The 20 quiz questions
Question 1 : Which Scottish economist is considered the father of modern economics with his work "The Wealth of Nations"?
Possible answers:
- Adam Smith
- John Stuart Mill
- Thomas Malthus
- David Ricardo
Explanation: Adam Smith (1723-1790) published "The Wealth of Nations" in 1776, laying the foundations of market economy and the "invisible hand" concept.
Question 2 : Which German thinker developed the theory of class struggle and criticized capitalism in "Das Kapital"?
Possible answers:
- Georg Hegel
- Friedrich Engels
- Max Weber
- Karl Marx
Explanation: Karl Marx (1818-1883) analyzed capitalism and predicted its replacement by socialism then communism in his major work "Das Kapital".
Question 3 : Which American economist is the leader of monetarism and a critic of Keynesianism?
Possible answers:
- Paul Samuelson
- Alan Greenspan
- Milton Friedman
- John Kenneth Galbraith
Explanation: Milton Friedman (1912-2006), Nobel laureate 1976, advocated for money supply control and free markets, influencing Reagan and Thatcher.
Question 4 : What economic concept describes the process of "creative destruction" theorized by Joseph Schumpeter?
Possible answers:
- The nationalization of companies
- Monetary devaluation
- Innovation replacing obsolete industries
- Company merger
Explanation: Schumpeter's creative destruction describes how innovation destroys old economic structures to create new ones, driving capitalism forward.
Question 5 : Which economist formulated the law of comparative advantage in international trade?
Possible answers:
- Adam Smith
- Jean-Baptiste Say
- David Ricardo
- John Stuart Mill
Explanation: David Ricardo (1772-1823) demonstrated that even a less efficient country in all areas benefits from specializing in what it does relatively best.
Question 6 : Which economic theory states that "supply creates its own demand"?
Possible answers:
- La loi de Say
- La loi de Pareto
- La loi de Gresham
- La loi de Walras
Explanation: Say's Law, formulated by Jean-Baptiste Say (1767-1832), states that production generates income that allows purchasing that production.
Question 7 : Which Austrian economist, Keynes's rival, defended liberalism in "The Road to Serfdom"?
Possible answers:
- Murray Rothbard
- Friedrich Hayek
- Carl Menger
- Ludwig von Mises
Explanation: Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992), Nobel laureate 1974, criticized state intervention and defended free markets as guarantors of freedom.
Question 8 : What concept describes the situation where 20% of causes produce 80% of effects?
Possible answers:
- The Phillips curve
- L'effet Veblen
- The Pareto principle
- La loi de Goodhart
Explanation: The Pareto Principle (or 80/20 rule), observed by Vilfredo Pareto, shows that wealth and effort distribution often follows this ratio.
Question 9 : Which curve illustrates the inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment in the short term?
Possible answers:
- The Phillips curve
- La courbe IS-LM
- La courbe de Lorenz
- La courbe de Laffer
Explanation: The Phillips Curve, proposed by A.W. Phillips in 1958, shows that low inflation often accompanies high unemployment and vice versa.
Question 10 : Which economist theorized state intervention to stimulate the economy during crises?
Possible answers:
- Friedrich Hayek
- Milton Friedman
- John Maynard Keynes
- Adam Smith
Explanation: John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) revolutionized economic thought with his "General Theory" (1936), advocating state intervention and stimulus through public spending during recessions.
Question 11 : Which theory suggests that beyond a certain threshold, raising taxes reduces tax revenue?
Possible answers:
- La courbe de Lorenz
- The Gini coefficient
- The multiplier effect
- La courbe de Laffer
Explanation: The Laffer Curve, popularized by Arthur Laffer, shows that an excessively high tax rate discourages economic activity and reduces revenue.
Question 12 : Which French economist received the 2014 Nobel Prize for his work on market regulation?
Possible answers:
- Jean Tirole
- Esther Duflo
- Maurice Allais
- Thomas Piketty
Explanation: Jean Tirole was awarded for his analysis of market power and regulation, particularly in network industries and oligopolies.
Question 13 : Which Keynesian concept describes the increase in income generated by an initial expenditure?
Possible answers:
- L'effet d'éviction
- The multiplier effect
- L'effet de richesse
- The liquidity trap
Explanation: The multiplier effect shows that a €100 expenditure can generate more than €100 in total income as money circulates and is re-spent multiple times.
Question 14 : Which economist developed the theory of rational expectations, challenging Keynesianism?
Possible answers:
- James Tobin
- Robert Lucas
- Franco Modigliani
- Gary Becker
Explanation: Robert Lucas, Nobel laureate 1995, showed that economic agents anticipate government policies, limiting their effectiveness.
Question 15 : Which economist theorized that population growth exceeds that of food resources?
Possible answers:
- Thomas Malthus
- Jeremy Bentham
- Nassau Senior
- David Ricardo
Explanation: Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) predicted in his "Essay on the Principle of Population" that overpopulation would lead to famines and wars.
Question 16 : Which French-American economist received the 2019 Nobel Prize for her work on poverty?
Possible answers:
- Elinor Ostrom
- Esther Duflo
- Claudia Goldin
- Janet Yellen
Explanation: Esther Duflo, along with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer, was awarded for her experimental approach to fighting global poverty.
Question 17 : What concept describes the situation where "bad" money drives "good" money out of circulation?
Possible answers:
- Gibson's paradox
- La loi de Say
- La loi de Gresham
- L'effet Cantillon
Explanation: Gresham's Law, attributed to Thomas Gresham in the 16th century, explains that people hoard valuable coins and spend the less valuable ones.
Question 18 : Which economist analyzed wealth inequality in "Capital in the Twenty-First Century"?
Possible answers:
- Amartya Sen
- Paul Krugman
- Joseph Stiglitz
- Thomas Piketty
Explanation: Thomas Piketty, French economist, showed that the return on capital exceeds economic growth, mechanically widening inequalities.
Question 19 : Which economist introduced the concept of "opportunity cost" in economic analysis?
Possible answers:
- Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk
- Léon Walras
- Carl Menger
- Friedrich von Wieser
Explanation: Friedrich von Wieser, Austrian economist, formalized opportunity cost: the cost of what is given up when making an economic choice.
Question 20 : Which economic theory states that markets naturally tend toward general equilibrium?
Possible answers:
- Le modèle IS-LM
- La théorie des jeux
- The quantity theory of money
- Walras's general equilibrium
Explanation: Léon Walras (1834-1910) developed general equilibrium theory, showing how all markets balance simultaneously through prices.




