The Oxbridge Interviews are coming up soon (Mine with Gonville and Caius is on the 5th!) and below are some Economic Interview Questions I have found, I’ll be answering some of them in future posts!
Why Economics?
Why Cambridge, or more specifically why this College?
Are large or small companies more successful?
Explain how the Phillip Curve arises. (Lesson here)
What are the effects of currency speculation? (Hot money is discussed here)
Compare Keynesian and Classical Macroeconomics.
Discuss the interaction between fiscal and monetary policy. (Lesson here)
Would it be feasible to have an economy entirely based on the service sector?
Should the reductions of inflation be a major goal of government policy?
Should governments subsidise agriculture?
What are the consequences of changing interest rates? (Lesson here)
What is the point of privatisation?
What are the arguments for and against a Minimum Wage?
What are the effects of increasing taxes on the rich?
Two trains are about to crash. One contains pensioners and the other containers commuters. There is a fault on both lines but you can save one group. Which do you save and why?
How would I test my hypothesis sandwich stall more profitable?
What is the best way to help poor countries?
How do interest rates affect exchange rates? (Lesson here)
Why is a film actor wealthier than a theatre actor?
Should Britain join the Euro?
What is the difference between correlation and a cause and effect relationship?
When may the multiplier effect be zero?
What is a monopoly and what are the advantages and disadvantages of this?
You are given £100 but only if you offer part of this to someone else and they accept the offer. If they reject, you (and they) get nothing. How much will you offer them?
Is globalisation a good thing?
How do markets work?
Would it be better if Fiscal Policy was administered independently like Monetary Policy is administered independent of politics by the BoE?
What would the Government do to interest rates in a recession?
What does full employment mean?
Would you support the privatisation of the NHS?
If the pound depreciates, what will happen to wages?
Why is economic growth desirable?
Should a Walmart store be opened in the middle of Oxford?
Who do you think is the greatest Economist and why?
What will the impact of reducing VAT have on the economy?
Can George Akerlof’s famous study of the market for lemons be applied to the Euro Zone debt crisis?
If the Euro Zone is in such trouble, why isn’t the Euro depreciating rapidly against other currencies?
The base rate is 0.5%, UK 10 year bond yields are 2%, mortgages rate average 5%, overdrafts average 18% pa and some door-step loans have an annual percentage interest rate in excess of 2,000% How can these differences be explained?
Which system would you prefer – voluntary blood donations or a market system that pays people for supplying their blood for transfusions?
Does cost cutting in businesses increase their efficiency?
Why is a schoolteacher in Switzerland paid much more than an Indian one?
What would be the affect of tightening monetary policy on the value of bonds in the bond market?
How could the government prevent people from taking certain motorway routes (and thus decrease congestion)?
Why did Japanese Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
If the government borrows a lot of money, what will this do to interest rates?
If interest rates are raised, will firms invest more or less?
How will $2:£1 effect the US economy?
What is correlation? Does correlation provide enough evidence for the two factors being directly linked?
What was Keynes’ most important principle?
Are there any examples of markets that do not exist?
Is impulse buying irrational?
There is a rare disease that infects every 1/1000 people. There is a test to see if you have it – which is wrong 5% of the time. What is the probability that you have it? Should you be worried?
Why do teachers become plumbers and who should pay for their training?
Can addiction be rational?
Why shouldn’t we work the same hours as they do in France or Spain?
Is saving a strangers life from drowning a rational or irrational action?
What is the difference between a leader and a manger?
Why do governments not seek to eradicate inflation completely?
In your studies of economics, have you come across any examples of a theory or idea that seems completely counter-intuitive?
What motivates an entrepreneur?
Explain the underlying causes of the business cycle
Talk about a situation in which a monopoly practises price discrimination. Is there any welfare loss if a firm practises first degree price discrimination?
Should senior executives receive no more than 20 times their average salary?
Should the pay of every employee in a business be known by everyone else?
What would you understand by the term “Keynesian Economics?
What has caused the significant productivity gap between UK and the US?
Feel free to leave comments or questions below!
Update: You can read about Life at Cambridge here.