1. There are two "parts" to this short-answer examination. From each part, you are asked to select two of the three questions.
2. Don't necessarily select the "easiest-looking" questions. Select those which, in your judgment, give you the best and most balanced (incl. non-repetitive) opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of class-related concepts and tools.
3. Please define the crucial concepts before you begin to establish any relationships between concepts or make any analytical or explanatory suggestions. In general, such definitions will count for about 1/3 of the points. However, the remaining 2/3 cannot be given unless the important concepts have been defined.
4. You are encouraged to use examples whenever appropriate. However, use examples only AFTER you made the point or developed the argument for which you want to present an example.
5. Please write sufficiently legibly so that I can give you credit for your knowledge, insights and wisdom.
1. Identify what is meant by "Engel's Law" AND explain, in detail, its significance in various (two or more) instances when it was discussed in class.
2. In small-area economic-demographic analyses, why is it important to
differentiate between behaviors or impacts based on "cohort"
membership
and "life stage". Please use examples from different areas.
3. Explain how and why in regional shift and share analysis, the "composition effect" (often also called proportionality effect) is more related to national developments and why the "differential effect" (often also called "local-factor effect") has often been the analytical prelude to a more disaggregated analysis of locational and regional comparative advantages.
4. (a) Explain, in understandable detail, the logic of using location quotients for deriving direct regional coefficients from direct national coefficients. (b) Which of the underlying assumptions for this short-cut determination of regional coefficients might be either relatively realistic or particularly onerous for specific sectors (of your choice)?
5. As a regional economic planner or economic development specialist of
some sort, you have to advise your boss whether to buy a set of
Leontief
coefficients representing the "B-Matrix" or coefficients for the
B'-Matrix
(the latter representing more aggregate coefficients which include
"induced" effects). [This choice is needed because your agency's
budget
does not provide for both]. Briefly discuss the considerations
(advantages, disadvantages, kinds of applications etc.) you suggest your
boss should take into account for his decision.
6. Caution: You probably should not select No.6 unless you have had a
chance to explore some general I/O facets of your area of
interests (as
was suggested), such as studying the national or Washington State I/O
tables referred to in class .
You had a chance to communicate your area of class-related interests,
including in the take-home midterm and final. Given these interests,
please discuss EITHER
(a) the nature of the direct input requirements/coefficients of
the
activity which represents these interests of yours most directly.
OR
(b) Alternatively, take a "row-perspective", i.e. pursue some quick
(but
meaningful) analysis of the foward I/O relationships of the sector most
directly related to your class interests.
Benchmark Input-Output Accounts for the U.S. Economy, 1992: Requirements Tables {From the December 1997 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS]