Question

Which of the following is correct? Question 1 options: a) Efficiency deals with the size of the economic pie, and equality deals with how fairly the pie is sliced. b) Equality can be judged on positive grounds whereas efficiency requires normative judgments. c) Efficiency is more difficult to evaluate than equality. d) Equality and efficiency are both maximized in a society when total surplus is maximized.

Answer 1

Answer:

a) Efficiency deals with the size of the economic pie, and equality deals with how fairly the pie is sliced.

Explanation:

In his book; Principles of Microeconomics (Fourth Edition), Gregory Mankiw explains that;

Efficiency refers to how well a society can maximize the benefits it derives from its scarce resources. The "economic pie" in this instance refers to those benefits that can be gotten by the society. A highly efficient society will get more benefits (a larger sized pie), than a society that is not as efficient.

Equity on the other hand refers to how fairly those benefits are distributed among members of the society.