2019 WAEC (WASSCE) Economics Past Questions & Answers

Question 1

The major employer of labour in developing countries is the

Accepted Answer

C. primary sector

Answer

A. tertiary sector

Answer

B. secondary sector

Answer

D. industrial sector

Question 2

Middlemen are made up of

Accepted Answer

C. wholesalers, retailers and hawkers

Answer

A. manufacturers, wholesalers, and consumers

Answer

B. manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers

Answer

D. wholesalers, retailers, and consumers

Question 3

If the demand function is Qd = -0.5 + 20, calculate the quantity demanded when price is $15.0

Accepted Answer

C. $12.50

Answer

A. -%27.50

Answer

B. -%12.50

Answer

D. -$27.50

Question 4

Two commodities X and Y are in joint supply when

Accepted Answer

A. X is a by-product of Y

Answer

B. X and Y are produced by the same firm

Answer

C. increase in the quantity of X leads to a decrease in Y

Answer

D. X and Y cannot be produced in the same process

Question 5

If less of a good is bought as one's income increases, such a good is

Accepted Answer

D. an inferior good

Answer

A. a normal good

Answer

B. a luxury

Answer

C. a necessity

Question 6

Which of the following is a major advantage of establishing a tomato-processing factory in a country?

Accepted Answer

C. Foreign exchange will be conserved

Answer

A. Local consumption will decrease

Answer

B. More unskilled labour will be employed

Answer

D. It will attract more tourists

Question 7

A cost of production that is positively related to output is the

Accepted Answer

C. variable cost

Answer

A. total fixed cost

Answer

B. average fioxed cost

Answer

D. social cost

Question 8

Natural resources that are renewable are found in the

Accepted Answer

C. agricultural sector

Answer

A. mining sector

Answer

B. traditional sector

Answer

D. secondary sector

Question 9

Which of the following is true of the value of money? It

Accepted Answer

D. is inversely related to the price level

Answer

A. is positively related to the price level

Answer

B. depends on the value people attach to it

Answer

C. is determined by the government

Question 10

The fundamental economic problem in every society is

Accepted Answer

B. Limited supply of productive resources

Answer

A. the large number of the unemployed

Answer

C. inadequate supply of money

Answer

D. corruption and mismanagement

Question 11

Govermment in most cases influences the location of firms to

Accepted Answer

B. ensure equitable distribution

Answer

A. discourage private investors

Answer

C. reduce the cost of production

Answer

D. make the firms enjoy economies of scale

Question 12

The desire for profits is a major feature of

Accepted Answer

C. market economy

Answer

A. traditional economy

Answer

B. mixed economy

Answer

D. command economy

Question 13

In a period of unemployment and falling prices, the government should adopt a

Accepted Answer

B. budget deficit

Answer

A. zero-based budget

Answer

C. balanced budget

Answer

D. surplus budget

Question 14

A country is described as industrialized if

Accepted Answer

A. the contributions of industries to national income are high

Answer

B. traditional and modern sectors coexist

Answer

C. the country adopts an import promotion strategy

Answer

D. primary industries dominate the economy

Question 15

The short-run in production is the time period when

Accepted Answer

C. at least a factor is fixed while others are variable

Answer

A. techniques of production can easily be changed

Answer

B. all factors of production are vaiable

Answer

D. variable factors cannot be changed

Question 16

What happens when a minimum price is imposed in a market?

Accepted Answer

B. Surplus occurs

Answer

A. Shortage occurs

Answer

C. market maintains its equilibrium

Answer

D. Many firms will close down

Question 17

Balance of trade involves the exchange of

Accepted Answer

A. goods only

Answer

B. services only

Answer

C. goods and services

Answer

D. goods and capital

Question 18

Insurance Companies are similar to commercial banks in that they

Accepted Answer

D. help in mobilizing savings for investment

Answer

A. Compensate their customers for losses

Answer

B. act as lender of last resort

Answer

C. help in maintaining monetary stability in a nation

Question 19

The demand for coffee and tea is

Accepted Answer

B. competitive

Answer

A. joint

Answer

C. composite

Answer

D. derived

Question 20

Human development can be improved if

Accepted Answer

C. general education and training are encouraged

Answer

A. banks give more loans to businessmen

Answer

B. large family sizes are encouraged

Answer

D. it is handled by the private sector only

Question 21

The motive for holding money to meet unforeseen events is termed

Accepted Answer

A. precautionary demand

Answer

B. transactions demand

Answer

C. liquidity demand

Answer

D. speculative demand

Question 22

The major achievement of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is that it has

Accepted Answer

D. wIdened the market for goods produced

Answer

A. made capital more mobile

Answer

B. made possible the use of common currency

Answer

C. increased members' allegiance to former colonial masters

Question 23

The total value of goods and services produced within the borders of a country is

Accepted Answer

C. gross domestic product

Answer

A. net national product

Answer

B. net domestic product

Answer

D. gross national product

Question 24

What effect will an increase in the supply of fish have on the meat market

Accepted Answer

A. a fall in equilibrium price and quantity

Answer

B. an increase in equilibrium price and quantity

Answer

C. an increase in equilibrium price and a fall in quantity

Answer

D. both equilibrium price and quantity will remain unchanged

Question 25

Exploitation of forest resources becomes a major problem when

Accepted Answer

B. they are not renewed

Answer

A. communities fight over ownership

Answer

C. they are neglected

Answer

D. the supply is fixed in the long-run

Question 26

An increase in the prices of factor inputs may result in

Accepted Answer

D. cost-push inflation

Answer

A. demand-pull inflation

Answer

B. stagflation

Answer

C. open inflation

Question 27

Citizens are protected from the government's arbitrariness in taxation by the canon of

Accepted Answer

D. certainty

Answer

A. elasticity

Answer

B. flexibility.

Answer

C. economy

Question 28

If the coefficient of price elasticity of demand of a product is zero, then its demand curve will be

Accepted Answer

B. parallel to the price axis

Answer

A. parallel to the quantity axis

Answer

C. negatively sloped

Answer

D. positively sloped

Question 29

Which of the following institutions is Concerned with expanding developing countries' commodity trade

Accepted Answer

B. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Answer

A. World Trade Organization (WTO)

Answer

C. Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)

Answer

D. African Development Bank (AfDB)

Question 30

In perfect competition, the average revenue curve of a firm is

Accepted Answer

C. the marginal revenue curve

Answer

A. below the marginal revenue curve

Answer

B. downward sloping

Answer

D. convex to the origin

Question 31

Agricultural productivity may be increased if

Accepted Answer

C. more infrastructural facilities are provided in rural areas

Answer

A. educational institutions are established in rural areas

Answer

B. commercial banks are established in rural areas

Answer

D. labour intensive method of agriculture is encouraged

Question 32

The wages of a group of workers in dollars is stated below; 40, 30, 70, 20, 60, 10, 10, 80, 30, and 10. What is the mean wage

Accepted Answer

B. $36

Answer

A. $35

Answer

C. $37

Answer

D. $38

Question 33

One measure for financing a country's balance of payments deficit is through

Accepted Answer

C. short-term borrowing from IMF

Answer

A. export diversification

Answer

B. import substitution

Answer

D. internal borrowing from commercial banks

Question 34

Which of the following items is not considered as a transfer payment?

Accepted Answer

D. Doctor's salary

Answer

A. Pension pay

Answer

B. Government subsidy

Answer

C. Students' grant

Question 35

An improvement in a country's terms of trade means that the

Accepted Answer

C. value of her imports is lower than her exports

Answer

A. nation can export more services

Answer

B. nation's receipts on export are equal to payments on imports

Answer

D. visible exports is less than visible imports

Question 36

Supply of agricultural products is likely to be elastic in the

Accepted Answer

B. long-run

Answer

A. intermediate period

Answer

C. market period

Answer

D. short-run

Question 37

In most underdeveloped countries, development plans do not achieve their objective due to

Accepted Answer

A. poor coordination between local and national governments

Answer

B. exportation of more primary products

Answer

C. lack of educational institutions in those countries

Answer

D. urban-rural migration of citizens

Question 38

Which of the following factors will not underestimate the national income?

Accepted Answer

C. Practice of specialization of labour

Answer

A. Rapid decrease in prices

Answer

B. Increased subsistence production

Answer

D. Increase in value of services not paid for

Question 39

Which of the following factors is not a condition for a change in the supply of a commodity

Accepted Answer

C. the price of the commodity

Answer

A. improved technoly

Answer

B. cost of production

Answer

D. government tax policies

Question 40

What happens when the central bank increases the bank rate?

Accepted Answer

B. Amount of borrowing decreases

Answer

A. Amount of borrowing increases

Answer

C. Supply of money increases

Answer

D. Commercial banks are not affected

Question 41

When an increase in inputs leads to a more than proportionate increase in output, there is

Accepted Answer

C. increasing retums to scale

Answer

A. decreasing returns to scale

Answer

B. Increase in marginal product

Answer

D. constant retums to scale

Question 42

When the price of a good is above the equilibrium, there will be

Accepted Answer

B. a surplus.

Answer

A. a shortage

Answer

C. unemployment

Answer

D. inflation

Question 43

A point X inside the production possibility curve indicates that

Accepted Answer

C. some resources are idle

Answer

A. resources are fully utilized

Answer

B. the country is poor

Answer

D. resources are not available

Question 44

In most developing countries, a large percentage of the labour force is engaged in

Accepted Answer

C. agriculture

Answer

A. trading

Answer

B. mining

Answer

D. manufacturing

Question 45

Which of the following means of funding a business is very reliable and cheap?

Accepted Answer

C. Plough back profits

Answer

A. Bank loans

Answer

B. Loans from friends

Answer

D. Debentures

Question 46

Malthusian theory of population was proved wrong because

Accepted Answer

C. new lands and new methods of production were discovered

Answer

A. the practice of subsistence farming was encouraged

Answer

B. developing countries adopted birth control method

Answer

D. Malthus view was seen as an exaggeration

Question 47

Devaluation of currency may not correct a balance of payments deficit if the demand for export is

Accepted Answer

A. perfectly inelastic

Answer

B. perfectly elastic

Answer

C. fairly elastic

Answer

D. unitary elastic

Question 48

The use of interest rates to control the money supply is a

Accepted Answer

B. monetary policy

Answer

A. control policy

Answer

C. developmental policy

Answer

D. fiscal policy

2019 WAEC (WASSCE) Economics Past Questions

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