70+ History of Economics Thought Solved MCQs

These multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are designed to enhance your knowledge and understanding in the following areas: Bachelor of Arts in Economics (BA Economics) .

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1.	The word economics derives from an early Greek term that means management of a:
A.	business.
B.	government.
C.	househo
D.	financial institution.
E.	industry.
Answer» C. househo

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2.	The cliché that “the punishment should fit the crime” originated in the writings of:
A.	plato.
B.	thomas aquinas.
C.	jeremy bentham.
D.	david hume.
E.	thomas hobbes.
Answer» C. jeremy bentham.

discuss

3.	The notion that communism should be imposed on a nation’s rulers so that they would neither be tempted by possessions nor diverted from the task of wise governance was proposed by:
A.	plato.
B.	xenophon.
C.	aristotle.
D.	protagoras.
E.	adam smith
Answer» A. plato.

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4.	In his description of an idealized city-state, Plato did not advocate:
A.	class-specialization.
B.	self-regulation of markets.
C.	fiat money to facilitate exchange.
D.	that all philosopher king rulers embrace communist styles of living.
Answer» B. self-regulation of markets.

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5.	The ancient Greek philosopher who tried to analyze isolated (one-on-one) exchange because markets with standardized products were relatively rare during his era was:
A.	plato.
B.	aristotle.
C.	eucl
D.	protagoras.
Answer» B. aristotle.

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6.	Of the following, the thinkers who viewed markets most favorably and who would consequently have been least likely to condemn payments of interest as immoral or unjustified by productivity would have been:
A.	richard cantillon and françois quesnay.
B.	aristotle and plato.
C.	thomas aquinas and albertus magnus.
D.	ibn kaldur and abu hamid al-ghazali.
Answer» A. richard cantillon and françois quesnay.

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7.	Medieval scholastics, early Islamic thinkers, and Aristotle all agreed that:
A.	the accumulation of gold within a nation-state would eventually offset any trade surplus.
B.	payments of interest [usury] should be prohibited.
C.	commerce was modeled on a circular flow.
D.	surpluses are enhanced through skilled management.
Answer» B. payments of interest [usury] should be prohibited.

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8.	What early philosopher described this type of developmental cycle: people move from a rural, nomadic society with little economic surplus to an agricultural society with greater economic surplus and population growth?:
A.	physiocrat quesnay who said the production from land created a surplus known as the net product.
B.	non-western philosopher ibn khaldun.
C.	non-western philosopher abu hamid al-ghazali.
D.	thomas malthus, who came up with a theory on population.
Answer» B. non-western philosopher ibn khaldun.

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9.	The concept of a “just price” that condemned market forces for yielding unjust results was developed in the writings of:
A.	antoine augustin cournot.
B.	fabius maximus.
C.	karl marx.
D.	demosthenes.
E.	thomas aquinas.
Answer» B. fabius maximus.

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10.	Nationalism, self-sufficiency, and imperial power were central concerns of:
A.	french physiocrats.
B.	thomas malthus.
C.	mercantilists.
D.	adam smith.
E.	neoclassical economists.
Answer» C. mercantilists.

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11.	Supernatural power, divinity, and gifts of nature are integral to the explanations of economic events developed by:
A.	physiocrats.
B.	german historicists.
C.	modern monetarists.
D.	mercantilists.
E.	keynesians.
Answer» A. physiocrats.

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12.	The French Physiocrats believed land was the only thing that could produce a net product, this net product was the surplus generated from land. Physiocrats concluded that a reasonable measure of a society’s net product is:
A.	the number of houses built in one year.
B.	land rent.
C.	rent paid to landlords by people living in apartments.
D.	the amount of taxes collected in one year.
Answer» B. land rent.

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13.	Management of the economy via extensive regulations and laws specified by the national government is most consistent with:
A.	syndicalism.
B.	mercantilism.
C.	communism, the next stage after a marxist “dictatorship of the proletariat.
D.	classical liberalism.
Answer» B. mercantilism.

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14.	The concept of _____ was illustrated by _____ with the quote, “The loss of a little finger would keep the average European from sleeping that night, ... but, provided he never saw them, he will snore with the most profound security over the loss of millions of his brethren.”
A.	opportunity cost; john maurice clark
B.	self interest; adam smith
C.	scarcity; thorstein b. veblen
D.	social security; george bush
Answer» B. self interest; adam smith

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15.	The first comprehensive work on economics written in English was authored by Adam Smith in 1776 and entitled “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the:
A.	laws of supply and demand.”
B.	wealth of nations.”
C.	movements of prices in competition.”
D.	incomes of different social classes.”
Answer» B. wealth of nations.”

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16.	Adam Smith’s theory of economic growth relies upon a ________ to kick-start the process, and then _________ to continue it.
A.	higher wages./ the wages fund.
B.	division of labor/ higher wages.
C.	explosive population growth / economies of scale.
D.	division of labor / capital accumulation.
Answer» D. division of labor / capital accumulation.

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17.	Social welfare is maximized when a “hedonistic calculus” regulates all human action according to the interventionist “liberal”:
A.	john stuart mill.
B.	thorstein veblen.
C.	milton friedman.
D.	jeremy bentham.
Answer» D. jeremy bentham.

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18.	The theory that in equilibrium, workers’ wages will barely be adequate for biological needs is known as the:
A.	labor theory of value.
B.	convergence hypothesis.
C.	subsistence theory of wages.
D.	indicative planning model.
Answer» C. subsistence theory of wages.

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19.	The Marxist theory of dialectical materialism theoretically follows a sequence:
A.	synthesis  thesis  antithesis.
B.	antithesis  synthesis  thesis.
C.	thesis  antithesis  synthesis.
D.	synthesis  antithesis  thesis.
Answer» C. thesis  antithesis  synthesis.

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20.	According to Karl Marx, the properties that distinguish commodities do not include:
A.	useful.
B.	produced by human labor.
C.	offered for sale in the market.
D.	inseparable from the individual that produced them.
Answer» D. inseparable from the individual that produced them.

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21.	The Marxist concept of surplus value would not include income received in the form of:
A.	wages.
B.	rent.
C.	interest.
D.	corporate profits.
E.	proprietor profits.
Answer» A. wages.

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22.	According to Karl Marx, revolution would inevitably come from the oppressed workers, known as the:
A.	proletariat.
B.	patricians.
C.	bourgeoisie.
D.	panacea.
E.	petit bourgeoisie.
Answer» A. proletariat.

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23.	Which of the following was a belief shared by utopian and scientific socialists?
A.	the labor of the middle class determines the value of a product.
B.	class struggle is the necessary means to achieve social change.
C.	private property should be abolish
Answer» C. private property should be abolish

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24.	Which of the following characteristics is least representative of socialism?
A.	personal profits are derived through market competition
B.	it includes private ownership of the means of production
C.	it involves centralized decision making
D.	it includes the pursuit of collective goals
Answer» A. personal profits are derived through market competition

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25.	Who was the social theorist that proposed socialism should serve as an intermediate stage on the way to an ideal communist society
A.	karl marx
B.	william domhoff
C.	erik wright
D.	wright mills
Answer» A. karl marx

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26.	Marginalism and the idea that pricing reflects marginal utility and demand was a movement away from:
A.	the quantity theory of money.
B.	thelabor theory of value.
C.	mercantilism.
D.	marx’s business cycle theory.
Answer» B. thelabor theory of value.

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27.	Explicit treatments of marginal analysis were least central to the writings of:
A.	william stanley jevons.
B.	léon walras.
C.	john stuart. mill.
D.	carl menger.
Answer» C. john stuart. mill.

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28.	The economist who spent twenty years cautiously trying out his ideas on his students before finally presenting them to the world near the close of the 19th century was: ]
A.	william stanley jevons.
B.	henry george.
C.	léon walras.
D.	alfred marshall
Answer» D. alfred marshall

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29.	Alfred Marshall formalized and then popularized the analytical technique known as:
A.	general equilibrium analysis
B.	felicific calculus.
C.	partial equilibrium analysis.
D.	differential equations.
Answer» C. partial equilibrium analysis.

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30.	Vilfredo Pareto’s very deductive mathematical models and proofs made the market seem quite mechanistic, an approach most notably rejected by his slightly older contemporary:
A.	karl marx.
B.	léon walras.
C.	alfred marshall.
D.	william stanley jevons.
Answer» C. alfred marshall.

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31.	The economic theorist who most vociferously opposed using “all else assumed constant” [ceteris paribus] assumptions when building theory was:
A.	karl marx.
B.	alfred marshall.
C.	thomas robert malthus .
D.	léon walras.
Answer» D. léon walras.

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32.	The Lausanne School is to Léon Walras as the Austrian School is to:
A.	vilfredo pareto.
B.	carl menger.
C.	enrico barone.
D.	david hume.
Answer» B. carl menger.

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33.	The idea that governmental redistributions of income or wealth will ultimately have no effect on how disparate income and wealth are distributed is sometimes called:
A.	say’s law of markets.
B.	the law of comparative advantage.
C.	keynes’ law.
D.	pareto’s law.
Answer» D. pareto’s law.

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34.	Which of the following is not among Rostow's stages of growth
A.	the traditional society
B.	the age of low mass consumption
C.	the take-off
D.	the drive to maturity
Answer» B. the age of low mass consumption

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35.	Neoclassical economics views
A.	natural resources as the primary factor determining economic success
B.	nature as a source of raw materials and a sink for wastes
C.	a steady-state as the ultimate economic goal
D.	the relationship between supply and demand as having minor importance
Answer» B. nature as a source of raw materials and a sink for wastes

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36.	Which of the following is the nucleus of the Keynesian theory of employment?
A.	the theory of consumption function
B.	the principle of effective demand
C.	marginal efficiency of capital
D.	none of these
Answer» B. the principle of effective demand

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37.	The study of the effect of consumption on investment is called
A.	accelerator
B.	multiplier
C.	leverage effect
D.	none of these
Answer» A. accelerator

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38.	Who among the following was the leader of Monetarism
A.	keynes
B.	milton friedman
C.	a.w.philip
D.	mankiv
Answer» B. milton friedman

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39.	The multiplier is the reciprocal of
A.	marginal propensity to save
B.	marginal propensity to consume
C.	both mpc and mps
D.	none of the above
Answer» A. marginal propensity to save

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40.	The mew classical economics is based on
A.	market clearing
B.	non-market clearing
C.	both a and b
D.	none of these
Answer» A. market clearing

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41.	The welfare of all means:
A.	swaraj
B.	sarvodaya
C.	brahmacharya
D.	swadeshi
Answer» B. sarvodaya

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42.	The desire of people to keep money with them is called by Keynes as:
A.	investment
B.	saving
C.	liquidity preference
D.	consumption
Answer» C. liquidity preference

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43.	According to Keynes marginal efficiency of capital has a tendency to :
A.	increase
B.	decrease
C.	remains constant
D.	none of these
Answer» B. decrease

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44.	The change in income as a result of change in is investment called by Keynes as:
A.	multiplier
B.	accelerator
C.	marginal efficiency of capital
D.	none of these
Answer» A. multiplier

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45.	Marginal efficiency of capital is :
A.	the expected rate of profit from new investment
B.	the expected rate of profit from past investment
C.	the expected rate of profit from saving
D.	none of these.
Answer» A. the expected rate of profit from new investment

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46.	Keynes theory of employment relates to:
A.	the long run
B.	short run
C.	very long period
D.	none of these
Answer» B. short run

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47.	The two important determinants of investment according to Keynes are:
A.	interest rate and marginal efficiency of capital
B.	saving and interest rate
C.	interest rate and consumption
D.	none of these
Answer» A. interest rate and marginal efficiency of capital

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48.	According to Keynes consumption is a function of :
A.	income
B.	saving
C.	employment
D.	none of these
Answer» A. income

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49.	The author of the “End of Laissez faire” was.
A.	keynes
B.	friedman
C.	laffer
D.	j.b.say
Answer» A. keynes

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50.	The author of ‘Arthashastra’ is
A.	kautilya
B.	bana bhatta
C.	thiruvalluvar
D.	kabir das
Answer» A. kautilya

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70+ History of Economics Thought Solved MCQs

The word economics derives from an early Greek term that means management of a:

The cliché that “the punishment should fit the crime” originated in the writings of:

The notion that communism should be imposed on a nation’s rulers so that they would neither be tempted by possessions nor diverted from the task of wise governance was proposed by:

In his description of an idealized city-state, Plato did not advocate:

The ancient Greek philosopher who tried to analyze isolated (one-on-one) exchange because markets with standardized products were relatively rare during his era was:

Of the following, the thinkers who viewed markets most favorably and who would consequently have been least likely to condemn payments of interest as immoral or unjustified by productivity would have been:

Medieval scholastics, early Islamic thinkers, and Aristotle all agreed that:

What early philosopher described this type of developmental cycle: people move from a rural, nomadic society with little economic surplus to an agricultural society with greater economic surplus and population growth?:

The concept of a “just price” that condemned market forces for yielding unjust results was developed in the writings of:

Nationalism, self-sufficiency, and imperial power were central concerns of:

Supernatural power, divinity, and gifts of nature are integral to the explanations of economic events developed by:

The French Physiocrats believed land was the only thing that could produce a net product, this net product was the surplus generated from land. Physiocrats concluded that a reasonable measure of a society’s net product is:

Management of the economy via extensive regulations and laws specified by the national government is most consistent with:

The concept of _____ was illustrated by _____ with the quote, “The loss of a little finger would keep the average European from sleeping that night, ... but, provided he never saw them, he will snore with the most profound security over the loss of millions of his brethren.”

The first comprehensive work on economics written in English was authored by Adam Smith in 1776 and entitled “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the:

Adam Smith’s theory of economic growth relies upon a ________ to kick-start the process, and then _________ to continue it.

Social welfare is maximized when a “hedonistic calculus” regulates all human action according to the interventionist “liberal”:

The theory that in equilibrium, workers’ wages will barely be adequate for biological needs is known as the:

The Marxist theory of dialectical materialism theoretically follows a sequence:

According to Karl Marx, the properties that distinguish commodities do not include:

The Marxist concept of surplus value would not include income received in the form of:

According to Karl Marx, revolution would inevitably come from the oppressed workers, known as the:

Which of the following was a belief shared by utopian and scientific socialists?

Which of the following characteristics is least representative of socialism?

Who was the social theorist that proposed socialism should serve as an intermediate stage on the way to an ideal communist society

Marginalism and the idea that pricing reflects marginal utility and demand was a movement away from:

Explicit treatments of marginal analysis were least central to the writings of:

The economist who spent twenty years cautiously trying out his ideas on his students before finally presenting them to the world near the close of the 19th century was: ]

Alfred Marshall formalized and then popularized the analytical technique known as:

Vilfredo Pareto’s very deductive mathematical models and proofs made the market seem quite mechanistic, an approach most notably rejected by his slightly older contemporary:

The economic theorist who most vociferously opposed using “all else assumed constant” [ceteris paribus] assumptions when building theory was:

The Lausanne School is to Léon Walras as the Austrian School is to:

The idea that governmental redistributions of income or wealth will ultimately have no effect on how disparate income and wealth are distributed is sometimes called:

Which of the following is not among Rostow's stages of growth

Neoclassical economics views

Which of the following is the nucleus of the Keynesian theory of employment?

The study of the effect of consumption on investment is called

Who among the following was the leader of Monetarism

The multiplier is the reciprocal of

The mew classical economics is based on

The welfare of all means:

The desire of people to keep money with them is called by Keynes as:

According to Keynes marginal efficiency of capital has a tendency to :

The change in income as a result of change in is investment called by Keynes as:

Marginal efficiency of capital is :

Keynes theory of employment relates to:

The two important determinants of investment according to Keynes are:

According to Keynes consumption is a function of :

The author of the “End of Laissez faire” was.

The author of ‘Arthashastra’ is

The concept of _ was illustrated by _ with the quote, “The loss of a little finger would keep the average European from sleeping that night, ... but, provided he never saw them, he will snore with the most profound security over the loss of millions of his brethren.”

Adam Smith’s theory of economic growth relies upon a to kick-start the process, and then _ to continue it.