Recent Economic Developments, Repo Rate, Formal Employment, and GDP in South Africa

Sources for Economic Developments

A. Which one of the following sources will provide you with an extensive summary of recent economic developments?  

1.SARB Quarterly Bulletin  

2.Quarterly Labour Force Survey  

3.Budget Review  

4.SABC television news  

B.In July 2019 the South African Reserve Bank decreased the repo rate from 6,75% to 6,5%. This is a decrease of … 

1.25%. 

2.25 basis points.  

3.2,5%. 

4.2,5 basis points 

C.Question 3 is based on the following dataset for formal employment in the non-agricultural sector for South Africa. Complete the table and answer the question. 

The median value of the dataset is … average (mean) value.  

1.smaller than  

2.greater than 

3.equal to  

D.The following datasets represent the level of employment in the mining and manufacturing sectors in South Africa for 2017: 

Mining: 462 275 

Manufacturing: 1 193 311 

If employment in mining increases by 20% and in manufacturing by 9%, then it can be concluded that …  

1.more jobs have been created in the mining sector. 

2.more jobs have been created in the manufacturing sector. 

3.the same number of jobs has been created in the mining and manufacturing sectors.   

E.Which one of the following is used to smooth erratic movements in time series to obtain a general trend?  

1.moving averages  

2.weighted averages  

3.median  

4.simple average  

5.arithmetic mean 

E..Which one of the following symbols, units or numbers is written incorrectly?  

1.r/kg 

2.0,13  

3.R105,50 

4.500 640 

5.10 watt 

F. Which one of the following statements regarding inventories and changes in inventories is correct?  

1.Both are stock variables. 

2.Both are flow variables.  

3.Inventories are a stock variable, while changes in inventories are a flow variable.  

4.Inventories are a flow variable, while changes in inventories are a stock variable.  

G. Question G is based on the following information about a hypothetical country.  

Total sales for the year: R100 million 

Total expenditure for the year: R110 million 

The total production for the year is equal to … 

1.the total sales of R100 million + total expenditure of R110 million = R210 million.  

2.the total sales of R100 million plus inventories of R10 million = R110 million.  

3.. the total expenditure of R100 million minus total sales of R100 million = R10 million.  

4. the total sales = R80 million. 

H. Gross domestic product …  

1.is the total value of all goods and services excluding the value of capital goods produced within the geographic boundaries of a country in a particular period.  

2.excludes the value of intermediate goods.  

Changes in Repo Rate

3.includes the provision of depreciation of capital.  

4.is the total value of all final goods and services produced within the geographic boundaries of a country in a particular period.  

I. There are three different approaches to estimating gross domestic product (GDP), namely the production (value added) method, income method and expenditure method. The following is an example of the value added during the process by which a slice of cake is made available to students as a final good at the campus restaurant.  

What is the value added by the baker?  

The value added by the miller is equal to … 

1.R3.90. 

2.R9.40. 

3.R2,40. 

4.R1,60. 

J. Which one of the following statements is incorrect?  

1.Gross domestic expenditure is greater than expenditure of gross domestic product, since imports are greater than exports.  

2.The base year is 2010.  

3.The figure for gross domestic expenditure includes exports and imports.  

4.The reason the nominal figure for expenditure on gross domestic product differs from the real figure is due to the effect of inflation.  

K. Which one of the following is a valid conclusion if one compares the different components of expenditure on real gross domestic product for the period 2010 to 2016? 

1.Both gross domestic expenditure and expenditure on gross domestic product increased every year.  

2.Exports exceeded imports every year. 

3.Gross fixed investment declined in 2016 and final consumption expenditure by government declined in 2015.  

4.Changes in inventories is the most stable component during the period.  

L. If gross domestic expenditure increased while expenditure on gross domestic expenditure declined, one can conclude that it might be the result of a/n … 

1.decline in exports and an increase in imports. 

2.increase in exports and a decline in imports.  

3.decrease in final consumption expenditure of households. 

4.negative change in inventories.

M. Based on table S-109, which one of the following subsectors made the largest contribution to real GDP for South Africa in 2016?  

1.manufacturing  

2.agricultural, forestry and fishing  

3.community, social and personal services 

4.finance, insurance, real estate and business services 

5.mining and quarrying 

N. Question N is based table S-108 and the following data of the South African economy for 2018:  

Current prices  

R millions 

Expenditure on gross domestic product: R4 873 899 

Primary income form the rest of the world: R96 507  

Current transfers from the rest of the world: R24 580 

Current transfers to the rest of the world: R60 254 

Gross national disposable income at market prices: R4 684 180 

According to the data for 2018, the gross national income at market prices … 

1.is greater than the expenditure on gross domestic product. 

2.is equal to the expenditure on gross domestic product. 

3.is smaller than the expenditure on gross domestic product.  

4.cannot be calculated from the data.