China · China Agricultural University College of Economics & Management · phd
Written specialised test 30% + interview 70%; at least 60 needed in each.
Official source: https://cem.cau.edu.cn/art/2024/11/15/art_34642_1044724.html
Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.
1. For the same change (U = xy, M = 120, Py = 1, Px falls from 4 to 2), the Hicksian substitution effect on X is approximately
C. 6.2
Original utility = 15 x 60 = 900. At the new prices, the expenditure-minimising bundle giving U = 900 has y/x = Px/Py = 2, so 2x^2 = 900 and x = 21.21. Hicks substitution effect = 21.21 - 15 = 6.21; the income effect is 30 - 21.21 = 8.79, about 8.8, which is not the substitution effect. 7.5 is the Slutsky substitution effect, which is larger because Slutsky over-compensates.
Microeconomic Theory & Applications · Hicks and Slutsky income and substitution effects
2. A Nerlovian acreage response model in logs gives ln A_t = 0.8 + 0.18 ln P_(t-1) + 0.55 ln A_(t-1). The coefficient of adjustment and the long-run price elasticity of acreage are
D. 0.45 and 0.40
Coefficient of adjustment delta = 1 - coefficient of lagged area = 1 - 0.55 = 0.45. The short-run elasticity is 0.18; long-run = 0.18/0.45 = 0.40. Taking 0.55 as the adjustment coefficient gives 0.33; multiplying instead of dividing gives 0.081.
Econometrics · Distributed lag models
3. Separability in the agricultural household model is most likely to fail when
B. there is no functioning market in which the family can sell or hire labour
A missing or imperfect labour market means family labour has a shadow wage that depends on preferences and family size, so production depends on consumption choices, the Chayanovian case. Complete markets and price-taking ensure separability.
Agricultural Production Economics · Theory of the family farm
4. Jorgenson's (1961) neoclassical dual-economy model differs from Lewis mainly because it
C. assumes the marginal product of farm labour is always positive and makes development depend on technical progress in agriculture
Jorgenson rejects surplus labour with zero marginal product; wages follow marginal product, and an agricultural surplus arises only when farm technical change outpaces population growth. Unlimited labour at a fixed wage is Lewis's assumption, and expected-wage migration is Harris-Todaro.
Agricultural Development & Policy Analysis · Lewis and Fei-Ranis models
5. Two farm workers earn the same income, but one lives in an area with endemic malaria and no clinic. In Sen's framework this example shows that
B. equal incomes can convert into unequal capabilities because conversion factors differ
Sen stresses that personal, social and environmental conversion factors determine how resources translate into functionings, so income is an imperfect proxy for capability. It does not claim income is irrelevant; the HDI is a national aggregate, not an individual ranking; the utility-based tax claim is a welfarist inference Sen does not make.
Development Economics · Conceptions of development
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