How is positive economics different from normative economics?
Positive economics describes and analyzes things as they are (or as objectively as they can be seen). Normative economics is about how things ought to be (it explicitly acknowledges the researcher's values).
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Does a competitive long-run equilibrium require cost-minimization?
A) Yes, if firms fail to be as efficient as their competitors, they are driven out of the market. B) No, in the long run, firms make zero profits. C) Yes, if they didn't, even less efficient firms would enter the industry. D) No, because competition ensures their survival.
When estimating incremental environmental costs, the survey approach
a. relies on expert knowledge about abatement technology b. is a more direct means of gathering abatement cost data than the engineering approach c. finds the level of abatement expenditures based on least-cost technology d. suffers from no inherent biases associated with polluting sources