"Positive economics is in principle independent of any particular ethical position or normative judgements. As keynes says, it deals with 'what not with 'what ought to be'. Its task is to provide a system of generalizations that can be used to make correct predictions about the consequences of any change in circumstances. Its performance is to be judged by the precision, scope, and conformity with experience of the predictions it yields. In short, positive economics is, or can be, an 'objective' science, in precisely the same sense as any of the physical sciences. Of course, the fact that economics deals with the interrelations of human beings, and that the investigator is himself part of the subject matter being investigated in a more intimate sense than in the physical sciences, raises special difficulties in achieving objectivity at the same time that it provides the social scientist with a class of data not available to the physical scientist. But neither the one nor the other is, in my view, a fundamental distinction between the two groups of sciences.

1. Give any economic proposition that fits in positive economics.

2. How can the performance of positive economics be evaluated

3. Discuss the subject matter of normative economics.

4. Make the distinction between positive and normative economics.

5. Why are welfare economists finding it difficult to achieve objectivity in their propositions


6. Explain the consistency criterion used by Paul Samuelson and J.R. Hicks in their theories of demand.

7. State the assumptions underlying parato criterion of welfare economics.

8. What is 'Paradox of Thrift' in Keynesian Economics

9. Distinguish between short-run and long-run consumption function.

10. What is 'golden age' in Joan Robinson's model of capital accumulation

11. What does Schumpeter mean by 'innovation'

12. What is meant by incidence of taxation

13. What does zero-based budgeting indicate

14. Explain Repo rate and reverse-Repo rate.

15. State the assumptions of Recardian theory of international trade.

16. Identify the factors that determine the location of an industrial unit.

17. Distinguish between absolute and relative poverty.

18. Define crude fertility rate.

19. Indicate the main components of Green Revolution in India.

20. What is meant by purposive sampling


21. A researcher has a set of paired observations on two variables and the following simple regression equation.

Yi=b0+b1 Xi+Ei

It is proposed to estimate b0 and b1 by the least square method.
Describe the method of finding the estimated values for b0 and b1.

What is the rationale of the method

Would the estimated b0 and b1 by least square method be the same as under Maximum Likelihood method


22. Distinguish between slope dummy and intercept dummy.
Consider the following OLS regression results.

S=12,000-3000x1+8000x2+ Eˆ R2 =0.75
(4000) (1000) (2000) n=25

Where S=Annual salary of an economist with MA as higher degree measured in
rupees.
x1 if M.phil is highest degree, 0 otherwise.
x2 if PhD is the highest degree, 0 otherwise.
x3 if M.A is the highest degree, 0 otherwise.

and the standard errors are in parenthesis.

Why x3 is not included in the equation

What is the estimated annual salary of an economist with MA as the highest degree

What is the estimated annual salary of an economist with PhD as the highest degree

From the standard errors, as given in the parentheses, find the appropriate test statistic for each of the coefficients.


23. Estimation of the Parameters of Demand Function from a given data set on price and quantity give rise to a problem of wrong identification. Why is this so Discuss how the problem can be taken care of

24. Define ARMA and show its properties. ARMA follows a random walk process and ARIMA introduces a drift in the same process. Do you agree with the view Explain briefly.

25. Define Durbin-Watson statistic
Show that
d ˜ if there is no first order auto-correlation.

If one of the explanatory variables is the lagged value of the dependent variable which statistic is to replace Define it.


21. How does a multi-product firm achieve equilibrium in the factor market where factor prices are given

22. Explain the equilibrium of a group of firms under monopolistic competition with regard to price and product.

23. How is equalibrium in a two-person zero-sum game achieved

24. Distinguish between trade cycle theory of samuelson and that of Hicks.

25. Using IS-LM framework, explain the determination of equilibrium output is an economy characterized by flexible prices.

21. What were the various agreements made by the members of WTO in 1995 Discuss the impact of WTO on foreign trade of India.

22. Explain the determination of rate of exchange under the flexible exchange rate system. State the limitations of its operation particularly in the context of developing countries.

23. Explain the reasons for the collapse of the Bretton woods system in 1971. What are the major features of the present international monetary system.

24. What is 'hedging' Why is it being resorted to State its limitations.

25. What is a Euro currency market State the reasons for its growth after second world war.

21. Discuss the main trends in production of food crops in India in the post-liberalization period. Do these trends augur well for the long-term sustainable development of Indian agriculture

22. What is the economic rationable behind minimum support price policy How for is it effective for stabilising agricultural prices in India

23. Do you agree with the view that institutional reforms in Indian agriculture have not complemented the influence of technological changes. What has been the impact of this divergence

24. Discuss the role of NABARD in agricultural development in India.

25. Account for rural-urban labour migration in India. Discuss its implications on rural development.


21. Outline role of economic planning in the perspective of economic policies of privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation.

22. What are special economic zones in India Why have these become controvertial in recent times.

23. What are the objectives of Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 To what extent its implementation is expected to help in fiscal stabilization

25. Suggest suitable measures to check environmental degradation.


26. Write an essay on the problem of auto-correlation in the time series data. The essay should cover the following areas of the issues.

Problem with OLS estimates in the presence of auto-correlation.

statistical test for detecting the presence of autocorrelation in the data set.

Procedure of removing auto-correlation such as Hildreth-lu procedure.
OR

What are the main features of classical theories of aligopoly Why do these theories give such-optimal solution to the problem of pricing under oligopoly.

OR
taken by the Government since 1991 for reducing fiscal deficit in
India. To what extent has the government been successful in its efforts.

OR
Outline the effects of globalization measures taken in India on
growth of the economy distribution of income to various sections of society growth of employment opportunities and integration of financial markets in the country and the integration of domestic financial markets with global markets. The answer should be specific with necessary supporting information.
OR
Distinguish between customs union and free trade areas. State the trends in the formation of customs union at the global level. Discuss the relative merits and demerits of the formation of customs union in the Asian countries like that of European union at present.