Exam 21: Building Theories to Explain Everyday Life: From Observations to Questions to Theories to Predictions

Smith says that criminals are rational and that they consider both the benefits and costs of criminal activity.Jones disagrees.He says criminals are irrationals and can't possibly be considering both the benefits and costs of criminal activity.If they did,he argues,they wouldn't be criminals.An economist who wants to figure out if criminals are rational,would most likely build a

Kristie currently spends her $1,000 a week income on X,Y,and Z.Her mother gives her an extra $400 and tells her to use it to buy more Z.Kristie actually takes the $400 her mother gave to her,adds it $40 of the $300 she usually spends on Z,and buys $660 worth of Z.Did Kristie's mother's $400 go to buy only Z?

If people value clean air over dirty air,and if the air in city A is cleaner than the air in city B (by a wide margin),then we would expect that ____________________,all else equal between the two cities.

A person tends to be ______________ likely to lose her temper with a boss than with a friend because the opportunity cost of losing her temper with her boss tends to be _____________ than the opportunity cost of losing her temper with her friend.

A theory is a perfect description of reality.

In general,in a given rich country the ______________ the opportunity cost for a woman of having and raising a child,the _____________ children she will have.

The instructors at College A are regularly late for their office hours.Based on a theory presented in the text,we would predict that the gap between the ______________student tuition and ___________equilibrium tuition is ___________ at College A.

A theory predicts that the more a student studies,the higher his or her grades will be.This theory is

Smith drives his car numerous places.Sometimes he drives his car around his residential neighborhood and sometimes he drives it on the highway.Occasionally,Smith gets peeved with the way other people drive and makes a rude gesture to them.Based on one of the theories discussed in the text,he is

Theory B predicts that everything that happens,happens for a reason - although we may not know what the reason is.This theory

One theory discussed in the text is that there is an inverse relationship between the opportunity cost of having children and the number of children a woman will have.

Which of the following is true?

If a theory gives a scientist results that she does not want,then she should not believe in that theory.

Universities A and B are substitutes in the minds of many college students.Initially the student tuition at each university is the same and far below equilibrium tuition.Then,the tuition at A is raised and B is not.As a result of a rising tuition at A,some students who would have applied and enrolled in A,instead apply to B.Based on the logic presented in one of the theories discussed in the text,we would expect that

Which of the following is not a prediction of the theory on baseball caps and cheating?

If a person gives a gift to another person,an economist would say that it is because

The efficient number of gifts that a gift-giver wants to give is the number at which the marginal benefits of giving a gift are__________________the marginal costs of giving a gift.

Which of the following is inconsistent with the burglary crime model presented in the text?

The ______________ the gap between the tuition a college student pays and the equilibrium tuition for that college,the _____________ likely the student's instructors will be on time and attentive during their office hours.

Theories should be judged based upon how