Question

Suppose that Musashi, an economist from an AM talk radio program, and Rina, an economist from a university in Massachusetts, are arguing over health insurance. The following dialogue shows an excerpt from their debate:
Rina: A popular topic for debate among politicians as well as economists is the idea of providing government assistance for health benefits.
Musashi: I think it is oppressive for the government to tax people who take care of themselves in order to pay for health insurance for those who are obese.
Rina: I disagree. I think government funding of health insurance is useful to ensure basic fairness.

The disagreement between these economists is most likely due to:

a. Differences in scientific judgments
b. Differences in Values
c. Differences between perception VS. reality

Despite their differences, with which proposition are two economists chosen at random most likely to agree?

a. Lawyers make up an excessive percentage of elected officials.
b. Minimum wage laws do more to harm low-skilled workers than help them.
c. Tariffs and import quotas generally reduce economic welfare.

Answer 1

Answer:

1. b. Differences in Values
2. c. Tariffs and import quotas generally reduce economic welfare.

Explanation:

Economists are known to disagree with each other a lot especially when they adhere to different economic theories such as the Neoclassic or Keynesian theories. In this case, these economists having opposing viewpoints in relation to what the government is doing in regards to health insurance is most probably due to different economic values they hold.

Regardless of the values they subscribe to however, most economists usually support certain propositions and one of them is free trade. They believe that the presence of tariffs and import quotas serve to reduce economic welfare as there are deadweight losses and things are more expensive for consumers.