ECON 309: The economics of a sustainable society

On-Line Quiz 4

Covering Chapters 11- 15 of Steve Hackett's Textbook:
Environmental and Natural Resources Economics:
Theory, Policy, and the Sustainable Society


M.E. Sharpe, Publisher
On-Line Quiz

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  1. Sustainability, as defined by Viederman, is a...

      measurement tool used to determine the point at which gross domestic product is maximized.
      community's control and prudent use of all forms of capital--natures capital, human capital, human-created capital, social capitol, and cultural capital--to ensure to the degree possible, that present and future generations can attain a high degree of economic security and achieve democracy while maintaining the integrity of the ecological systems upon which all life and production depends.
      point of optimum in which labor reaches a steady state level of productivity.
      concept that links ecology to democratic process, and is always in conflict with economic systems.

  2. Which of the following best describes human capital?

      The accumulation of stories, visions, and myths shared by people which provide the framework for how people view the world.
      The stock of civic virtues and network of civic engagement, involvement, and trust essential to democratic institutions.
      The knowledge, skills, and capabilities that people can deploy to create a flow of useful work for community and economy.
      All of the above.

  3. True or false: The term "Creative capital" refers to the tools, equipment, and technologies that economists traditionally think of as the capital stock.

      True.
      False.

  4. Which of the following are the three pillars of sustainability (as described by Viederman) whose integrity is necessary for a sustainable society?

      Economy, democratic process, and ecology.
      Environment, biodiversity, and ecology.
      Regulation, privatization, and technological advancement.
      Liberty, capitalism, and the coercive power of the state.

  5. What are the three global imperatives that, according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development, must be balanced for a sustainable society?

      Limitation of television viewing, production of self-cooling beverage containers, and reduced dependence on bicycles.
      Minimal government, creation of an opportunity economy, and resource development.
      Increased health care for the elderly, reduced crime rates, and lower property taxes.
      Environmental integrity, economic efficiency, and the well-being of all people.

  6. True or false: One of the central dilemmas confronting the sustainability movement is the problem of enhancing ecological integrity in a world with a decreasing human population.

      True.
      False.

  7. The theory of path dependence suggests that:

      Where we are today, and where we are going in the future, is partly a function of the particular events that make up our history.
      Important economic variables such as the inflation rate and interest rate are determined by past events and are largely unaffected by contemporary events.
      Economies whose infrastructure is build around cheap fossil-fuels have little difficulty shifting to energy alternatives.
      Economies are forward-looking and so are largely independent of past decisions and investments.

  8. According to the World Bank, how many people in the world did not have access to safe drinking water as of the early 1990s?

      1 million.
      50 million.
      500 million.
      1 billion.

  9. Which of the following situations is consistent with the Kuznets hypothesis relating income inequality to economic growth?

      Economies with the largest income inequalities grow the fastest.
      The richest economies tend to have the largest income inequalities.
      Poorer economies tend to have the largest inequality in income.
      There is no evidence that economic wealth or growth is related in any way to income inequality.

  10. True or false: Access to political and economic participation differs across men and women, and forms one of the challenges confronting sustainability.

      True.
      False.

  11. Which statement best describes the opportunity cost of capital for a profit-maximizing firm?

      The sum of the income that one could have earned by investing in each of the other possible alternative income-generating assets.
      The income that could have been earned by investing money in the most lucrative alternative financial asset, such as a portfolio of stocks, bonds, or real estate.
      The cost of borrowing money to finance the purchase a capital asset as opposed to paying cash.
      All of the above.

  12. Determine the PDV of a future environmental benefit: the benefit will be realized five years from the present, is estimated to be $10,000, and the appropriate discount rate is 5%.

      9133.87
      $8832.96
      7835.26
      $6844.30

  13. Which of the following best describes the impact that large-scale international development lending has had on many developing countries?

      Creation of a greater sense of community along with increased standards of living.
      A strengthening of environmental regulations, leading toward a more sustainable society.
      In many cases failed large-scale projects, external debt, economic restructuring aimed at resource extraction and exportation, and displacement of local indigenous peoples.
      In most cases improved environmental health, increased standards of living, and protection of indigenous property rights systems, cultural capital, and the commons that they depend upon for their livelihood.

  14. True or false: On the whole, Structural Adjustment Loans have been damaging to the wealthy countries, but beneficial to the lower-income debtor countries.

      True.
      False.

  15. From the perspective of the Earth Charter, how do sustainable development policies differ from conventional economic development policies?

      Conventional development policies focus more attention on environmental protection but less on male literacy and empowerment.
      Conventional development policies focus more attention on increasing a country's per-capita real income.
      Conventional development policies focus more attention on protecting the traditional property rights and common-pool resource systems of indigenous peoples.
      Sustainable development policies concentrate on economic efficiency and quantitative growth targets, while conventional economic development focuses on economic justice.

  16. Which of the following is a central element of weak-form sustainability theory?

      Human-made capital can effectively substitute for natural capital and the services provided by ecological systems.
      An emphasis on the ecological imperatives of carrying capacity, biodiversity, and biotic resilience, relative to conventional economic income and GDP.
      Both of the above are correct.
      Neither of the first two are correct.

  17. Which of the following is NOT an argument supporting strong-form sustainability over weak-form sustainability?

      The irreversibility of the environmental impacts of so many human activities.
      The discontinuities and threshold effects associated with cumulative human activities.
      The ease with which technology can replace depleted ecosystems and natural resources.
      The uncertainty associated with the consequences of drawing down natural capital.

  18. Which of the following factors is NOT SUBTRACTED from consumption to arrive at the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI)?

      The cost of crime.
      The value of services provided by government-owned capital.
      The loss of valuable leisure time.
      The cost of ozone depletion.

  19. Which of the following statements is NOT consistent with the strong correlation between path dependency and our reliance on traditional energy technologies?

      Sunk infrastructure investment represents a large financial commitment to the existing way of doing things.
      Private R&D activities are directed toward accommodating the existing system.
      New technologies are often-times produced in such small quantities that economies of scale in production are not reached, leading to high average costs of production.
      None of above; they are all consistent with path dependency effects.

  20. True or false: Current high rates of energy consumption in the United States are based on a policy of low fossil fuel energy prices.

      True.
      False.

  21. Approximately what percentage of people in Africa rely on wood as a fuel source for cooking?

      10.
      30.
      60.
      90.

  22. Which of the following provides the best description of Extended Producer Responsibility programs?

      These programs make it easier for citizens to sue companies whose pollution emissions are out of compliance with regulations.
      These programs allow citizens in developing countries to sue multinational firms for environmentally damaging production practices using the regulatory standards of the multinational firms home country.
      These programs extend producer responsibility to the entire "lifecycle" of the products that they make, from manufacturing to reuse, recycling, or disposal.
      These programs extend producer responsibility to include the funding of government pollution monitoring programs.

  23. In product take-back programs, who has the burden of dealing with reusing or recycling waste that results from the end of a products useful life?

      The original producer of the product.
      The local municipal government where the consumer of the product lives.
      The federal government in the country where the consumer of the product lives.
      The taxpayers in the poorest of developing countries where many goods are manufactured.

  24. True or false: Generations of Swiss and Japanese villagers, after contemplating the costs and benefits of both common property and private property, have chosen private rather than common property as the property rights institution for managing their common-pool resourcessuch as open alps, community forests, common pastures, and jointly used irrigation systems.

      True.
      False.

  25. In her research on self-governed coastal fishing commons, Schlager found that most of the reasonably successful governance structures were able to resolve which of the following problem or problems?

      Appropriation externalities.
      Technological externalities--gear entanglement and other forms of physical interference among fishing vessels working adjacent to one another.
      The difficulty in coordinating the assignment of fishing vessels to particular locations, some of which are more productive than others.
      Technological externalities and the assignment problem, but NOT appropriation externalities.
      All of the above.

  26. Which of the following is NOT one of Ostrom's design principles associated with sustainable local self-governance of common-pool resources (CPRs)?

      Clearly defined boundaries.
      Conflict resolution mechanisms.
      Central government recognition of the local peoples rights to self-governance.
      Protection of each individuals liberty to access and appropriate from the CPR in whatever manner the individual sees as appropriate.

  27. In the following equation [Total Economic Impact = (Local Income Injection) x Multiplier], what is the multiplier equal to?

      1/(consumption+investment).
      1/(resource depletion rate).
      1/(leakage rate).
      1/(net imports).

  28. True or false: The multiplier referred to above will increase with the percentage of local income spent on imported goods and services.

      True.
      False.

  29. True or false: There is evidence that concentrations of certain pollutants at first rise and then eventually decline as per-capita real income rises (a type of "Kuznets-Curve effect between pollution concentrations and per-capita real GDP).

      True.
      False.

  30. Potential problems with free international trade (from a sustainability perspective) and easy capital mobility include:

      Rich country/poor country trade can result in rich countries paying poor countries to accept toxic and other wastes, and poor countries hungry for cash will accept this waste. The problem here is with ethics.
      Rich country/poor country trade can worsen resource depletion when property rights to environmental and natural resources are poorly defined or enforced in the poor country. The problem here is that free trade worsens resource depletion.
      Free trade can result in more rapid displacement of indigenous people. This typically happens when a country's government and a big multinational partner to develop big development projects such as dams or strip mines that displace people. Easy capital mobility hastens this effect.
      All of the above.

  31. True or false: Microlending programs are economic development strategies that empower women and the poor, and promote entrepreneurism.

      True.
      False.

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Copyright Steve Hackett.