Author: Irwin Collier

 

The following examinations were included in a publication of the Cambridge University Economics Tripos for 1931-33. Appended to the publication of the 1921-1926 Cambridge Economics Tripos Papers are the “Papers set in the qualifying examinations 1925 & 1926”. So the following three exams most likely served as an early hurdle to clear before being admitted to the Economics Tripos.

 

Intercollegiate Examination of Economics (June 1931)

Principles of Economics
Subjects for an Essay
Trade and Finance
Industry and Labour

Intercollegiate Examination of Economics (June 1932)

Economic Theory
Currency and Banking
Industry and Trade
Labour

Preliminary Examination in Economics (June 1933)

Principles of Economics
Industry, Labour and Money. Paper I
Industry, Labour and Money. Paper II
Modern Economic History

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INTERCOLLEGIATE EXAMINATION IN ECONOMICS.

Monday, June 8, 1931. 9—12.
PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS.

1. What is meant by a perfect market? To what extent must fundamental economic theory be modified in view of the fact that in practice markets are not perfect?
2. “The representative firm was devised to meet the difficulties occurring in the analysis of supply when there is a disparity of efficiency as between different producers.” Comment.
3. Are there any reasons, for purposes of economic analysis, for drawing a distinction between the royalties received by owners of mining properties and the interest received by debenture holders in mining companies?
4. “Increasing returns maybe due to external economies or to internal economies.” What are external and internal economies, and under what conditions, and in what sense, can increasing returns be said to be due to each?
5. “If we were content to dispense with further industrial progress we should no longer have to pay tribute in the form of profits to business men.” Discuss.
6. What is likely to be the effect on the price and output of agricultural produce of levying a land tax from which agricultural land is exempt?
7. In what circumstances is a rise in the general level of wages likely to be (a) compatible, (b) incompatible with full employment for labour?
8. Consider carefully under what conditions the control of an industry by a monopolist is likely to be in the social interest.
9. “The Theory of Distribution is but a particular application of the Theory of Value.” Elucidate this statement.
10. How far do economic and social considerations justify the right of private bequest?

 

Monday, June 8, 1931.  1. 30—4. 30.
SUBJECTS FOR AN ESSAY.

Write an essay on one of the following subjects:

1. “For our great-grandchildren the problem will be how to live rather than how to keep alive.”
2. The Electrification of the Railways.
3. “Democracy has had its chance and has failed: let us pass on.”
4. The Control of the World’s Wheat.
5. “The Five Years Plan.”
6. The Economics of Advertising.
7. “La République n’a pas besoin de Savants.”

 

Tuesday, June 9, 1931. 9—12.
TRADE AND FINANCE.

1. “Ten years of industrial depression measures the cost to this country of the Return to Gold.” Discuss.
2. Would you agree that the world price level of the next twenty years is at the discretion of the Central Banks in the chief industrial countries? Why, or why not?
3. What bearing has the proportion of their resources that people choose to hold in the form of money upon the value of money?
4. In October 1929 the market rate of discount was about 6¼ % while the yield of fixed-interest stocks was about 4¾ % in March 1931 the former was about 2½ % and the latter about 4½ %. How would you account for these facts?
5. “To-day, as in the middle of the last century, Free Trade is the best policy for this country: the reasons may be different, the conclusion is the same.” Investigate this argument.
6. What are the relative advantages or disadvantages for this country of a fixed fiduciary issue as compared with a proportional reserve system of note issue?
7. State clearly the differences in organisation between the money markets of London and New York, and indicate how these differences affect the nature and extent of the influence of the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the two markets respectively.
8. With what truth is it alleged that whereas before the war the sources of disturbance to the Foreign Exchanges automatically set in motion corrective forces, to-day this no longer tends to be so?
9. How do you account for the differences in the levels of wages normally prevailing between different countries?
10. What criteria should a Government hold in view in framing a system of taxes?

 

Tuesday, June 9, 1931.  1. 30—4. 30.
INDUSTRY AND LABOUR.

1. “It was once regarded as the duty of the State to curb the power of monopoly, but it now does everything possible to encourage it.” Discuss the truth of this statement and the desirability of the change to which it alludes.
2. Examine the effect that would be produced on the wages of skilled workers by the introduction of a national minimum weekly wage.
3. Give a reasoned account of what you imagine is likely to be the position of the British cotton industry in ten years time.
4. Describe the British Trade Boards system. What conditions are necessary for the establishment of a Trade Board in a particular industry and what conditions do you think ought to be necessary?
5. Consider how far the existence of surplus capacity in an industry can be regarded as socially undesirable.
6. “Since the war there has been a strong positive correlation between rates of real wages and unemployment.” Explain. Can any moral be drawn?
7. What are the factors that determine the size of firms? Illustrate your answer by reference to actual industries.
8. Discuss in the light of the experience of other countries the possibility of improving the efficiency of British farming on the side of (a) production, (b) marketing.
9. How far and for what reasons is labour in this country immobile at the present time? What benefits, if any, would you expect from increased mobility?
10. Is it possible for technical improvements in production to be adopted faster than is in the interests of the working classes? Illustrate your answer by reference to the conditions of to-day.

 

Monday, June 6, 1932. 9—12.
ECONOMIC THEORY.

1. Explain the difficulties involved in measuring the total utility derived from any commodity in terms of money.
2. “Under private enterprise the consumer is king.” How far do the teachings of modern psychology cast doubt upon the truth of this assertion?
3. Give examples of the way in which the development of economic theory has been moulded by the course of historical events.
4. Explain the forces which determine the value of a commodity “in the short period,” making plain what you mean by a “short period.”
5. Is the existence of monopoly (a) a necessary, (b) a sufficient condition for the existence of a system of differential prices?
6. “Since rents are merely transfer payments from one member of the community to another, it is impossible for an industry to be conducted under conditions of increasing cost from the standpoint of the community as a whole.” Discuss.
7. Is there any reason, from the standpoint of the public interest, why the freights and fares on the English railways should be maintained at a level sufficient to yield a normal rate of interest on the capital originally invested in the railways?
8. How far can the doctrine that each factor of production tends to be rewarded in accordance with its marginal productivity be applied to the factor risk-taking?
9. “Since cuts in wage-rates destroy purchasing-power, they are bound to prolong and aggravate a trade depression.” Comment.
10. Is the present pace of agricultural and industrial improvement likely in your opinion to make the problem of chronic unemployment greater in the 20th century than in the 19th?

 

Monday, June 6, 1932. 1. 30—4. 30.
CURRENCY AND BANKING.

1. “The Purchasing Power of Money is a phrase which admits, not of one, but of many meanings, some more useful than others.” Elucidate this statement.
2. Explain briefly the points at issue between the Currency and Banking Schools in the eighteen-forties. How far was the doctrine of the victorious school justified by the events?
3. What support does history afford to the contention that the gold standard leads to one set of results in theory, and to quite another set in practice?
4. “The duty of banks is to act merely as honest brokers between people who have made savings and people who want to use them.” Explain and discuss.
5. Discuss the relation between changes in long-term and in short-term rates of interest.
6. Why would you agree, or disagree, with the view that the price-level is the one passive element in the equation of exchange?
7. How do you account for the course which the prices of imported goods in this country have followed since our suspension of the gold standard in September last?
8. How far are existing arrangements as to bank reserves adapted to ensure efficient control by the Central Bank over the other banks in the London and New York money markets respectively? What alterations, if any, would you propose?
9. “The trade cycle constitutes recurrent proof of the absence of tendencies towards equilibrium in the economic system.” Examine the validity of this assertion.
10. Consider, with reference (a) to past experience, (b) to present circumstances, the relation of the export of capital to equilibrium in our balance of payments.

 

 

Tuesday, June 7, 1932. 9—12.
INDUSTRY AND TRADE.

1. Show the importance, in past years, of the emigration traffic to the shipping companies of this country and the railroad systems of the New World.
2. Give some account of the direction and composition of British overseas investment between 1850 and 1900.
3. “It is obviously to the general interest that sources of supply should grow up as near as possible to centres of consumption; subject to the condition that, where one source has a natural advantage in climate, mineral resources, or deep-set human aptitudes for a particular industry, it may be advantageously developed even at the cost of somewhat large expenditure of labour and material on marketing its products.” (Marshall.)
   Examine, in the light of this statement,
   Either (a) the aggregation of industries in Birmingham and the Black Country;
   Or (b) the location of the milling industry in North America and England.
4. Define a public utility. How would you approach the problem of whether a particular public utility should be owned and operated by the public?
5. What evidence would you require to convince you that the organised Produce Exchange renders an indispensable service to the farmer?
6. Why have the producers of agricultural staples in the New World and in England fared so badly in the last few years? What is the position in continental Europe?
7. “The 20th century has shown clearly that competitive industry never ends in complete monopoly.” Critically examine this statement.
8. Seeing that mass production gives decreasing costs, is it not reasonable to suppose that industrial progress and a falling price level will go hand in hand? Consider, in this connection, the price record of soap, automobiles, and electric power.
9. “Advertisement is a necessary business cost, but of no value to the community as a whole.” Criticise this.
10. Examine the various causes which may set a limit to the size of a business unit.

 

 

Tuesday, June 7, 1932.  1. 30—4. 30.
LABOUR.

1. “Our democratic age will be remarkable to posterity for having dimmed the time-honoured belief in the virtues of the poor” (Bosanquet). Is this fair comment on the extension of the Social Services during the past half century?
2. Discuss the effect of recent changes in the distribution of the National Income on the volume and direction of saving.
3. Discuss the probable effect on the earnings of workers in the electrical engineering industry of the introduction of a six-hour day coupled with the shift system.
4. Examine the view that the future of labour organisation lies in Industrial Unionism. Is it supported by the history of Trade Unions in this country?
5. An industrial combine employing some 30,000 people wishes to introduce a scheme for periodic consultation and discussion between management and employees. Draft an outline constitution. What subjects, if any, would you exclude from discussion?
6. Give a critical account of the history of government intervention in labour disputes in this country.
7. Consider the problems involved in the introduction of a means test for claimants to transitional payments under the Unemployment Insurance legislation.
8. Discuss the decay of apprenticeship. What alternative systems of recruitment are desirable and practicable?
9. Consider the probable effects of a permanent ban on immigration by the countries of North and South America.
10. What value do you attach to the suggestions which have been put forward for arresting the growth of unemployment by the speeding-up of expenditure on public works?

 

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PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION IN ECONOMICS.

Monday, June 5, 1933. 9—12.
PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS.

1. “Natura non facit saltum.” How far can this be regarded as a satisfactory axiom in Economics?
2. “It is easier to interpret the classical doctrine that ‘Rent does not enter into the cost of production’ in a sense in which it is not true, and to scoff at it, than in the sense in which it was intended and is true. It seems best therefore to avoid the phrase.” Explain and discuss.
3. State carefully the conditions which must be satisfied in order that an industry may be in long-period equilibrium.
4. In what circumstances could the distribution of the resources of a community between different uses be improved by government intervention?
5. On what theoretical grounds can the varying differences between the wages of skilled and unskilled workers in different countries be explained?
6. “The doctrine that the earnings of a worker tend to be equal to the net product of his work has by itself no real meaning: since in order to estimate net product we have to take for granted all the expenses of production of the commodity on which he works other than his own wages.” Explain the difficulty involved here.
7. What is the meaning of “normal profits”? How far is it true that profits in all industries tend to reach a uniform “normal” level?
8. If you had to calculate the most profitable method and rate of exploitation of a mine with a limited supply of ores of varying grades, what factors would you take into account?
9. Discuss the meaning which is to be attached to the word “utility” in the Theory of Value.
10. “Increasing and diminishing returns are attributes rather of production as a whole than of production in one individual industry.” Discuss.
11. In what circumstances if any would you regard it as desirable that a seller should discriminate in the prices charged to different consumers?
12. “The chief factors determining the rate of interest are the growth of population and the rate of invention.” Discuss.

 

Monday, June 5, 1933. 1½—4½ .
INDUSTRY, LABOUR AND MONEY.

Paper I.

1. How far is it true to say that the world gold standard before the War was (i) automatic, (ii) managed, (iii) dependent upon the economic and financial policy of England?
2. “The Quantity Theory of Money throws no light upon the forces which most directly and actively influence the price level.” Discuss this statement.
3. “The limit of wealth is never deficiency of consumers but deficiency of productive power” (John Stuart Mill). Discuss.
4. To what extent do you consider that the progressive supersession of private businesses by joint stock companies has been a gain from the point of view of the community as a whole?
5. Compare, with reference to any industries with which you are familiar, the relative importance of proximity to the market and proximity to the source of raw materials as factors in determining industrial localisation.
6. Give an account of the difficulties which confront the Lancashire cotton industry in the world markets to-day. What remedies have been attempted or proposed in recent years for improving the position of the industry?
7. How far does the nature of the product determine the possibilities of success in the co-operative marketing of agricultural produce?
8. “In disputes between employers and workpeople, the stoppage of work is analogous to a war, or still more to a trade embargo, in disputes between nations.” Discuss.
9. Give a rough estimate of the proportions of workpeople whose wage-rates are laid down in collective agreements, or fixed by the various statutory wages boards. How far and in what way do these wage-rates affect the levels of wages in unorganised and unregulated trades and services?
10. Discuss compulsory arbitration in labour disputes from the standpoint of (a) principle, (b) practice, with illustrations from experience at home or abroad.

 

Tuesday, June 6, 1933. 1½—4½.
INDUSTRY, LABOUR AND MONEY.

Paper II.

1. What would be the probable effects on the economic system of a country which was previously in equilibrium, if the people were to decide to save an additional £100 million per annum and to put the whole of the money thus saved on deposit account with the banks?
2. Assuming that an important cause of the present depression in England lies in the fact that prices are below the level of costs, consider the relative merits of attempting (a) to raise prices to meet costs, (b) to lower costs to meet prices.

	December 1931	December 1932
Treasury Bills outstanding…	£m. 605	£m. 928
Deposits of 12 Joint Stock Banks	£m. 1,806	£m. 2,049
Advances of 12 Joint Stock Banks	£m. 918	£m. 785
Investments of 12 Joint Stock Banks	£m. 298	£m. 488
Bankers’ Deposits at Bank of England	£m. 82	£m. 134
Wholesale prices (1927=100)	65.8	61.1

How do you account for the changes shown in the above table?

4. Do you consider that discrimination against road transport in favour of the railways would be advantageous to the community as a whole in England to-day?
5. “‘The optimum firm’ is a meaningless phrase unless we know the price of machinery, the rate of interest and the rate of invention in a given industry.” Discuss this statement.
6. “The typical manufacturer of the more elaborate goods tends to become little more than an assembler of components bought from specialist makers.” How far is this true? What effects, if any, is it likely to have on labour and industrial organisation?
7. Why have so many countries been compelled to take special steps for the re-organisation of their agriculture?
8. In a firm belonging to an industry in which employers and workpeople are well organised, a dispute arises between some of the workpeople and the management as to how many workers, of what grade, and at what wage, shall operate a new type of machine. Describe the kind of agreements that are likely to exist for settling the issue without a stoppage of work, and sketch the procedure.
9. “Under well organised production the distinction between payment by time and payment by results disappears. The manager who introduces or retains piece-work or bonus systems thereby stands confessed a second-rate organiser.” Discuss.
10. Discuss the changes in the functions and status of the foreman consequent upon “scientific management” and “labour control,” and the problems such changes create.
11. Recount briefly the history of any joint industrial council of employers and employed. Discuss the causes of its successes and failures and suggest any reforms you think desirable.

 

Tuesday, June 6, 1933. 9—12.
MODERN ECONOMIC HISTORY.

1. “Mercantilism was the economic expression of the militant nationalism which sprang out of the social and political changes of the sixteenth century.” Discuss this. Was mercantilism peculiar to England?
2. Estimate the importance of Spanish silver to the development of capitalism in Great Britain and Europe.
3. Why was England the mother country of the Industrial Revolution?
4. Did John Law seriously damage the economic and financial position of France?
5. Explain the steps by which England originally reached a gold standard.
6. What was the teaching of Malthus on the subject of population? Was his problem our problem?
7. Estimate the economic consequences of the Napoleonic regime to Western Europe.
8. Examine the points at issue between the Currency and Banking Schools in the 1840’s.
9. Show the relation between the corn law controversy (1813 to 1846) and the formation of economic theory.
10. How did German thought and policy between 1800 and the death of Bismarck react to English fiscal doctrine?
11. Give some account of the rise of Socialism on the continent of Europe.

 

Source:  Cambridge University. Economics Tripos Papers 1931-1933, with the Papers Set in the Intercollegiate and Preliminary Examinations 1931-1933. Cambridge, UK: University Press, 1933, pp. 71-83.

Source: Trinity College, Cambridge University. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

 

Examination questions for the Cambridge Economics Tripos from 1921, 1931 and 1932 have been posted earlier. Today we add the 1933 Economics Tripos for good measure.

Economics Tripos Part I (1933)

General Principles I
Social Problems
General Principles II
Essay Subjects
English Economic History
Economic Structure

Economics Tripos Part II (1933)

Economic Principles
Industry
Money
Essay Subjects
Labour
Principles of Politics
Public Finance
The Economic Development of the United States
Statistics
International Law

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PART I.

Monday, May 29, 1933.  9—12.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES I.

1. “Economics may be described as a scientific study of the best means of avoiding waste.” Discuss.
2. “Value in all cases tends to equal cost.” Consider the most important ways in which this dictum requires modification or amplification, and bring out clearly what is meant by “cost.”
3. Is it possible for a community to save and invest too much for its own welfare?
4. “Since it is evident that any industry is liable in the course of expansion to flood the market with its products and find its profits falling to zero or below zero, it seems pointless to pick out particular industries, such as agriculture, as being special cases requiring the use of the classificatory term ‘Diminishing Returns.'” Comment.
5. What effects would you expect a great increase in the income of all classes to have upon (a) the rate of interest, (b) the size of the population?
6. How far is it true to say that capital is free to migrate from declining to expanding industries?
7. In what way does the true rent of land either resemble or differ from (a) the rent of buildings, (b) the high incomes of successful professional men?
8. “The rate of interest tends to equality with the marginal net yield on the capital in use.” How does this come about? Is it an adequate explanation of the forces governing the rate of interest?
9. Why do the prices of some commodities fluctuate much more than others?
10. What are the chief benefits that might accrue to the community as a whole if a highly competitive industry were compulsorily converted into a monopolistic corporation?

 

Monday, May 29, 1933. 1½—4½
SOCIAL PROBLEMS.

1. What evidence, if any, is there that poverty has diminished during the present century?
2. Discuss the difficulties involved in abolishing or modifying the “means test.”
3. Can relief of unemployment be dealt with on an insurance basis?
4. Would a uniform national reduction of wages increase employment?
5. Is England over-populated?
6. Discuss the proposal to build a million houses in five years and pay for them with new bank credits and notes.
7. By what chief methods are industrial disputes settled in Great Britain?
8. Could a general strike improve the position of the wage- earning class?
9. How do you account for the growing use of piece-rates in Russia since they seem inconsistent with the communist principle, “From each according to his capacity, to each according to his needs”?
10. Would you support the proposed international convention for a 40-hour week?

 

Tuesday, May 30, 1933. 9—12.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES II.

A.

1. Discuss the more important ways in which the world with which Economics is concerned differs from that of real life.
2. Explain what you mean by “the supply of labour” and discuss how far it is affected by changes in the rates of remuneration offered.
3. What do you understand by the phrase “the representative producer”? For what purposes is the idea useful?
4. Two commodities are produced under conditions of joint supply. A given tax per unit is laid upon the output of one. Consider the effect upon the price of the other.
5. What conditions are most favourable to the success of a combination of workpeople in order to raise the price of their labour?
6. In what ways is the burden of risk in production and trade distributed under present-day conditions?

B.

7. Give an account of the factors influencing the value of money.
8. Discuss the difficulties involved in the construction and use of index numbers of the cost of living.
9. How is the rate of exchange determined between two inconvertible paper currencies?
10. Describe the working of the London Discount Market and indicate where its importance lies for the student of monetary conditions.
11. Expand the statement that “the ability of any one bank to extend credit depends partly at least on the policy of the others.”
12. How far is “the stabilisation of the level of prices” likely to promote the stability of general business conditions?

 

Tuesday, May 30, 1933. 1½—4½.
ESSAY SUBJECTS.

Write an essay on one of the following subjects:

1. The final goal of society.
2. “A little college is a dangerous thing.”
3. Statesmanship and economics.
4. Hoarding.
5. The future of the English village.

 

Wednesday, May 31, 1933. 9—12.
ENGLISH ECONOMIC HISTORY.

1. “Until the end of the seventeenth century England’s economic position was only of secondary importance.”
   Account for this and for the change which took place in the ensuing century.
2. What was the “yeoman class”? When and why did it decline in importance?
3. What was the influence of the wars of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic period on the economic development of England?
4. Outline the events and the discussions which preceded the Bank Charter Act of 1844 and consider the settlement then achieved.
5. Give a brief account of the “humanitarian movement” and indicate its rôle in the economic and social life of this country.
6. Give some account of the principal factors which influenced the history of British shipping in the second half of the nineteenth century.
7. What were the main features of the financial policy of Gladstone?
8. Indicate and account for the principal changes in the general level of gold prices between 1821 and 1873.
9. What is meant by “economic imperialism”? What forms did it take in this country in the generation preceding the outbreak of the World War?
10. Contrast the structure and general situation of British agriculture in 1850 and in 1914.

 

Wednesday, May 31, 1933. 1½—4½.
ECONOMIC STRUCTURE.

1. “A shift in the geographical distribution of industrial activities is usually associated with technical changes.” Discuss this, giving examples from recent changes in Great Britain.
2. How do you explain the rapid growth in the proportion of the population employed in the distributive trades?
3. “In expanding industries productive capacity can be created far more rapidly than of old.” Consider this statement, giving illustrations.
4. If to-morrow you were appointed dictator of the Lancashire cotton industry for ten years, what would you do? Give your reasons.
5. Give some account of recent developments in retail trading in this country.
6. Under what conditions will an increase in the total output of an industry be secured most cheaply (a) by the expansion of existing plants, (b) by the opening of branches, (c) by the establishment of new firms?
7. In what ways do you consider that public control over the provision of capital for industrial purposes can be improved?
8. In what circumstances will organised restriction of output in any one industry be in the public interest?
9. “It may be a true instinct which foresees the decadence of national prosperity in any special change of industry.” Comment.
10. “Business is becoming a profession which requires a professional training and outlook.” Discuss the truth of this, and its possible effect on the efficiency of management.

 

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PART II.

Monday, May 29, 1933. 9—12.
ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES.

1. State and criticise the case for the view that the conception of Utility is superfluous in economic theory.
2. With what qualifications is it legitimate to suppose that the quantity of a commodity demanded at a given place and time is a function of the price of that commodity only?
3. “The specious symmetry of the expressions ‘law of diminishing returns’ and ‘law of increasing returns’ conceals differences of fundamental importance.” Explain.
4. What part, if any, do the principles governing the increase of population play in the modern theory of value? If you hold that they play no part, show precisely how population theory has been extruded.
5. “Collective bargaining can only secure wage advances at the price of unemployment.” Discuss.
6. Is there any respect in which the laws which govern the rent of land differ from those which govern the value of other factors of production in equilibrium?
7. On what principles should a socialist state determine the optimum rate of saving for the community?
8. Construct, if possible, a general definition of normal profit that will cover the cases both of perfect and of imperfect competition. Or, if that is impossible, give specific definitions appropriate to each case. Justify your procedure.
9. On what grounds would you decide whether a practice of price discrimination was to be condemned?
10. If a particular factor of production is not fully employed in a community, its employment can normally be increased by a reduction in the price at which it is offered. What relevance has this for the problem of raising output in a community in which none of the factors is fully employed?
11. What facts would you need to know in order to measure the advantage which a country derived from its foreign trade?
12. “Monetary theory is destined soon to swallow up the general theory of value.” Discuss.

 

Monday, May 29, 1933. 1½—4½.
INDUSTRY.

1. How do you account for the increase since the War in the proportion of the occupied population engaged in the distributive trades? Is this increase to be deplored from the economic standpoint?
2. Do you think it is correct to regard the last quarter of the nineteenth century as a period of stagnation for British industry, and the early years of the present century as a period of recovery? What evidence is available in support of or in opposition to this view?
3. How would you explain the spread of international industrial combinations since the War? Do the post-War international combinations differ in any important respect from the pre-War international combinations? Have they contributed to economic stability?
4. It is said that the State regulation of railway charges and services has been developed on the assumption that the railway companies are monopolists. Discuss this contention, and consider how State regulation affects the present distribution of traffic between railways and roads.
5. What are “secret reserves”? Does the provision of “secret reserves” afford any advantages to business concerns? Can they be justified from the standpoint of the investor and the public?
6. What is the economic significance of the recent extension of instalment selling? Has this development had an adverse or a favourable effect on the stability of economic life?
7. Discuss the broad changes in industrial localization within Great Britain during the last hundred years, and their bearing on the theory of industrial localization.
8. Do you think that the State is ever justified in enforcing rationalization on an industry? What evidence should the State regard as relevant in considering action of this kind?
9. It is said that certain costs which are variable or prime costs from the standpoint of the employer are overhead costs from the standpoint of the community. Discuss this contention, and consider its bearing on the question of State interference in industrial affairs.
10. Account for the progressive decline in the British cotton industry during the last decade.
11. Discuss the causes of the extension of valorization schemes in world agriculture during the post-War period. Estimate the main economic effects of these schemes.

 

Tuesday, May 30, 1933. 9—12.
MONEY.

1. What light, if any, does the experience of the last three years throw on the comparative merits of the British, German and American systems of deposit banking?
2. Examine the view that an index number of prices must be differently weighted according as to whether the forces determining the value of money are analysed with the aid of the conception of velocity of circulation or with the aid of the conception of a demand for “real balances.”
3. How do you account for the popular notion that money, to serve its purpose well, must be “backed by” some particular kind or kinds of asset? Give instances of the expedients which have been adopted to satisfy this notion in times of crisis.
4. Examine, with special reference to the course of events in the United States in 1922-29, the theory that economic crises are brought about by a deficiency of saving.
5. “The controversy which culminated in the Bank Act of 1844 was simply an episode in the agelong warfare between inflationist and deflationist.” Discuss.
6. Examine the nature, and estimate the strength, of the forces which, in the absence of pressure from a central bank, will tend to bring about adjustment in a country’s balance of payments.
7. Some people hold that, if productivity per head is increasing, the stabilisation by a world monetary authority of an index number of wholesale prices of raw materials would have seriously inflationary consequences. Do you agree with this view? Can you propose any better objective of international banking policy?
8. The present slump has been compared with that of the early ‘nineties. Explain the main points of resemblance and difference.
9. If a Government in a slump spends £100 million, raised by loan, on public works, would you expect the “indirect employment” created to last only as long as the “direct employment,” or to outlast it?
10. You are Finance Minister of an “off gold” country which has decided to re-adhere to an international gold standard. What considerations would you take into account in deciding upon the new parity of exchange?
11. “Foreign investment on a generous scale by the creditor countries was the root cause of the world crisis: it is also the only possible remedy.” Discuss.
12. Discuss the influence of central banking operations on the relation between long and short interest rates, with special reference to the maxim that a central bank should endeavour to secure the equality of natural to market rates of interest.

 

Tuesday, May 30, 1933. 1½—4½.
SUBJECTS FOR AN ESSAY.

1. Japanese Expansion in Asia.
2. Rivers.
3. The Economic Background of the Present Situation in Germany.
4. The Place of Technological and Psychological Factors in Economic Analysis.
5. Graft.
6. The Creative Artist in a Socialist State.
7. The Colour Problem in Africa.
8. Class War.

 

Wednesday, May 31, 1933. 9—12.
LABOUR.

1. Compare broadly the standard of comfort attained by the mass of the people in Great Britain with the standards attained in Germany and the United States of America; and briefly account for the differences.
2. “Unless drastic action is taken to effect a change in the ownership of property, no substantial advance can be made in the direction of equalizing incomes.” Discuss the grounds for this opinion.
3. Did the legislation passed by Parliament between 1832 and 1850 on balance promote or retard the material progress of the working class? Give reasons for your opinion.
4. Explain how the volume of employment in Great Britain would probably be affected if the hours of work for all manual workers in industry and commerce were reduced to 40 per week, without any reduction in weekly wage-rates, (a) in this country only, (b) in all countries.
5. “Experience shows that, while sickness is an insurable risk, unemployment is not, and ought therefore never to have been brought within the scope of social insurance.” Discuss this view.
6. In a recent enquiry into the Sheffield cutlery trade, relating to the period July—December 1931, information was obtained from 67 manufacturing firms (approximately one-third of those known to be engaged in the trade) selected at random, from the outworkers employed by them and from a number of other outworkers. It showed the following results for men and women of 21 years and over:

	Earnings per Hour (Pence)			Earnings per Week
	Upper Quartile	Median	Lower Quartile	Upper Quartile	Median	Lower Quartile
Time Workers:
Men	15.7	13.7	11.5	61s. 1d.	54s. 10d.	45s. 0d.
Women	6.7	5.9	5.5	26s. 0d.	23s. 0d.	21s. 0d.
Piece Workers:
Men	18.2	14.1	11.1	—	—	—
Women	8.4	6.9	5.4	—	—	—

Of the 2,926 workpeople covered by the enquiry, 61.1% were males and 38.9% females. According to figures supplied by representatives of the trade unions, it would appear that in 1932 less than 20% of the workers in the trade were organized in trade unions. If you had been Minister of Labour, would you have regarded this information as affording sufficient ground for applying the Trade Board Acts to the trade? And how would you have defended your decision?

7. “To show that wages in a depressed industry with an international market are higher than those paid for similar work in the same industry abroad does not afford sufficient reason for thinking that a reduction of wages is an appropriate remedy for its depression: in order to establish that conclusion it must be shown also that they are higher than those paid for the same skill and efficiency in other industries at home.” Examine this contention.
8. It has been proposed that a national authority, constituted similarly to the railways’ National Wages Board, should be established to regulate wages and conditions of work in coal mines throughout the country. Discuss the merits of this proposal.
9. “The differences of structure and policy between the trade union movements of England and the United States are to be traced to historical accidents rather than to any differences in the present character or organisation of the industries of those countries.” How far is this true?
10. What statistical or other scientific evidence is there as to the effect of (a) noise, (b) rest-pauses, (c) temperature upon output?
11. Explain, with reference to the history and the underlying economic conditions of the two industries, why the “sliding-scale” principle of wage-settlement worked successfully in the iron and steel trade, but failed to preserve industrial peace in the coal trade.

 

Wednesday, May 31, 1933. 1½—4½.
PRINCIPLES OF POLITICS.

1. “The Nation, by its power and its duration, is an organism, with an existence, ends and means of action superior to that of the individuals, separate or grouped, who compose it.” (Italian Charter of Labour, 1927. ) Discuss this view.
2. “The normal course of improvement starts from origination by pure social invention, and passes subsequently, if at all, into adoption by the State” (Bosanquet). Discuss the view of the relation between Society and the State which is implied in this statement.
3. What are the limits, if any, to the application by the State of the principle of Equality among its members?
4. “Liberty is not one, but many, and its various forms may contradict one another.” Discuss this statement.
5. Discuss the idea that law is the enforcement by the community upon its members of a moral minimum of conduct.
6. How far can an international sovereign authority co-exist with national State-sovereignty?
7. Would you agree with the view that a system of representative institutions for the economic world ought to be placed by the side of representative political institutions?
8. On what principles may the State seek to regulate or control the freedom of thought of its members?
9. On what grounds would you seek to justify the necessity of party and party-organisation for the proper working of Government?
10. The French Declaration of Rights of 1789 includes the right of resistance among les droits de I’homme et du citoyen. In what sense, if any, can a citizen have a “right” to resist the State?
11. Discuss, with reference to your general conception of rights, the idea of a “right to work.”
12. Would you agree that the “separation of the powers” (or functions) of government is a necessary principle of politics?

 

Thursday, June 1, 1933.  9—12.
PUBLIC FINANCE.

1. Consider the attempts that have been made to frame general rules for Expenditure analogous to those established for Taxation. Account for the relatively backward condition of the former division of Public Finance.
2. Examine the views that have been put forward concerning the principle according to which motor-vehicle owners should be taxed, and consider the principle or principles to which the present taxes on motor-vehicle owners tend to conform.
3. Discuss the extent to which the main differences between the various theories of taxation may be attributed to divergent views of the functions and the nature of the State.
4. What is there to be said for and against having a quinquennial instead of an annual budget?
5. On what considerations is the maxim that a government should not issue loans below par based? Does the maxim admit of exceptions?
6. Discuss the view that the Government should spend the revenue derived from death duties on capital purposes.
7. As a means to increasing prosperity, it has been proposed (a) to reduce taxation without reducing government expenditure, or, alternatively, (b) to increase government expenditure without increasing taxation. Compare the probable effects of these two policies.
8. “The law of diminishing utility is sound enough when applied to a particular commodity, but it cannot be extended to wealth in general: consequently all the elaborate arguments and formulae for tax-graduation are without logical foundation.” Comment.
9. Explain exactly what is meant by Most Favoured Nation treatment, and examine the view that its prevalence constitutes an obstacle to the recovery of world trade.
10. Discuss, with reference to the practice of other countries, possible alternatives to the methods of local taxation at present in force in England.
11. Is there any foundation for the view that inter-governmental war-debts are more harmful to trade than (a) other debts owed by governments to foreigners, (b) internal war-debts?
12. Compare the effects, (a) on home producers, (b) on consumers, of an import duty and an import quota.

 

Thursday, June 1, 1933. 1½—4½.
THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

1. “America is really a federation of sections rather than of States.” Consider this statement from the economic point of view as applied to American conditions in 1789, 1850 and to-day.
2. Examine, in the light of the first half century of American history after 1789, the economic powers which the constitution gave to the National Government.
3. Discuss the policy of the United States Government in dealing with the Public Lands down to the Homestead Act of 1862.
4. Criticize the methods used by the North to finance the Civil War.
5. “Southern experience before and since the Civil War condemns slavery as an economic institution.” Discuss this statement.
6. Illustrate the influence of the westward movement within the continent on the economic outlook of the American.
7. What problems were created by the consolidation of the railways and what measures were taken as a consequence to protect the public interest?
8. Account for the leading position acquired by the United States in the iron and steel industry.
9. Explain the change that has taken place in the twentieth century in the American attitude towards immigration.
10. To what extent have economic motives influenced the oversea expansion of the United States?
11. “America has no national economic history, in the sense in which France or England has, until the generation after 1880.” Discuss this statement.

 

Thursday, June 1, 1933. 1½—4½.
STATISTICS.

Part A.

1. Estimate the average, mode and median for the group of rents in Table A. Criticise the use of the formula skewness = (average—mode) standard deviation in this case, and suggest or calculate an alternative measurement.

Table A. Three-roomed tenements.

Rent	Number
Under 2s. 6d.	1
2s. 6d. to 5s.	3
5s. to 7s. 6d.	14
7s. 6d. to 10s.	29
10s. to 12s. 6d.	27
12s. 6d. to 15s.	13
15s. to 17s. 6d.	11
17s. 6d. to 20s.	2
	100

 

2. Fit a straight line by least squares or any other method to the series of index-numbers in Table B.

Table B. Index of Production.

	Years
Quarters	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931
1st	110	105	108	109	84
2nd	107	103	110	100	80
3rd	105	95	107	90	80
4th	107	104	114	92	90
Average 100

Make a graph of the figures, marking in (1) the straight line found and (2) moving averages based on eight successive quarters.
Comment on the results.

3. If are the averages of n observations of (x, y) pairs, and in the array at there are n_s cases with average , show that .

Work out r and the correlation ratio for the figures in Table C.

Table C.

Number of earners	Number of families	Average number of dependents
x	ns
0	8	1.5
1	54	2.1
2	19	1.8
3	11	2.0
4	5	2.2
5	3	2.5
	100

Make a graph of the averages showing the regression line. Comment on the utility of the procedure in this case.

4. From a large population 100 workmen are selected at random and are classified thus:

	Occupation
Birthplace	Skilled	Unskilled
Town of residence	30	38
Elsewhere	10	22

Do you find any relationship between skill and birthplace? Table D may be used if needed.

Table D. Values of P.

Number of Compartments	0	0.5	1.0	1.5	2.0
2	1	0.48	0.32	0.22	0.16
3	1	0.78	0.61	0.47	0.37
4	1	0.92	0.80	0.68	0.57

 

Part B.

5. What data are used for forecasting the future trend of population and what assumptions are made? Consider also the more limited question of determining whether a population is self-productive or is tending towards diminution.
6. Among the statistics used for studying the change of the industrial position are (a) an index of physical production, (b) the number of insured persons in employment, (c) an index of wage-rates, (d) occasional accounts of average earnings. What relationships do you expect to find between these statistics in a period of increasing depression or in a period of recovery?
7. Explain in some detail the construction of index-numbers of average prices and of volume of trade from statistics of exports and of imports. Describe some of the purposes for which these figures are used and consider whether they are sufficiently accurate for these purposes.
8. Examine carefully the question whether index-numbers of wages and of cost of living can be combined so as to show the relative movements of real wages in different countries.
9. Describe one of the mathematical methods of constructing “demand curves” from existing data, and consider in what sense they can be called demand curves.

 

Friday, June 2, 1933. 9—12.
INTERNATIONAL LAW.

1. Comment upon the international status (if any) of the following:

(a) The Dominion of Canada;
(b) The Saar Basin;
(c) The State of California;
(d) Switzerland.

2. What are the main legal consequences that flow from the independence of States?
3. Show in what respects a mandated territory differs from (a) a colony, (b) a protectorate. What (if any) is the sanction for the enforcement of the terms of a mandate?
4. Describe the constitution and purpose of the International Labour Organisation and the method of the composition of the delegations sent by members to its Conferences. Mention any two of the Labour Conventions adopted by it and now in force.
5. How far has the process of codification been applied to international law? What are the difficulties in the way of further codification?
6. Describe the three principal methods for the settlement of disputes prescribed by the Covenant of the League.
7. Discuss the lawfulness and the effectiveness of an economic boycott,

(a) when applied by the nationals of one State against the commerce of another;
(b) when applied by the international community against a wrongdoing State.

8. Summarise the effect of the outbreak of war upon

(a) treaties to which all the belligerents and no neutrals are parties, and
(b) contracts between the nationals of opposing belligerents.

9. How much of the Declaration of Paris, 1856, has in your opinion survived the developments of maritime warfare in the Great War?
10. In what respects do you consider that the Covenant of the League, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, and the Convention on Financial Assistance (1930) have modified the law of neutrality?

 

Source:  Cambridge University. Economics Tripos Papers 1931-1933. Cambridge, UK: University Press, 1933, pp. 53-70.

Image Source: King’s College, Cambridge, England. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540.