answer: A 29. Tariffs are not defended on the ground that they
(a) improve the terms of trade of foreign nations. (b) protect jobs and reduce unemployment.
(c) promote growth and development of young industries.
(d) prevent over-dependence of a country on only a few industries. (e) None of the above. Answer: A
30. The most vocal political pressure for tariffs is generally made by
(a) consumers lobbying for export tariffs. (b) consumers lobbying for import tariffs.
(c) consumers lobbying for lower import tariffs. (d) producers lobbying for export tariffs. (e) producers lobbying for import tariffs.
Answer: E
31. A policy of tariff reduction in the computer industry is
(a) in the interest of the United States as a whole and in the interest of computer producing
regions of the country.
(b) in the interest of United States as a whole but not in the interest of computer producing
regions of the country.
(c) not in the interest of the United States as a whole but in the interests of computer producing
regions of the country.
(d) not in the interest of the United States as a whole and not in the interests of computer
consumers.
(e) None of the above. Answer: B 32. The fact that industrialized countries levy very low or no tariff on raw materials and semi
processed goods
(a) helps developing countries export manufactured products. (b) has no effect on developing country exports.
(c) hurts developing country efforts to export manufactured goods. (d) hurts developing country efforts to export raw materials. (e) None of the above.
Answer: C
33. The Metzler Paradox
(a) explains why the United States uses both specific and ad valorum tariffs. (b) explains why the United States uses many none-tariff barriers to imports. (c) refers to the fact that the United States exported labor-intensive goods. (d) is not considered to be of practical application in the real world. (e) None of the above.
Answer: D
34. The Metzler Paradox
(a) could theoretically happen when a small country levies a tariff.
(b) refers to a situation when an Optimal Tariff hurts a country’s economic welfare. (c) refers to a situation when the imposition of a tariff lowers domestic prices. (d) refers to a situation when the imposition of a tariff helps foreign exporters. (e) None of the above. Answer: C
35. An Optimal Tariff
(a) could theoretically happen when a small country levies a tariff.
(b) refers to a situation when a tariff hurts a country’s economic welfare.
(c) refers to a situation when the imposition of a tariff lowers domestic prices. (d) refers to a situation when the imposition of a tariff helps foreign exporters. (e) None of the above.
Answer: E
36. An Optimal Tariff is considered unlikely to be observed in the real world because of
(a) The Metzler Paradox.
(b) it is practically impossible to define optimality in trade policy terms. (c) the likelihood of foreign repercussions.
(d) real countries are considered to be “small” in the world trade context. (e) None of the above.
Answer: C
37. In an inflationary environment, then over time
(a) A specific tariff will tend to raise more revenue than an ad valorum tariff. (b) An ad valorum tariff will tend to raise more revenue than a specific tariff (c) An optimum tariff will tend to raise more revenue than an escalating tariff (d) A tariff quota will tend to raise more revenue than a specific tariff. (e) None of the above Answer: B 38. The imposition of tariffs will help a nation attain which of the following goals?
(a) Decreased domestic consumer prices (b) Increased domestic employment
(c) Increased amount and variety of goods available for consumers (d) Increased competition between domestic and foreign producers (e) None of the above Answer: E 39. Tariff rates on products imported into the U.S.
(a) have dropped substantially over the past 50 years. (b) were prohibited by the constitution (c) reached an all time high in 2002. (d) have risen steadily since 1920 (e) None of the above Answer: A
40. What is a true statement concerning the imposition in the U.S. of a tariff on steel?
(a) It lowers the price of cheese domestically (b) It raises the price of cheese internationally (c) It raises revenue for the government
(d) It will always result in retaliation from abroad (e) None of the above
Answer: C
41. An important difference between tariffs and quotas is that tariffs
(a) raise the price of the good
(b) generate tax revenue for the government (c) stimulate international trade (d) help domestic producers (e) None of the above
Answer: B
? Essay Questions
1.
Economic theory in general, and trade theory in particular are replete with equivalencies. For example, it is argued that for any specific tariff one can find an equivalent ad valorum tariff; and that for any quota one can calculate a tariff equivalent. Discuss conditions or situations under which a specific and an ad valorum tariff are not equivalent. Discuss conditions or situations when a tariff and a quota are not equivalent.
Answer: E.g., during a period of price inflation, an ad valorum tariff would become increasingly
more effective. The government does not receive any of the quota revenues, unless the import licenses are sold or auctioned. 2.
The Metzler Paradox is a special case of the optimum tariff concept. Discuss this assertion.
Would the optimum tariff tend to be a high one or a low one in the case where this paradox exists? What conditions would be needed in the international markets for a country’s exports for this paradox to exist? Why do you suppose empirical support for the existence of this paradox has not been forthcoming to date?
Answer: The Metzler Paradox describes an unlikely situation in which the imposition of a tariff
not only improves a country’s welfare, but also improves that of its domestic
consumers. If this paradox were present then the magnitude of the optimum tariff would tend to be large, since the welfare decreasing decrease in imports is not present in this case (the imports actually increase, as world prices drastically drop). The Metzler Paradox could occur only if the foreign offer curves are inelastic. It is not likely to be observed because trade elasticities tend to be relatively large. Also, were it to exist, its activation by a large country would tend to evoke foreign retaliation. 3.
Some argue that tariffs always hurt the imposing country’s economic welfare, and are typically designed to shift resources from one sector to another, protected or preferred one, within an economy. Find and discuss a counterexample to this argument. Answer: The optimum tariff is theoretically a first-best trade policy.
4.
The effective rate of protection is a weighted average of nominal tariffs and tariffs on imported inputs. It has been noted that in most industrialized countries, the nominal tariffs on raw materials or intermediate components or products are lower than on final-stage products meant for final markets. Why would countries design their tariff structures in this manner? Who tends to be helped, and who is harmed by this cascading tariff structure?
Answer: The cascading tariff structure is probably the result of systematic lobbying on the part
of manufacturing interests and lobbies to lower costs of production (in terms of imported inputs). The end result is in fact to create effective rates of protection for downstream, or final manufacturing processes that are often much higher than nominal tariffs on these products. An important group, which is hurt by this are exporters of raw materials and components in developing countries.
5.
The two deadweight triangles are the Consumption distortion and Production distortion losses. It is easy to understand why the Consumption distortion constitutes a loss for society. After all it raises the prices of goods to consumers, and even causes some consumers to drop out of the
market altogether. It seems paradoxical that the Production distortion is considered an equivalent burden on society. After all, in this case, profits increase, and additional production (with its
associated employment) comes on line. This would seem to be an offset rather than an addition to the burden or loss borne by society. Explain why the Production distortion is indeed a loss to society, and what is wrong with the logic that leads to the apparent paradox.
Answer: The Production Distortion represents an inefficient shift of society’s resources to
produce a good, which it could not sell profitably at world prices. Since (with full employment assumed) these resources were formerly used to produce export goods, which could compete profitably, the net result is a loss in real income to the country.
6.
It is argued that a tariff may help promote employment in a single industry, but is not likely to help employment in general. Discuss.
Answer: A general tariff on all imports is equivalent to a depreciation in the value of the
country’s currency. It would raise the prices of all imports, and have a considerable income effect. This income effect will have a negative effect on total consumption of the import-competing sector (as well as the exportables and non-tradables). In addition, under conditions of a flexible exchange rate regime (assuming the Marshal-Lerner Conditions hold) it will lower the supply of the country’s currency in the foreign
exchange market, and hence cause an appreciation of the currency. This will harm the country’s exports, and negatively affect this sector’s employment.
? Quantitative/Graphing Problems
1.
In the Figure above, in the absence of Trade how many Widgets does this country produce and consume? Answer: 60 2.
In the absence of trade what is the country’s consumer plus producer surplus? Answer: $180, $180 3.
With free trade and no tariffs, what is the quantity of Widgets imported? Answer: 100 4.
With a specific tariff of $3 per unit, what is the quantity of Widget imports? Answer: 80 5.
The loss of Consumer Surplus due to the tariff equals Answer: $230 6.
The lowest specific tariff which would be considered prohibitive is Answer: $5
国际经济学作业答案-第八章
