Question 1

A patent allows the inventor to prevent others from making or selling an invention for a period of years to encourage innovation.

Accepted Answer

Except with the permission of the holder of the patent, no one else can use an invention until the patent expires.

Question 2

The immigration of skilled scientists and engineers from other nations pushes the supply schedule for innovation to the right,increasing the amount of innovation.

Accepted Answer

An increase in the supply of scientists and engineers increases the number of people who can do research, increasing the supply of innovation.

Question 3

The immigration of skilled scientists and engineers from other nations raises the wages of scientists and engineers.

Accepted Answer

Immigration of scientists and engineers pushes the supply curve for engineers and scientists to the right, lowering the equilibrium wage.

Question 4

Technological improvements are generally harmful to society because new machines replace human beings,causing increased unemployment.

Accepted Answer

Technological improvements are good for society-the new machines sometimes substitute for humans, but more often increase a human's productivity. Also there are people who benefit from creating and building the new machines.

Question 5

The supply curve for innovative activities tells us the quantity of innovative activities supplied,given their price.

Accepted Answer

The supply curve for innovative activities tells us the quantity of innovative activities supplied, given their price.

Question 6

Why are the private returns to innovation likely to be smaller than the social returns to innovation?

Accepted Answer

In general, the social returns will be much larger than the private returns because it is difficult to prevent wealth-enhancing ideas from spreading to competitors.

Question 7

Economic activities primarily directed toward creating or developing new ideas and new technology are called

Accepted Answer

Economic activities primarily directed toward creating or developing new ideas and new technology are called innovative activities.

Question 8

Microprocessors have become faster and faster since their invention in 1971,with their performance approximately doubling every 18-24 months.This trend of improvement has become known as

Accepted Answer

Moore's law states that microprocessors double their performance every 18-24 months.

Question 9

China is the largest spender on research and development in the world (in total dollars or dollar equivalents).

Accepted Answer

The United States is the largest spender on R&D in the world.

Question 10

Which of the following best represents Moore's law?

Accepted Answer

Moore's law states that microprocessors double their performance every 18-24 months.

Question 11

A region containing a group of innovative companies and the resources they need to succeed,such as Silicon Valley,is called an innovation cluster.

Accepted Answer

A region containing a group of innovative companies and the resources they need to succeed, such as Silicon Valley, is called an innovation cluster.

Question 12

A productivity-enhancing innovation has the effect of shifting the supply curve to the right.

Accepted Answer

A productivity-enhancing innovation has the effect of shifting the supply curve to the right.

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT typically true of an innovation cluster?

Accepted Answer

As an innovation cluster grows, the innovative companies tend to feed off each other, creating better opportunities for innovation.

Question 14

Brand-new,technologically innovative companies often receive capital from companies that specialize in high-risk start-up firms and sometimes get involved in the strategic decisions of the firm.These investment companies are known as

Accepted Answer

Venture capital firms invest in and monitor start-up firms that may have only a 1 in 10 chance of becoming a big success.

Question 15

Governments that discourage profit seeking will tend to encourage more innovation because the best innovators are motivated by inner creativity and not money.

Accepted Answer

In practice, the profit motive tends to promote innovation because businesses that can profit from innovation tend to devote resources to innovation.

Question 16

Currently the main sources for basic research are

Accepted Answer

Basic research, which has no immediate financial payoff, is mainly funded by the government and carried out by universities and other nonprofit institutions.

Question 17

Locations like Silicon Valley,California; Cambridge,Massachusetts; and Bangalore,India have generated a large number of technological innovations,partly due to the concentration of people and capital that are specialized in innovative activities.These regions are known as

Accepted Answer

A region containing a group of innovative companies and the resources they need to succeed, such as Silicon Valley, is called an innovation cluster.

Question 18

The supply curve for innovative activities

Accepted Answer

The supply curve tells us how many people will be available for science and engineering jobs, and as the wages in these jobs rise, more people will want to go into these occupations, increasing the quantity supplied.

Question 19

Scientific investigations that have no immediately obvious commercial applications are called sterile research.

Accepted Answer

Scientific investigations of this sort are called basic research.

Question 20

Which of the following would tend to increase the quantity of innovative activities?

Accepted Answer

An increase in the rate of immigration of technically skilled individuals will increase the supply of innovative activities, shifting the equilibrium to the right.

Quiz 15: Technological Change

A patent allows the inventor to prevent others from making or selling an invention for a period of years to encourage innovation.

The immigration of skilled scientists and engineers from other nations pushes the supply schedule for innovation to the right,increasing the amount of innovation.

The immigration of skilled scientists and engineers from other nations raises the wages of scientists and engineers.

Technological improvements are generally harmful to society because new machines replace human beings,causing increased unemployment.

The supply curve for innovative activities tells us the quantity of innovative activities supplied,given their price.

Why are the private returns to innovation likely to be smaller than the social returns to innovation?

Economic activities primarily directed toward creating or developing new ideas and new technology are called

Microprocessors have become faster and faster since their invention in 1971,with their performance approximately doubling every 18-24 months.This trend of improvement has become known as

China is the largest spender on research and development in the world (in total dollars or dollar equivalents).

Which of the following best represents Moore's law?

A region containing a group of innovative companies and the resources they need to succeed,such as Silicon Valley,is called an innovation cluster.

A productivity-enhancing innovation has the effect of shifting the supply curve to the right.

Which of the following is NOT typically true of an innovation cluster?

Brand-new,technologically innovative companies often receive capital from companies that specialize in high-risk start-up firms and sometimes get involved in the strategic decisions of the firm.These investment companies are known as

Governments that discourage profit seeking will tend to encourage more innovation because the best innovators are motivated by inner creativity and not money.

Currently the main sources for basic research are

Locations like Silicon Valley,California; Cambridge,Massachusetts; and Bangalore,India have generated a large number of technological innovations,partly due to the concentration of people and capital that are specialized in innovative activities.These regions are known as

The supply curve for innovative activities

Scientific investigations that have no immediately obvious commercial applications are called sterile research.

Which of the following would tend to increase the quantity of innovative activities?