Question

Suppose that Brian, an economist from a college in Pennsylvania, and Crystal, another economist from a graduate program in the Northeast, are both guests on a popular science podcast. The host of the podcast is facilitating their debate over government bailouts. The following dialogue represents a portion of the transcript of their discussion:

Crystal: Thanks to recent financial crises, the concept of bailouts is a hot topic for debate among everyone these days.
Brian: Indeed, it's gotten crazy! A government bailout of severely distressed financial firms is unnecessary because free markets will properly price assets.
Crystal: I don't know about that. Without a bailout of severely distressed financial firms, the economy will experience a deep recession.
The disagreement between these economists is most likely due to --

A. Differences between perception versus reality
B. Differences in scientific judgments
C. Differences in values

Despite their differences, with which proposition are two economists chosen at random most likely to agree?

A. Tariffs and import quotas generally reduce economic welfare.
B. Minimum wage laws do more to harm low-skilled workers than help them.
C. Lawyers make up an excessive percentage of elected officials.

Answer 1

B. Differences in scientific judgments

A. Tariffs and import quotas generally reduce economic welfare.

Step-by-step explanation:

The disagreement between these economists is most likely due to:

B. Differences in scientific judgments

Brian and Crystal have different perspectives on the effectiveness of government bailouts, which can be seen as differences in their economic judgments based on their professional understanding of economics.

Despite their differences, with which proposition are two economists chosen at random most likely to agree?

A. Tariffs and import quotas generally reduce economic welfare.

Economists generally tend to agree that tariffs and import quotas can lead to reduced economic welfare, as they can distort free trade and lead to inefficiencies in the economy. This is a widely accepted economic principle.