Certified Business Economist (CBE) Practice Exam: Answers, Content Areas and Explanations
Certified Business Economist (CBE) Practice Exam: Answers, Content Areas and Explanations
The CBE Practice Exam includes questions from the six content areas which will be tested on the
CBE Exam; Applied Econometrics, Economic Measurement, Macroeconomics,
Microeconomics, Statistics and Data Analytics, and Strategy and Managerial Decision Making.
Each question on the examination is followed by four possible answers or completions. Select
the best answer for each question.
Please use this answer key to determine where additional study may be required before sitting for
the exam. Please note that difficulty levels of actual test questions and the scope and depth of
coverage of the actual examination will vary. You are encouraged to review the detailed content
outlines for each content area before sitting for the exam.
Need more preparation? Check out upcoming courses and additional resources
at www.nabe.com\CBE.
© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Section 1: Macroeconomics and Economic Measurement
Question 1
A potential early indication of subsequent near-term inflation for final goods is a:
A. drop in the exchange value of the dollar.
B. drop in aggregate reserves held by banks.
C. rise in the bank prime lending rate.
D. rise in the level of potential output.
Answer: A
Content Area: Macroeconomics, Inflation (CPI, PPI, Deflator, ECI, Indexation)
Rationale: The exchange value of the dollar affects the number of dollars required to purchase
foreign currency and therefore the cost of imported goods. To the extent that
manufacturers/importers pass the price changes to consumers, changes in the exchange value of
the dollar affects near-term inflation.
Question 2
Which of the following refers to the long-term movement of time series data?
A. Seasonal factor C. Secular trend
B. Random fluctuation D. Cyclical variation
Answer: C
Content Area: Macroeconomics, Time Series Analysis basics
Rationale: Seasonal factors are, by definition, short-term movements as are cyclical variations.
A secular trend is, again by definition, a long-term movement.
Question 3
Refer to the partial financial accounts (flow of funds) matrix below to respond to the following
question:
Households
Uses Sources
Gross saving less
net capital transfers -- 2,100
Gross investment 2,700 --
Net lending 1,020 --
Total financial assets 1,250 --
Total liabilities 230
Figures are in billions of dollars.
Answer: B
Content Area: Economic Measurement, Financial Accounts; flow matrix; interpretation of data
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© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Rationale: Capital expenditures equal gross investment minus net lending.
Question 4
Which of the following sets of transactions would appear on the financial account of the
international transactions account?
A. Social security paid to a U.S. citizen living abroad.
B. The sale of a building in the United States to a foreign firm.
C. Dividends paid to a U.S. citizen from foreign securities.
D. Payments by U.S. citizens to family living abroad.
Answer: B
Content Area: Economic Measurement, International statistics and balance of payments; ITAs,
financial account; what it measures
Rationale: The financial account records changes in U.S. owned assets abroad and foreign-
owned assets in the United States. The sale and purchase of securities and other assets are
recorded on the financial account.
Question 5
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Household Survey, which of the following people
would be counted as employed?
A. A fast-food worker who worked for 15 hours, lost his job the Friday before the reference
week. He is highly employable and likely to find a new job soon.
B. A clerk who worked for 15 hours at a family business did not take home any pay because
revenues were only sufficient to cover payroll.
C. A military officer who was on vacation the last two weeks will return to work the
following week.
D. A convicted felon who is in a program to manufacture automobile licenses for the state as
part of a 2-year state prison sentence.
Answer: B
Content Area: Economic Measurement, Measuring employment; household survey; survey
design and methodology
Rationale: A family worker who works for 15 or more hours per week at a business operated by
a family member, regardless of whether paid or unpaid, is counted as employed. A person
without a job is not counted as employed regardless of future employment prospects. The survey
excludes people living in institutions, such as prisons, and those on active duty in the Armed
Forces.
Question 6
Which of the following is a possible cause of financial crisis contagion in 2008?
A. A significant rise in China’s holdings of U.S. dollars.
B. Expected increases in the prices of U.S. assets.
C. An increase in the preference for liquidity among financial institutions.
D. Government policies that required greater financial transparency.
Answer: C
Content Area: Macroeconomics, Financial Linkages/Contagion
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© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Rationale: During 2008, financial institutions increased their demand for liquid assets, selling
longer-term assets and buying short-term liquid assets. As the price of long-term assets fell,
institutions expected them to fall further and more institutions shifted their holdings of securities
toward more liquid assets which led to a dramatic decline in asset prices.
Question 7
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, if a producer replaces a $3.79 16-ounce box of
cereal with a $3.79 14-ounce box of the exact same cereal, the new box would be counted as
reflecting a(n):
A. increase in the price of cereal.
B. decrease in quality of cereal.
C. different product altogether.
D. substitute for the previous box.
Answer: A
Content Area: Economic Measurement, Measuring inflation; building blocks of the BLS CPI;
data collection; outlet visits; definition of price
Rationale: The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures the price of goods sold in weight
measurements on a per-ounce basis, allowing it to account for producers who implicitly raise
prices by charging the same price for a smaller package of goods.
Question 8
According to the expectations-augmented Phillips Curve model, policymakers can lower the
unemployment rate below its natural rate in the:
A. short run when inflation is unanticipated.
B. short run when inflation is anticipated.
C. long run when inflation is unanticipated.
D. long run when inflation is anticipated.
Answer: A
Content Area: Macroeconomics, Philips Curve
Rationale: When inflation is not anticipated, an increase in federal government spending or an
increase in the money supply will increase output. As long as workers don’t demand higher
wages, producers will raise prices and increase output. Unemployment will decline. In the
Phillips Curve model, this is shown by a movement up along the short-run Phillips Curve. If
inflation is anticipated, workers will demand higher wages to offset the increase in the price level
and producers will not change output.
4|Page
© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Question 9
Refer to the table below to respond to the following question:
Answer: C
Content Area: Economic Measurement, GDP and the National Income and Product Accounts;
domestic income and product accounts, gross domestic income and components (Account 1)
Rationale: Gross domestic income equals compensation of employees plus taxes on production
and imports less subsidies plus net operating surplus of private enterprises plus current surplus of
government enterprises plus consumption of fixed capital, private plus consumption of fixed
capital, government.
Question 10
What is the percent change in output if hours declined by 2% and productivity rose by 3%?
A. -1% C. 5%
B. 1% D. 6%
Answer: B
Content Area: Economic Measurement, Productivity; productivity and costs new release;
calculating labor productivity and unit labor costs
Rationale: The percent change in labor productivity equals the percent change in output minus
the percent change in hours. Rearranging the variables we can calculate the percent change in
output as the sum of the percent change in hours and the percent change in productivity.
Question 11
According to the real business cycle theory, which of the following is a primary cause of
business cycles?
A. Policy decisions by the Federal Reserve.
B. A rise in general inflation in the economy.
C. Changes in the pace of technological change.
D. A decline in inflation expectations.
5|Page
© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Answer: C
Content Area: Macroeconomics, Theories of the Business Cycle
Rationale: According to the real business cycle theory, real shocks that affect the production
function, the size of the labor force, the real quantity of government purchases, and the spending
and saving decisions of consumers are the principal causes of the business cycle.
Question 12
Assume the following population of numbers: 107, 103, 99, and 105. What is the sampling
error of the mean if the following two numbers: 107 and 105 were taken as a sample from the
population?
A. 1.5 C. 2.5
B. 2.0 D. 3.0
Answer: C
Content Area: Statistics and Data Analytics, Sampling
Rational: The population average is 103.5. The sample average is 106. The sampling error is
2.5 (106 – 103.5).
Question 13
The estimation of a partial adjustment model is given by:
Answer: B
Content Area: Applied Econometrics, Distributed Lag Models
Rationale: the short-run impact of a change in F on CED is -0.1. The long-run impact is given
by the short-run impact divided by (1-the coefficient on the lagged dependent variable). Hence,
the long-run impact is given by -0.1/(1-0.2) or -0.1/0.8=-0.125.
Question 14
Which of the following is an example of when to use text analytics?
A. Analyzing data from social media communications.
B. Analyzing traffic congestion data from a large city.
C. Examining machine-generated sensor data in a manufacturing setting.
D. Estimating regression estimates of household responses to open-ended questions.
Answer: A
Content Area: Statistics and Data Analytics, Big Data
6|Page
© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Rational: Text analytics involves finding important information from unstructured text
databases, such as those created from social media communications. Text analytics is also useful
if researchers have asked open-ended questions and want to synthesize the responses.
Question 15
Refer to the econometric model below to respond to the following question:
Answer: B
Content Area: Applied Econometrics, Key Constructs in Applied Econometric Models
Rationale: The goodness-of-fit statistic R2 is given the ratio of the regression sum of squares to
the total sum of squares. In this problem, the total sum of squares is equal to the sum of the
regression sum of squares and the error sum of squares (in this case 120). So R2=90/120 or 0.75
in this case. The adjusted R2 is equal to 1-((SSE/n-p)/(SST/n-1)). In this problem, n=40, and p=4.
As such, the adjusted R2 is equal to 0.73.
Question 16
Refer to the information below to respond to the following question:
A business analyst estimates a model given as SALES(t) = 4 - .8*P(t) + .2*I(t) + .1*A(t).
Answer: A
Content Area: Applied Econometrics, Interpretation of Structural Parameters in Applied
Econometrics
7|Page
© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Rationale: Any elasticity is the marginal effect times the level of the explanatory variable
divided by the level of the dependent variable. So in this case, the marginal effect associated with
income is 0.2. The elasticity then is .2*($50,000/$100,000) or 0.1.
Question 17
A CBE is testing the claim that 90% of all customers’ technical issues are resolved by call center
operators. He believes the proportion is actually less. What are the null and alternate hypotheses
for this test?
A. H o : P = 90% C. H o : P ≥ 90%
H A : P ≠ 90% H A : P < 90%
Answer: C
Content Area: Statistics and Data Analytics, Practical Notes
Rationale: This is a one-tail test. The CBE’s belief should be included in the alternate
hypothesis because you want to disprove the claim.
Question 18
Does the global test of statistical significance “agree” with the individual tests of statistical
significance and why?
A. Yes, they both indicate that none of the coefficient estimates are statistically significant.
B. Yes, they both indicate that at least one of the coefficient estimates is statistically
significant.
C. No, the global test indicates at least one of the coefficient estimates is statistically
significant while none of the individual tests indicate statistical significance.
D. No, the global test indicates that none of the coefficient estimates is statistically
significant while the individual tests indicate both coefficient estimates are statistically
significant.
Answer: B
Content Area: Statistics and Data Analytics, Additional Estimations and Forecasting
Rationale: Yes, they both indicate that at least one of the coefficient estimates is statistically
significant.
Significance
F
0.00
and
P-
value
0.00
0.00
0.03
8|Page
© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Question 19
If analysts were to find the presence of influential data points, the best course of action to take
econometrically to estimate the structural parameters of the model is to use:
A. ordinary least squares.
B. weighted least squares.
C. generalized least squares.
D. robust regression methods.
Answer: D
Content Area: Applied Econometrics, Influential Diagnostics, Solution(s) to the Problem of
Influential Observations
Rationale: To mitigate the presence of influential data points, it is necessary to “weight down”
these observations through the use of robust regression methods.
Question 20
Which of the following is an indicator of multicollinearity?
A. The standard errors are small.
B. The correlation coefficient between the independent variables is 0.32.
C. The intercept is negative.
D. The global and individual tests for statistical significance do not agree.
Answer: D
Content Area: Statistics and Data Analytics, Multicollinearity
Rationale: If the global test for statistical significance does not agree with the individual tests
for statistical significance, multicollinearity is likely to exist.
Question 21
A business economist estimates a Cobb-Douglas production function as follows:
lnQ=b0+b1*lnInput1+b2*lnInput2+b3*lnInput3 + e
To determine the presence of constant returns to scale, the business economist must test the sum
of b1, b2, and:
A. b3=0 based on a chi-squared test.
B. b3=1 based on a chi-squared test.
C. b3=0 based on an F-test.
D. b3=1 based on an F-test.
Answer: D
Content Area: Applied Econometrics, Tests of Linear Combinations of Coefficients
9|Page
© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Rationale: The test for constant returns to scale in a Cobb-Douglas production function rests on
the sum of the coefficients (technically output elasticities) equal to 1. The appropriate test then is
an F-test.
Question 22
Refer to the information and Summary Output below to respond to ITEM 6:
The Summary Output below shows the results for the following regression model:
𝑌 = ∝ + 𝛽𝛽 + 𝜀
SUMMARY
OUTPUT
Regression Statistics
Multiple R 0.50
R Square 0.25
Adjusted R Square 0.18
Standard Error 14.21
Observations 14.00
ANOVA
df SS MS F Significance F
Regression 1 788.75 788.75 3.91 0.07
Residual 12 2422.75 201.90
Total 13 3211.50
Answer: C
Content Area: Statistics and Data Analytics, Client Considerations
Rationale: The point estimate for the regression coefficient for X is 45.04.
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© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Section 3: Microeconomics and Strategy and Managerial Decision Making
Question 23
Refer to the table below to respond to the following question:
Answer: C
Content Area: Strategy and Managerial Decision Making, Optimizing Techniques
Rationale: At 5,000 units of output, MR = MC = $1,500.
Question 24
The price of a regular hamburger is $1 and the price of a specialty burger is $3. If a consumer
has $9 to spend on hamburgers per week and gains total utility for hamburgers consumed as
shown in the following table, which combination of hamburgers will a rational consumer choose
to purchase?
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© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Answer: C
Content Area: Microeconomics, Marginal Utility
Rationale: Calculate the marginal utility of each good and divide by their price. A consumer will
maximize utility when the MU x /P x = MU y /P y . At 3 regular hamburgers and 2 specialty
hamburgers, 3/1 = 9/3.
Question 25
Which of the following is true when the Minimum Efficient Scale (MES) is small relative to
demand?
A. Entry by potential competitors is more difficult.
B. The number of firms in the industry is large.
C. Scale economies are significant.
D. The industry is most likely in the mature phase of its life-cycle.
Answer: B
Content Area: Strategy and Managerial Decision Making, Minimum Efficient Scale
Rationale: When MES occurs at a relatively small level of output, the industry is characterized
by a large number of smaller firms since economies of scale are not significant.
Question 26
Of the following individuals, who would be most likely to have a high inter-temporal discount
rate?
A. A young adult who saves very little of his income.
B. An addict who goes through the pain of drug withdrawal.
C. A single adult who dates a long time to find the perfect mate.
D. A lobbyist who supports government programs for the poor.
Answer: A
Content Area: Microeconomics, Time and Inter-temporal Preferences
Rationale: A person with a high inter-temporal discount rate places a high value on current
utility compared to future utility. A person who saves little of his income is less willing to forgo
current consumption for future consumption and therefore has a high discount rate.
Question 27
Which of the following will lead to an increase in the quantity demanded of mp3 players?
A. The price of alternative audio players decreases.
B. The retailers of mp3 players discount prices.
C. The producers of components for mp3 players raise prices.
D. The price of mp3 music files for sale online decreases.
Answer: B
Content Area: Microeconomics, Demand, Changes in Quantity Demanded
Rationale: A change in the price of a good or a factor that shifts the supply curve for a good will
lead to a change in quantity demanded. A decline in the good’s price will increase quantity
demanded.
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© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Question 28
In the Cobb-Douglas production function Q = 12L0.78K0.38, returns to scale are
A. decreasing. C. constant.
B. increasing. D. zero.
Answer: B
Content Area: Strategy and Managerial Decision Making, Functional Forms
Rationale: the sum of the labor and capital coefficients is greater than one, so there are
increasing returns to scale. 0.78 + 0.38 = 1.16
Question 29
Which is the most likely result of imposing rent controls below the market price?
A. Landlords convert apartments to alternative uses.
B. The vacancy rate in the market for apartment rises.
C. Landlords better maintain rent-controlled apartments.
D. Unregulated non-refundable deposits on apartments falls.
Answer: A
Content Area: Microeconomics, Price ceilings
Rationale: With rent controls, the return to renting apartments falls relative to other uses of the
space, so owners of rent controlled apartments convert them to alternative uses with higher
returns.
Question 30
Television commercials for automobiles that focus solely on a car’s features without any
reference to price, allow the car manufacturer to raise the price of the car because:
A. more people will want to buy the car.
B. demand will become less price elastic.
C. demand will become more price elastic.
D. more revenue is needed to cover the advertising budget.
Answer: B
Content Area: Strategy and Managerial Decision Making, Complex Pricing Issues
Rationale: Only by making demand less elastic can the firm profitably raise price. Advertising
on features makes buyers less sensitive price and decreases elasticity. Answer A is not correct if
elasticity does not change. Answer C explains why the firm needs to increase revenue but not
why they are able to raise price.
Question 31
Perfectly competitive firms experience diminishing marginal productivity. From this we can
conclude that the market:
A. demand curve is horizontal.
B. demand curve is downward sloping.
C. supply curve is horizontal.
D. supply curve is upward sloping.
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© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223
Answer: D
Content Area: Microeconomics, Perfect Competition, market supply
Rationale: In a perfectly competitive industry, the market supply curve is the sum of the firms’
marginal cost curves. Since diminishing marginal productivity leads to an upward sloping
marginal cost curve, we know that the market supply curve is also upward sloping.
Question 32
An industry consists of seven companies. The top two companies have market shares equal to
30% and 20%. The remaining five companies are all of equal size. The Hirschmann-Herfindahl
Index (HHI) for this industry equals:
A. 70. C. 1,800.
B. 100. D. 3,800.
Answer: C
Content Area: Strategy and Managerial Decision Making, Assessing a market’s structure and
competitiveness of an industry, Concentration measures
Rationale: To compute HHI, square the market shares of all firms then sum.
Question 33
A project with a current cost of $10,000 is projected to have annual net cash flow of $1,500 for
each of the next 10 years. The revenues come at the end of the each year, and at the end of ten
years, the project is completely fully depreciated and has no resale value. With a cost of capital
equal to 10%, the Net Present Value (NPV) of the project equals:
A. -$1,500. C. $783.
B. -$783. D. $9,217.
Answer: B
Content Area: Strategy and Managerial Decision Making Project finance – cash flows, cost of
capital, NPV, IRR, and payback criteria
Rationale: PV(1500,10,.1) = 9217. NPV = 9217 -10000 = -783.
Question 34
Studies have shown that idling when long lines form at the tollbooths creates health problems
among children in nearby neighborhoods. Implementing an electronic toll system that reduces
idling:
A. reduces the social cost of using toll roads.
B. raises the private cost of using toll roads.
C. reduces the socially optimal number of cars on toll roads.
D. raises the externalities associated with the electronic toll system.
Answer: A
Content Area: Microeconomics, Market/government failure
Rationale: Because EZ-pass and other electronic toll systems reduce externalities associated
with tollbooths, they reduce the social cost of using toll roads.
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© Copyright 2014 National Association for Business Economics. All Rights Reserved.
Certified Business Economist® (CBE)
NABE 1920 L St., NW ,Ste 300, Washington, DC 20036; [email protected]; (202)463-6223