WAEC Economics 1990 Past Questions

Practice each question, then open it to see the full details.

Economics can be best defined as the study of

A.how to spend the family income efficiently
B.how to find minimum cost of production
C.the interpretation of scarce resourceand date
D.how scarce resource can be used efficiently
E.why resource are scarce

The raw scores of 20 students of Utopia High School who took part in an examination in Economics are given below. The pass mark is 40%
38 28 70 43
39 20 64 66
12 46 52 53
20 34 48 69
18 20 64 34
(a) What is the mean score of the students' marks?
(b) How many students passed the examination?
(c) What percentage of the students failed the examination?
(d) What is the range of the scores?
(e) How many students scored below the mean score?

which of the following are resources for holding money instead of investing it? I Transaction motive II. Precautionary motive III. Speculative motive IV. Liquidity motive

A.I and II only
B.I and III only
C.I, II and III only
D.I, II and IV only
E.II, III and IV only

(a) Distinguish briefly but clearly between opportunity cost and money cost.

it is general belief that inflation in West Africa is caused by all the factors listed below except

A.excessive bank lending
B.budget deficit
C.rising incomes
D.shortage supply
E.decrease in money supply

Discuss the factors that should motivate a producer to supply more of a commodity.

all the following are specific examples of indirect tax except

A.purchases tax
B.import duty
C.export duty
D.excise duty
E.poll tax

Despite having about 75% of their labour force in agriculture, West African countries cannot meet their domestic food requirement Discuss.

Demand in Economics is synonymous with

A.needs
B.wants of the consumer
C.all goods demanded in the market
D.wants supported with ability to pay
E.all consumers goods

What is inflation? What efforts have been made by the government to combat inflation in Nigeria?

All the following factors will cause a change in demand except

A.the consumer's income
B.the consumer's taste
C.a change in population size
D.a change in weather condition
E.the price of commodity

What is National income and its importance.

A rational consumer tends to do all the following except

A.buying more at a high price than at a low price
B.buying more at a low price than at a high price
C.buying at utility maximization
D.reacting to price changes
E.complying with the law of demand

Outline the difficulties encountered by tax collectors in Nigeria.

A firm that charges different price of goods or services that have same technical qualities is called

A.a perfect competitor
B.a monopsony
C.an oligopoly
D.a discriminating monopoly
E.a duopoly

Give reasons for development planning in Nigeria.

A perfect market has all the following features except that

A.there are many buyers and few sellers
B.the commodities bought and sold are homogenous
C.there is free entry and exit
D.buyers and sellers have perfect knowledge of the market
E.there is only one ruling price

How can the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation achieve internal economies of scale?

The purchasing power of the Naira will fall when

A.workers are retrenched
B.the colour of the naira is changed
C.the government cuts all salaries and wages
D.there is inflation
E.the naira is overvalued

The demand and supply function of a commodity are given as follows:
Quantity demanded (Qd) = 20 - 2p
Quantity supplied (Qs) = 6P - 12 where P = price in naira
(a) Determine the equilibrium price and quantity bought and sold at that price.
(b) If the price of the commodity is fixed at N60.00, what is the magnitude of the excess supply?

Time deposit has the same meaning as

A.current account
B.demand deposit
C.deposit account
D.bank deposit
E.bank rate

Which of the following best explain an inflationary situation at current price level?

A.Demand, supply
B.Demand supply
C.Demand = Supply
D.Demand/Supply
E.Demand = zero

The theory of consumer behavior is based on all the following assumption except that the

A.Consumer is assumed irrational
B.Consumer taste remains constant
C.Consumer has budget constraint
D.Consumer aims at maximizing his utility
E.Consumer is exposed to more than one commodity

The Joint Stock Company can be a company whose minimum membership is

A.2
B.5
C.7
D.10
E.20

Limited liability in Economics means that

A.a shareholder's liability in the event of debt or bankruptcy is limited to the amount he has invested
B.a shareholder's liability for the debt company is dependent on how much he is owing
C.shareholders can not be asked to pay for the debts of the company
D.shareholders try to ensure that only a small proportion of the debt comes to them
E.shareholders want all the debts paid equally

Regressive tax is not a good tax system because it

A.Is not convenient to pay
B.Is not certain what to pay
C.Is not economical to collect
D.Does not ensure equity in payment
E.Is not neutral to price trends

The price and quantity of crude oil and petrol sold to other countries by Nigeria is fixed by the

A.ECOWAS
B.IMF
C.OPEC
D.NNPC
E.ECA

Which of the following is not a member of OPEC?

A.Indonesia
B.Iran
C.Venezuela
D.United Arab Emirates
E.Egypt

which of the following statements is not true of capital income?

A.it helps in the assessment of standard of living
B.it is calculated as National Income Population
C.It is calculated as Population National Income
D.It is used by the UNO to assess and assist developing countries
E.It is used as one of the indicators of economic growth

The notion of short-run and long-run periods is responding for grouping cost into

A.fixed and variable
B.implicit and explicit
C.average and total
D.capital and running
E.money and opportunity

Which of the following statements is not true of cheques? They

A.provide an alternative to carrying large sums of money around
B.can be written out for any amount needed
C.are legal tender
D.provides a form of receipt
E.provide a record of payment made

Which of the following are not agents of distribution

A.Wholesalers
B.Retailers
C.Consumers
D.Government agencies
E.Cooperative societies

One of the greatest demerits of the middlemen in Nigeria is that they

A.increase the price of goods and services at will
B.Sell in small units only
C.Store goods in warehouse that are not spacious enough
D.Sell on credit to retailers only
E.Do not advertise their goods

When a business has an unlimited liability

A.the owner are not responsible for all its financial debts
B.all its profits can be taxed by the government
C.the owners are responsible for all its financial debts
D.all its assets belongs to the members of its board of directors
E.it ceases to exist at the death of one of its owner

when a country has a large labour forvce , it is beneficial to use a method of production which is

A.capital intensive
B.land intensive
C.labour intensive
D.mechanically intensive
E.technically intensive

which of the following are determinants of the rate of population growth?

A.Birth rate, immigration and death rate
B.birth rate, death rate and emigration
C.Death rate , birth rate and net migration
D.Migration, large families and birth rate
E.Death rate, migration and mortality rate

The concentration of industries in one place is referred to as

A.location of industries
B.multiplication of industries
C.pluralization of industries
D.proliferation of industries
E.localization of industries

which of the following best describes the budget? A

A.plan of government's needs and expenditure for a year
B.detailed estimate of government financial operation for a year
C.satisfactory balance between income and expenditure for one year
D.plan for importation of essential goods and services for one year
E.plan for control of government industries and corporations for one year

Which of the following is not done by the NNPC?

A.production of crude oil
B.Refining of crude oil
C.Exploration for crude oil
D.Exploitation of crude oil
E.Pricing of crude oil

One major function of the Central Bank is to

A.mint money
B.hold demand deposit and honour cheques
C.act as a medium of exchange
D.create money
E.control and regulate money supply

Distribution involves the

A.movement of raw materials to production centres
B.transfer of goods and services from one market to another
C.movement of goods and services by middlemen to urban centres
D.transfer of goods and services from wholesalers to consumers
E.transfer of goods and services from production centre to consumers

Disguised unemployment

A.is a statistical artifacts with no economic meaning
B.can be eliminated if the capital output ratio is increased
C.can be eliminated if the press is free
D.calls for the implementation of five=year plans
E.exist when manpower is not being utilized efficiently

The Nigerian economy can be best describe as a

A.socialist economy
B.capitalist economy
C.mixed economy
D.controlled economy
E.domestic economy

The amount of money to be created by commercial banks is actually influenced by the

A.legal reserved ratio
B.external reserve
C.external borrowing
D.availability of money and capital market
E.bank deposits

Another name for the International Banks for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is

A.International Monetary Funds
B.International Development Bank
C.World Bank
D.International Bnak of Africa
E.International Bank for West Africa

the headquarter of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is in

A.Geneva, Switzerland
B.Vienna, Austria
C.Paris, France
D.London , Britain
E.New York, USA

The wholesale provides all the following services to the manufacturer except

A.warehousing
B.financing production
C.marketing the product
D.granting credit
E.after-sales services

The country that makes the largest contribution to the IMF is

A.The USA
B.Britain
C.West Germany
D.France
E.Norway