Communication and Interconnectedness in Markets — Economic Systems as Living Systems examination

Eleven questions. Nine of eleven passes, and you can take it again as often as you like.

What does Gertrude tell Agnes her struggling tomatoes are missing?

Less attention and more solitude A stronger chemical fertiliser A move into deeper shade Conversation and interaction
What deeper truth does the module draw from Gertrude's unconventional method?

Eccentric methods will always outperform proven ones Living systems thrive on communication, exchange and trust Economic success depends mainly on good fortune, in nearly every case people describe Individual effort matters more than any relationship
How does a highly coupled economy tend to respond to a single shock?

It is more vulnerable to cascading effects It always grows faster than a diverse economy It is immune to external shocks of any kind It stops trading with other economies at once
What helps a loosely coupled economy absorb a shock more effectively?

Diverse industries and robust safety nets A single dominant national industry The absence of any regulation at all Tightly interlinked, dependent sectors, particularly when the pressure is highest
What stance does this module take on whether economies can be antifragile?

Only forests can be antifragile, never economies It is debatable, so building resilience matters They never are, and always collapse under stress They always are, so crises should be welcomed
What does the beehive example illustrate?

Central planning directed by a single ruler, without addressing what is actually driving the pattern Exponential growth that knows no limits Self-organisation from decentralised interactions Competition that removes the weaker members
What does the module say living-systems thinking about the economy is not about?

Recognising patterns that economies share with biology Studying the feedback loops found in markets Asking how diversity supports an economy's resilience Giving the economy human emotions or intentions
With apples produced by A = 2L + K, 10 units of labour and 5 of capital, how many apples result?

30 apples 15 apples 25 apples 20 apples
In A = 2L + K, what is the marginal product of labour for apples?

1 apple per extra unit of labour 1.5 apples per extra unit of labour 5 apples per extra unit of labour 2 apples per extra unit of labour
After WindWhip cuts its costs and sentiment shifts towards wind, what does the module describe?

A loop that draws investment and presses SolarShine to innovate A shock that drives both companies out of the market entirely A permanent victory for WindWhip that ends all competition, particularly when the pressure is highest A balancing loop that returns both firms to where they began
Which is the module's example of positive feedback in personal finance?

An emergency fund that cushions a sudden job loss Consistent saving that opens investment opportunities Rebalancing a portfolio after a bad quarter Overspending that gradually depletes one's savings, under ordinary, everyday circumstances