ISI Admission Test 2017 Question Paper MS (QE) PEB

FOR ISI EXAM PREPARATION

ISI 2017
Question Paper · MS
(QE) PEB
EXAM YEAR TYPE SUBJECT

ISI 2017 Question Paper MS (QE) PEB

Notes · Sample Papers · Previous Year Papers · Mock Tests

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1. A researcher has 100 hours of work which have to be allocated
between two research assistants, Aditya and Gaurav. If Aditya is
allocated x hours of work, his utility is, −(x − 20)2 . If Gaurav is
allocated x hours of work, his utility is, −(x − 30)2 . The researcher
is considering two proposals: (I) Aditya does 60 hours and Gaurav
40 hours (II) Aditya does 90 hours and Gaurav 10 hours. Which
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of the following statements is correct.
A.m
c. B.o Proposal II is Pareto-efficient but Proposal I is not. m
Proposal I is Pareto-efficient but Proposal II is not.

m C. Both proposals are Pareto-efficient. s e
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a D. Neither proposal is Pareto-efficient.

2. The industry demand curve for tea is: Q = 1800 − 200P. The in-
dustry exhibits constant long run average cost (ATC) at all levels
of output at Rs 1.50 per unit of output. Which market form(s)
– perfect competition, pure monopoly and first-degree price dis-
crimination – has the highest total market (that is, producer +
consumer) surplus?
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A. perfect competition
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B. pure monopoly
s e
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C. first degree price
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D. perfect competition and first degree price discrimination

3. The following information will be used in the next question also.
OIL Inc. is a monopoly in the local oil refinement market. The
demand for refined oil is

Q = 75 − P

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where P is the price in rupees and Q is the quantity, while the
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marginal cost of production is

e m M C = 0.5Q.
las
las g
The fixed cost is zero. Pollution is emitted inathe refinement of
ag oil which generates a marginal external cost (MEC) equal to 31
Rs/unit. What is the level of Q that maximizes social surplus?

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A. 50
B. 29 31
C. 17.6
D. 44

4. Refer to the previous question. Suppose the government decides to
impose a per unit pollution fee on OIL Inc. At what level should
the fee (in Rs/unit) be set to produce the level of output that
maximizes social surplus? You may use the fact that the marginal
revenue is given by: M R = 75 − 2Q.
A. 1/3
B. 2
C. 3/4
D. 5/3

5. Mr. X has an exogenous income W, and his utility from consump-
tion is given by U (c). With probability p, an accident can occur.
If it occurs, the monetary equivalent of the damage is T. Mr. X
can however affect the accident probability, p, by taking preven-
tion effort, e . In particular, e can take two values: 0, and a > 0.
Assume that p(0) > p(a). Let us also assume that the utility cost
of effort is Ae2 . Calculate the value of A below which effort will be
undertaken.
A. [p(a)−p(0)][u(W
a2
−T )−U (W )]

B. u(Wp(a)−p(0)
−T )−U (W )
2
C. u(Wp(a)p(0)a
−T )−u(W )

D. u(Wp(a)/p(0)
−T )/u(W )
a2

6. Suppose Mr. X maximizes inter-temporal utility for 2 periods. His
total utility is given by

log(c1 ) + β log(c2 )

where β ∈ (0, 1) and c1 and c2 are his consumption in period 1
and period 2, respectively. Suppose he earns a wage only in period

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1 and it is given by W. He saves for the second period on which
he enjoys a gross return of (1 + r) where r > 0 is the net interest
rate. Suppose the government implements a scheme where T ≥ 0
is collected from agents (thus also from Mr. X) in the first year,
and gives the same amount, T , back in the second period. What
is the optimum T for which his total utility is maximized?
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A. T = 0
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c. B.o T = W
2β
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em C. βW
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l as T = 2(1−β)
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W
D. T = 2(1−β)
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7. Suppose there is one company in an economy which has a fixed
supply of shares in the short run. Suppose there is new information
that causes expectations of lower future profits. How does this new
stock market equilibrium affect final output and the final price
level of the economy if you assume that autonomous consumption
spending and household wealth are positively related?

o m
A. real GDP increases; price decreases
c
. increases
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B. real GDP decreases; price
e price decreases
as
C. real GDP decreases;
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ag price stays constant.
D. real GDP increases;

8. A monopolist faces a demand function, p = 10 − q. It has two
plants at its disposal. The cost of producing q1 in the first plant is
300 + q12 , if q1 > 0, and 0 otherwise. The cost of producing q2 in
the second plant is 200 + q22 , if q2 > 0, and 0 otherwise. What are
the optimal production levels in the two plants?

m
A. 10 units in both plants,

m B. 20 units in the first plant and 10 units in the second plant
.co
m .co C. 0 units in the first plant and 15 units in the second plant
s e m
s e D. None of the above.
g la
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9. Consider a firm facing three consumers, 1, 2 and 3, with the follow-
ing valuations for two goods, X and Y (All consumers consume at
most 1 unit of X and 1 unit of Y .)

Consumers X Y
1 7 1
2 4 5
3 1 6
The firm can produce both goods at a cost of zero. Suppose the
firm can supply both goods at a constant per unit price of pX for
X, and py for Y. It can also supply the two goods as a bundle, for
a price of pXY . The optimal vector of prices (pX , py , pXY ) is given
by
A. (7,6,9).
B. (4,1,4).
C. (7,7,7).
D. None of the above.

10. Two individuals, Bishal (B) and Julie (J), discover a stream of
mountain spring water. They each separately decide to bottle some
of this water and sell it. For simplicity, presume that the cost of
production is zero. The market demand for bottled water is given
by P = 90−0.25Q, where P is price per bottle and Q is the number
of bottles. What would Bishal’s output QB , Julie’s output QJ ,
and the market price be if the two individuals behaved as Cournot
duopolists?
A. QB = 120; QJ = 120; P = 42
B. QB = 90; QJ = 90; P = 30
C. QB = 120; QJ = 120; P = 30
D. QB = 100; QJ = 120; P = 30

11. The next three questions (11, 12, 13) are to be answered together.
Consider the following model of a closed economy

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△Y = △C + △I + △G
△C = c△Yd
△Yd = △Y − △T

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△T = t△Y + △T0

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where △Y = change in GDP, △C = change in consumption, △I =
e m
s
change in private investment, △G = change in government spend-
em l a
s
ing, △Yd = change in disposable income (i.e., after tax income),

g l a △T = the change in total tax collections, t is the tax rate between
ag
a (0, 1), and △T0 = the change in that portion of tax collections that
can be altered by government fiscal policy measures. The value of
the balanced budget multiplier (in terms of G and T0 ) is given by:
1
A. 1−c(1−t)
−c
B. 1−c(1−t)
1−c
C. 1−c(1−t)
D. none of the above.
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c
12. Refer to the previous question. .Suppose the marginal propensity
to consume, c = .8, and tse
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expenditure multiplier isla
= .375. The value of the government

A. 2, ag
B. -1.6
C. .4
D. .5

13. Refer to the previous two questions. Suppose the marginal propen-
sity to consume, c = .8, and t = .375. The value of the tax multiplier
m
m (with respect to T0 ) is
.co
m .co A. -1.6
s e m
s e B. 2
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g la C. .4 a
a D. .3

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14. In the IS-LM model, a policy plan to increase national savings
(public and private) without changing the level of GDP, using any
combination of fiscal and monetary policy involves
A. contractionary fiscal policy, contractionary monetary pol-
icy
B. expansionary fiscal policy, contractionary monetary pol-
icy
C. contractionary fiscal policy, expansionary monetary pol-
icy
D. expansionary fiscal policy, expansionary monetary policy

15. Consider the IS-LM-BP model with flexible exchange rates but with
no capital mobility. Consider an increase in the money supply. At
the new equilibrium, the interest rate is , the exchange rate
is , and the level of GDP is , respectively.
A. higher, lower, higher
B. lower, higher, higher
C. lower, higher, lower
D. higher, lower, lower

16. Consider a Solow model of an economy that is characterized by the
following parameters: population growth, n; the depreciation rate,
δ; the level of technology, A; and the share of capital in output,
α. Per-capita consumption is given by c = (1 − s)y where s is the
exogenous savings rate, and y = Ak α , where y denotes output per-
capita, and k denotes the per-capita capital stock. The economy’s
golden-rule capital stock is determined by which of the following
conditions?
∂c
A. ∂k = Ak α − (n + δ)k = 0
∂c
B. ∂k = αAk α−1 − (n + δ) = 0
∂c
C. ∂k = (n + δ)k − sAk α = 0
D. none of the above.

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17. In the Ramsey model, also known as the optimal growth model,
with population growth, n, and an exogenous rate of growth of
technological progress, g, the steady-state growth rates of aggregate
output, Y, aggregate capital, K, and aggregate consumption, C, are
A. 0, 0, 0
B. n + g, n + g, n + g
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c. D.o n + g, n + g, g
C. g, n + g, n
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s e
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πt − πte = −α(ut − un )

where πt is the current inflation rate, πte is the expected inflation
rate, α is a parameter, and un is the natural rate of unemployment.
Suppose the economy has two types of labour contracts: a propor-
tion, λ, that are indexed to actual inflation, πt , and a proportion,
1 − λ, that are not indexed and simply respond to last year’s infla-
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tion, πt−1 . Wage indexation (relative to no indexation) will
the effect of unemployment on inflation.
e m
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A. strongly decrease
B. increase
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C. not change
g
D. mildly decrease

19. Consider a Harrod-Domar style growth model with a (i) Leontieff
aggregate production function, (ii) no technological progress, and
(iii) a constant savings rate. Let K and L denote the level of
capital and labor employed in the economy. Output, Y, is produced
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according to
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Y = min{AK, BL}

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where A and B are positive constants. Let L̄ be the full employment

las level. Under what condition will there be positive unemployment?
ag
ag A. AK > B L̄
B. AK < B L̄

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C. AK = B L̄
D. none of the above.

20. The next two questions (20 and 21) are to be answered together.
People in a certain city get utility from driving their cars but each
car releases k units of pollution per km driven. The net utility of
each person is his or her utility from driving, v, minus the total
pollution generated by everyone else. Person i’s net utility is given
by
∑
n
Ui (x1 , ..., xn ) = v(xi ) − kxj
j=1
j̸=i

where xj is km driven by person j, n is the city population, and
the utility of driving v has an inverted U-shape with v(0) = 0,
limx→0+ v ′ (x) = ∞, v ′′ (x) < 0, and v(x̄) = 0 for some x̄ > 0. In an
unregulated city, an increase in population will
A. increase the km driven per person
B. decrease the km driven per person
C. leave the km driven per person unchanged
D. may or may not increase the km driven per person.

21. Refer to the information given in the previous question. A city
planner decides to impose a tax per km driven and sets the tax
rate in order to maximize the total net utility of the residents.
Then, if the population increases, the optimal tax will
A. increase
B. decrease
C. stay unchanged
D. may or may not increase.

22. The production function

F (L, K) = (L + 10)1/2 K 1/2

has

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A. increasing returns to scale
B. constant returns to scale
C. decreasing returns to scale
D. none of the above.

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m F (L, K) = L K .co
23. Consider the production functions

.co 1/2 2/3
and G(L, K) = LK.
s e m
s em L denotes labour and K denotes capital. g l a
l a where
a
ag A. F is consistent with the law of diminishing returns to
capital but G is not.
B. G is consistent with the law of diminishing returns to
capital but F is not.
C. Both F and G are consistent with the law of diminishing
returns to capital
D. Neither F nor G is consistent with the law of diminishing
returns to capital
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24. A public good is one that is non-rivalrous and non-excludable. Con-
s
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sider a cable TV channel and a congested city street.
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A. A cable TV a channel is a public good but a congested city
street is not
B. A congested city street is a public good but a cable TV
channel is not
C. Neither is a public good
D. Both are public goods.

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25. Firm A’s cost of producing output level y > 0 is, cA (y) = 1 + y
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while Firm B’s cost of producing output level y is, cB (y) = y(1−y)2

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s e g l a but B
A. A can operate in a perfectly competitive industry

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a B. B can operate in a perfectly competitive industry but A
cannot

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C. Neither could operate in a perfectly competitive industry
D. Either could operate in a perfectly competitive industry.

26. Suppose we generically refer to a New Keynesian model as a model
with a non vertical aggregate supply (AS) curve. Under sticky
prices, the AS curve will be , and under sticky wages, the AS
curve will be , respectively.
A. horizontal, upward sloping
B. upward sloping, upward sloping
C. downward sloping, horizontal
D. upward sloping, horizontal

27. With perfect capital mobility, and , monetary policy is
at influencing output.
A. fixed exchange rates, effective
B. fixed exchange rates, ineffective
C. flexible exchange rates, ineffective
D. none of the above are correct

28. The next three questions (28, 29 and 30) use the following infor-
mation. Consider an economy with two goods, x and y, and two
consumers, A and B, with endowments (x, y) given by (1, 0) and
(0, 1) respectively. A’s utility is

UA (x, y) = x + 2y

while B’s utility is
UB (x, y) = 2x + y.
Using an Edgeworth box with x measured on the horizontal axis
and y measured on the vertical axis, with A’s origin in the bottom-
left corner and B’s origin in the top-right corner, the set of Pareto-
optimal allocations is

A. a straight line segment
B. the bottom and right edges of the box

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C. the left and top edges of the box
D. none of the above.

29. Referring to the information given in the previous question, the
following allocations are the ones that may be achieved in some
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competitive equilibrium.
m
c. B.o The line segment joining (0, 1/2) to (0, 1) and the line m
A. (0,1)

s e
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l a C. The line segment joining (1/2, 0) to (1, 0) and the line a
ag segment joining (1, 0) to 1, 1/2)
D. (1,0)

30. Referring to the information given in the previous two questions, if
the price of y is 1, then the price of x in a competitive equilibrium
A. must be 1/2

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B. must be 1
C. must be 2
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D. could be any of the above.
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