UGC NET Economics Questions.

Compiled By: Surojit

Section I (2 X 20)
Year 2010, June 1. What are the causes of recent global financial crisis? What has been its impact on growth, employment and money markets in India? Describe the measures adopted in India to combat it ? 2. Describe the major new economic reforms introduced in India since 1991. Also examine their effects on the performance of different sectors of the Indian economy. 3. Differentiate between foreign direct investment and portfolio investment by foreign inst i- tutional investors. Discuss the factors that determine foreign direct investment inflows in a developing country, like India. 4. Explain the growth and productivity trends in Indian agriculture since 1991. Also su g- gest measures to improve productivity of agriculture in India. Year 2009, Dec 1. Exp lain the relationship between population, poverty and environmental degradation with special reference to India. What are the measures taken in India for environmental prote c- tion and preservation ? 2. Explain the Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) of WTO. How does it affect Indias agricultural sector? Do you find any opportunities available to Indian agriculture under the WTO regime? Year 2008, Dec 1. Explain the impact of economics reforms on poverty and unemployment in India. Crit i- cally analyze the efficiency of t he policy measures introduced in India in this respect. 2. Explain the role of energy sector in the economic development of India. Do you find any crisis in the power? Give a critical account of the power of the government. Year 2008 June 1. Comment on the nature, extent and trend of inter-state disparities ion independent India. How the new economic policy regime has affected the same? 2. What is the ba ck dro p and es sence of th e Convergence debate? Do you have uncontrovertible evidence for espousing a particular view? O utline the various attempts that have been made to reconcile the various lines. Year 2007 Dec 1. Outline the various dimensions of the growing environmental concerns. How far the e x- isting paradigm of development is responsible for the environment crisis, if any? What step should be taken to salvage the situation? 2. Comment Year 2007 June 1. Given a long-period time series data, an econometrician has been instructed to

develop a model that might be used for forecasting the future behaviour of the variable under co n- sideration. Write an essay covering various econometric aspects of the issue, the possible model(s) that might be utilised, and the robustness and limitations of the model(s). In terms of Neumann - Morgenstern index explain the behaviour of a risk averter and risk
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lover in an uncertain situation. 2. environmental issues. Elab t is no t complete withou t takin g into a c c n t the Economic developmen orate. ou 3. With the breaking down of boundaries of various segments of financial institutions like banks, Insurance firms and capital market intstitutions, problems of appropriate measures of regulation and appropriate regulatory authority have come to the fore. Discuss the regularity issues that have become important and outline a regulatory mechanism that should be in place to meet the emerging needs. 4. State and explain the monetary approach to the balance of payment adjustment issue. How is this theory different from the traditional approach? Discuss its limitations in case of developing countries with particular reference to India. Year 2006, Dec 1. Critically examine the welfare criterion propounded by Hicks and Kaldor. 2. Discuss how in recent times technological changes have affected the pattern of resource use and productivity in Indian agriculture. 3. What is "Federalism" ? Make out a case for coordination between P lanning Commission and F inance Commission in the matter of devolution of finances from Centre to the States. Year 2006, June 1. In time-series analysis, what is the meanin g of stationarity? In this context, discuss u nit ro o t test. Explain the conc ept of causality. 2. Use Neumann Morgenstern utility index to distinguish between the behaviour of a risk averter and risk lover. 3. Define the spot exchange rate and forward exchange rate. Discuss Interest Rate Parity Theorem (IRPT). What factors might lead to persistent deviations from parity between countries currencies 4. Discuss the impact of economic reforms on the I ndian agriculture. 5. Discuss the importance of social sector and examine the impact of changes in so- cial sector on poverty alleviation in India. Year 2005, Dec 1. Why does the problem of heteroscedasticity is likely to be more common in cross- sectional than time series data ? Discuss a test for detection of heteroscedasticity. Brie f- ly, explain the consequences of using O LS in the presence of heteroscedasticity. 2. How does a sales revenue maximizer achieve an optimal combination of inp uts and outputs. 3. Discuss the underlying factors responsible for the 1997 East Asian financial crisis.

UGC NET Economics Questions. Compiled By: Surojit

In what way it was different than 1982 Latin American debt crisis ? 4. Discuss the problems and prospects of agricultural marketing in Indian Agriculture. 5. Discuss the major recommendations of the Narasimham Committee on F inancial Sector Reforms in India

Year 2005 June

UGC NET Economics Questions. Compiled By: Surojit

1. Describe the present trends in inter - state inequalities. To what extent the various recommendations of F inance Commissions have helped in reducing regional imbalances in India. 2. Briefly describe the various indicators of economic development. Which one of these you consider as the most appropriate and why ? 3. Do you agree with the view that the various employment generating programmes in India have not shown the desired results? Discuss. Section II (3 X 15) Elective IV: Agricultural Economics Year: 2010, June 1. What is agricultural price policy? How is it useful to control the market prices in India? 2. How does WTO help sustainable agricultural development in India? 3. Briefly explain the role of agrarian reforms in agricultural development in India? Year: 2009, Dec 4. Discuss the productivity trends in major food grain crops in India after the introduction of economic reforms. Explain the factors that account for these trends. 5. What are the factors responsible for instability of farm incomes in India? What corrective measures, in yo ur opinion, can be adopted to this effect? 6. Discuss the factors that account for rural- urban and rural-rural migration of workers in India. S hould the ongoing trends to this effect be reversed? Elaborate. 7. Explain the structure of agricultural credit in Ind ia. Critically examine the institutional flow of credit to the agricultural sector in India. 8. Discuss the implications of Multilateral Trade Agreements in agriculture for the farm economy of India. Year:2008, June 1. Discuss the main trend in agricultural production in India in the wake of economic re- forms. 2. What are the major weakness of the existing agricultural price policy in India? How can these weaknesses, in your opinion, be overcome? 3. Describe the structure of agricultural markets in India and its major shortcomings. 4. Do WTO provisions ensure the sustainable agricultural development in India? Elaborate. 5. Discuss the significance of the amendment made in Minimum Wage Act 1948 for the functioning of labour markets in India. Year: 2008, June 1. Trace the productivity trend in Indian agriculture, clearly marking the different phases. 2. Examine the role of the policy of minimum support price(s) in encouraging the prevalent cropping pattern in different regions.

3. Enumerate, and describe in brief, the various criteria that you would suggest for fixation of a minimu m wage for agricultural labour. 4. How far the co-operative credit institutions have performed their envisaged role in Indian agriculture?
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UGC NET Economics Questions. Compiled By: Surojit

5. Comment in the divergence of views between the developing and developed countries on the issue of subsidies to agricultural sector. Year: 2007, Dec 1. Comment on the factor holding back the development of Indian agriculture in the post- reforms era. 2. How the entry of retail-chains would affect the price-spread between the farmer and the urban consumer? 3. Describe the salient features of rural- urban migration in India and, in brief, spell out its impact on rural labour market. 4. Evaluate the role of N ABARD in monitoring the flow of credit to the agricultural sector in India. 5. State the Market access provisions under WTO agreement. How would the se affect the Indian agriculturists? Year:2007, June 1. Indian agriculture is facin g great challenges on a cc ount of WTO. Discuss 2. In multi-agency ap proach to rural credit successful in mee ting the credit requirements of farmers? Explain. 3. Identify the main constraints of agricultural marketing in India. S uggest some measures to solve the problems. 4. Examine in brief, the nature and significance of farm costs in determination of agricultur- al prices. 5. Explain the nature and significance of farm costs in determination of agricultural prices. Year: 2006, Dec 1. Comment on productivity trend of non- food crops in India since the decade of 1980s and bring out its implications for rural income generation. 2. Identify the major drawbacks in the recent public distribution system in India. 3. What are the major sources of Institutional finance for Indian agriculture ? 4. Explain the trends in migration of labour from rural to urban areas. How can this trend be arrested in India? 5. Assess the economic and social impact of uneven progress achieved in Land redistrib u- tion in India. Year: 2006, June 1. Highlight the main trend in the production and productivity of major food crops in Indian agriculture during the last decades. 2. Comment on the objectives and performance of public distribution system in India. 3. What are the main marketing problems of surplus generating farmers in India? What steps should be taken to improve the system of agricultural marketing? 4. Analyze the impact o f WTO on the diversification of Indian agriculture. 5. Do you agree with the view that technological changes in agriculture have aggravated regional inequalities? S ubstantiate your answer.

Year: 2005, Dec

UGC NET Economics Questions. Compiled By: Surojit

1. Account for regional differential in the productivity of non- food crops in India. How can these differential be narrowed? 2. Examine the rational behind the introduction of public distribution system in India. 3. Availability of credit is the major b ottleneck in the attainment of sustainable development of Indian Agriculture. In this context evaluate the role of co-opperative credit institutions in the country. 4. What major changes in agrarian structure would you suggest to make Indian agriculture globally comparative? 5. Account for the failure of land reforms in India in improving incentive-structure in agri- culture. Year: 2005, June 1. Discuss the main trends in food grain production in India during the last decades. 2. Stabilization of agricultural income in India depends upon stabilization of agricultural prices. Com ment. 3. Identify the major problems that are faced by the farmers in India in respect of marketing of the their produce. 4. Analyze the impact of WTO on the Indian agriculture. Will it ensure sustainable agra rian development. 5. Discuss the scope and limitation of contact farming in India.

Section III (nine (9) questions of ten (10) marks)

Year 2010, June 1. What are the main points of Baumols Sales maximization model of the firm ? 2. Why does the IS curve slope down ? 3. Define and distinguish between inclusive economic growth and the economic develop- ment. 4. State the main recommendations of the Twelfth F inance Commission of India. 5. How is monetary approach to Balance of Payments different from traditional approach. 6. State main contents of Sergeant F lorence theory of industrial location. 7. Explain environment as a public good. 8. What are the problems of agricultural labour in India ? 9. The lines of regression of a bi-variate model are : 8x 10y + 66 = 0 (y on x) 40x 18y = 214 (x on y) The variance of x = 9. F ind (a) Mean values of x and y (b) Correlation coefficient between x and y (c) Standard deviation of y Year 2009, Dec 1. Define the Neumann-Morgenstern (N-M) utility index.. 2. What is meant by Pareto Optimality.

3. Explain the concept of Aggregate Demand.

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4. What does F leming-Mundell open economy model explain? 5. Distinguish between disembodied technical progress and embodied technical progress. 6. Explain the labour-supply function as given in Ranis-Fei model. 7. Explain Wagners law o f public expenditure. 8. Distinguish between Multilateral Trade Agreements and P lurilateral Trade Agreements. 9. What do you mean by an Expansionary Monetary Policy ? 10. List the major implications of economic reforms for industrial growth in India. 11. Differe ntiate between gross and net reproduction rate of population. 12. How microplanning for environment leads to eco-preservation ? 13. What are the main causes of regional disparities in Indian agriculture ? 14. What is meant by level of significance? 15. Point out the difference between static input-output and dynamic input-output models. Year 2008, Dec 1. What is price le adership? 2. Distinguish between Marginal Rate of Transformation (MRT) in production and Marginal Rate of substitution in consumption. 3. What is the me anin g of Life-cycle hypothesis? 4. Explain the concept of money multiplier. 5. What is Hicks-neutral technical progress ? 6. W hyd oes capitalism dec ay in Sch umpeters theory of economic development ? 7. Distinguish between merit good and public good. 8. W hich internationally traded services are no t covered under General Agreement on Trad e in Services (GATS) ? 9. What is meant by a Restrictive Monetary Policy ? 10. How is industrial productivity me asured in India ? 11. What is meant by Sustainable development ? 12. List the main characteristics of Indian population as per 2001 census. 13. What are the bio-chemical components o f the Green Revolution ? 14. Distinguish between Type-I and Type-II Error. 15. What are the applications of differentiation and integration techniques in economics ? Year 2008, June 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Define homogenity of a production function and relate it to returns to scale. What is Adding up P roblem ? What is Life C ycle Hypothesis ? What is Money Multiplier ? What is Hicks-neutral technical progress ? Define Marxian simple reproduction scheme and relate it to the problem of dis- proportionality. 7. Explain Wagners law of increasin g state activity . 8. Define optimum currency area. 9. Distinguish between Repo rate and Reverse Repo rate. 10. Distinguish between labour productivity, capital productivity and total factor prod-

UGC NET Economics Questions. Compiled By: Surojit

uctivity. 11. Define total fertility rate. 12. Ditinguish between absolute poverty and relative poverty. 13. Why is there a need for Second Green Revolution ? 14. A discriminating monopolist be forcing two markets with demand functions x1 51620.2 p 1 and x 25920.05 p 2. The total cost function of the monopolist C (x)52012x where x5x 11x 2. F ind the prices changed in each market for maximum pro fit. 15. Define the standard error of the estimate of Y for given X from the line of regression of Y on X. What does it represent ? Year 2007, Dec 1. Define revealed preference axiom. 2. What is elasticity of substitution of factors ? 3. What is consumption ratchet ? 4. What is asset demand for money ? 5. What is Harrod-neutral technical progress ? 6. Define organic composition of capital and its relation to rate of profit. 7. Distinguish between incidence and shifting of a tax. 8. What does current account deficit mean ? 9. Distinguish between S tatutory Liquidity Ratio (S LR) and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR). 10. What are the main features of the Industrial Licensing Policy of 1991 ? 11. Distinguish between stable and stationary population. 12. Defin e Sens-P measure of poverty. 13. What are the measures of regional disparities in agriculture ? 14. Distinguish between Open Model and C losed Models of Leontief Input-output analysis. When do you say the system is viable in an Open Model ? 15. A firm has the following total cost and demand functions C(x)52012x13x 2 and p 5502x. If an excise tax of Rs. t per unit is imposed, find the tax rate that would fetch maximum tax revenue to the Government ? Year 2007, June 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Define the concept of marginal technical rate of substitution. What is meant by barometric price leadership ? Explain Real Balance Effect What is accelerator ? Outline main parameters of Human Development Index. What are two gaps in th e two - gap analysis ? Define Value Added Tax. What is the role of a Finance Com mis sion in India ? What is reverse merger ? Give two recent examples from India.

UGC NET Economics Questions. Compiled By: Surojit

10. What are the Singapore Is sues in the WTO ? 11. On what criteria industrial units in India are identified as small scale units ? 12. Define demography.
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13. What is infant mortality rate ? 14. What is institutional credit in agriculture ? 15. Define standard error of a regression coefficient. Year 2006, Dec

UGC NET Economics Questions. Compiled By: Surojit

1. Define cross elasticity of demand. 2. Define demand for money as explained by Keynes. 3. What is an accelerator ? 4. Define vicious circle of poverty. 5. Define Marxian concept of 'S urplus Value". 6. What is meant by F iscal deficit ? 7. Identify the major sources of revenue of State Governments in India. 8. What is high powered money ? 9. Distinguish between tariff and non-tariff barriers. 10. What are the components of broad money ? 11. State the main functions of N ABARD. 12. What is meant by industrial sickness ? 13. What are the functions of SEBI ? 14. Distinguish between concepts of absolute and relative poverty. 15. Define Rank - Correlation. Year 2006, June 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. x State Keynerian Psychological fundamental law of consumption. What are giffen goods ? Define a merit goods. What is investment functions ? Defin e Bernoulis hypothesis about the behaviou r of a risk averter. What is ISO-revenue curve ? How do you test for significance of B 1 in simple regression equation Y i5B 01B 1

i+u i ? 8. Identify labour augmenting and labour displacing element in Green Revolution. 9. What is Baromatric P rice Leadership ? 10. What is difference between narrow money and broad money ? 11. What are Optimums Currency Areas ? 12. Define demographic transition. 13. What is input-output analysis ? 14. Define Accelerator. 15. What is Endogenous growth ?

UGC NET Economics Questions. Compiled By: Surojit

Year 2005, Dec 1. What are discretionary profits ? 2. What is meant by capital - output ratio ? 3. Define Pareto Optimality. 4. Define capital-embodied technical progress : 5. Distinguish between progressive and regressive methods of taxation. 6. What is linear programming ? 7. Define the concept of multiplier ? 8. Define Keynesian notion of aggregate demand. 9. What is consumers surplus ? 10. Define the long-term P hillips curve. 11. What is meant by Co urno t Point ? 12. Distinguish between capital deepening and capital-widening processes. 13. Identify different components of money supply. 14. Define Total Factor Productivity (TFP ). 15. Countries of the world are given ranks according to (a) per capita income, x i and (b) population density per square kilometer, y i. How do you correlate x i and y i ? Year 2005, June 1. Define substitution effect of a change in price on demand of one commodity. 2. How are selling costs different from production costs ? 3. What is marginal efficiency of Capital ? 4. What is psychological law of consumption ? 5. Distinguish between Warranted and Natural rates of growth. 6. Define Organic Composition of capital. 7. What do you mean by monetized deficit ? 8. What is Bank Rate ? 9. Identify non-tariff barriers. 10. What is meant by demographic transition ? 11. What are the components of narrow money as used by RBI ? 12. What are non-performing bank assets ? 13. What d o you mean by disin vestment ? 14. Describe the constituents of PQ LI. 15. Explain VAT.