1. When economists attempt to predict the spending patterns of U.S. households, they will typically view the ____________ as a primary determining factor that influences the individual consumption choices that each will make.

a. income level of each household

b. nation's perennial political debate

c. national average spending level

d. national average savings level

2. The step-by-step process of finding the choice with highest total utility involves a comparison of the:

a. household consumption choice budget and the labor-leisure budget using an utilimometer

b. marginal utility gained and lost from different choices along the budget constraint

c. various categories of economic proverbial wisdom

d. budget constraint and low-income housing expenses

3. During a sever recession the government issued food stamps that could only be used to aquire food to a greater number of families. The budget line graph shows food on the horizontal axis and everything else on the vertical axis. The government expects that issuing the food stamps will cause each family's budget constraint line to:

a. shift to the right

b. piviot out along the horizontal axis

c. piviot out along the vertical axis

d. shift to the left

4. Which of the following falls outside of the classification of business expenditures that fall into the category of variable costs?

a. costs related to physical inputs

b. costs related to labor expenditures

c. costs that increase the quantity produced

d. costs of research and development