The Meaning Of Policy Analysis Full Test Bank Chapter 1

Economic Analysis of Public Policy, 2^nd Edition

William K. Bellinger

Multiple Choice Test Bank

The goal of this resource is to provide a relatively brief set of objective questions to supplement the instructor’s choice of quantitative problems and essays. It is not our intention to encourage reliance on multiple choice exams for this type of course.

Chapter 1 Multiple Choice Questions

1. The three main goals of public policy are

a. Rationality, political practicality, advocacy

b. Efficiency, rationality, equity

c. Efficiency, equity, political practicality

d. Equity, ideology, rationality

2. The three roles of the policy analyst laid out by Robert Nelson are

a. Problem identifier, alternatives evaluator, progressive neutral expert

b. Progressive neutral expert, entrepreneur for efficiency, ideological combatant

c. Alternatives evaluator, entrepreneur for efficiency, unbiased decision-maker

d. Ideological combatant, problem identifier, alternatives evaluator

3. Policy recommendations are

a. a necessary part of every policy analyst’s job

b. are not part of the policy analyst’s role because this would violate his/her neutrality

c. are or aren’t part of the their role depending on who’s employing them

d. are not part of the policy analyst’s role because recommendations are beyond the study of policy analysis

4. Policy analysts

a. need to consider ideas from other disciplines like engineering, law, and other social

sciences

b. can choose to consider ideas from other disciplines or can just as easily operate without them

c. must not consider ideas from other disciplines since this may bias the results of their

analysis in one direction or another

5. In the context of economics, assumptions

a. are stated or unstated value judgments, definitions and interpretations made without

supporting evidence.

b. are logical conclusions reached in the first step of economic analysis and used

consistently from thereon.

c. must be based on the evidence at hand but do not need to be explicitly stated

d. are different for every person and thus have no role in unbiased policy analysis

6. Case studies

a. provide broad overviews of information such as how frequently something occurs and

how many individuals are affected by a policy

b. are evaluations of specific individuals, firms, or geographic areas

c. the basis for evidence in policy analysis since they are necessarily objective

d. should be excluded from policy analysis because they are inherently biased

7. Which of the following people are unemployed according to the official U.S. definition

a. a full time student

b. a doctor working 10 hours a week as a cashier at Wal-Mart.

c. a full time student

d. a person waiting to hear the results of a recent job interview.

e. none of the above

8. “Beware of the big number” refers to

a. the presentation of large totals to impress instead of percentages which may provide

context.

b. a phobia of numbers greater than 1,000,000

c. the fact that policy analysts should avoid anything that results in large numbers in order not to confuse the public

d. the need to worry about large unforeseen costs that may affect whether a policy is

worth pursuing

9. Assuming the correlation of two things means that one cause the other is referred to as

a. false equivalence reasoning

b. ad hominem fallacy

c. post hoc, prompter hoc analysis

d. all of the above

10. Based on Your Turn 1-1, which of the following statements about U.S. durable goods manufacturing is false?

a. durable goods manufacturing output has been rising in the long run

b. durable goods employment has been falling since the 1960s.

c. durable goods employment as a percentage of total employment has been falling since the 60s.

d. None, all of the above are true.

From the appendix:

11. Equilibrium occurs when

a. there is more supply for a good than demand for it

b. quantity demanded is the same as quantity supplied

c. the price of units supplied and demanded are equal

d. both b & c

12. If the demand curve is P=80 – Q and supply is 20 + 2Q, the equilibrium price and quantity are

a. P = 20, Q = 20

b. P = 60, Q = 20

c. P = 80, Q = 20

d. P= 40, Q = 40

13. A tangency point of a curve and a straight line occurs

a. whenever their slopes are equal at the same x value

b. when they touch at a point but don’t cross

c. when the lines cross

d. when they are perpendicular to each other