The set containing all possible combinations of goods and services that can be produced from a given amount of resources and a given level of technology is called what in economics?

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: Production possibility set

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Production possibility analysis is a foundational topic in microeconomics. It helps explain concepts such as scarcity, choice and opportunity cost by considering all the different combinations of goods and services that an economy can produce with its available resources and technology. The collection of these combinations is represented as a set, and its boundary is often drawn as the production possibility frontier. This question asks for the correct name for that full set of feasible production combinations.


Given Data / Assumptions:
• We consider a fixed amount of resources in an economy, such as labour, capital and land. • Technology is given and does not change during the analysis. • The set includes all possible combinations of goods and services that can be produced with these resources and technology. • We must choose the correct term for this set among four similar sounding options.


Concept / Approach:
In economic theory, the collection of all feasible output combinations for given resources and technology is called the production possibility set. The boundary of this set, where resources are fully and efficiently used, is called the production possibility frontier. The term resource possibility set is not standard; nor is the phrase resource probability or production probability set. Although some textbooks may use slightly different notation, the widely accepted term for the full feasible set is production possibility set, sometimes also called the production possibilities set.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that production possibility diagrams show different combinations of goods that an economy can produce, such as guns and butter, at full and efficient use of resources. Step 2: Understand that there is an entire set of feasible combinations, including those inside the frontier, which correspond to under use of resources. Step 3: Recognise the term production possibility set as the name for the collection of all such feasible combinations. Step 4: Note that resource possibility set is not a standard term; economists usually focus on production combinations, not directly on resource combinations, in this context. Step 5: Observe that expressions like resource probability set or production probability set are not commonly used in economic theory and therefore are likely distractor options. Step 6: Conclude that the correct term is production possibility set.


Verification / Alternative check:
You can confirm by remembering how textbooks describe the production possibility frontier. They often define it as the boundary of the production possibility set, which consists of all output bundles that the economy can feasibly produce. This direct link between the frontier and the set name makes it clear that production possibility set is the correct technical term. None of the other options appear together with the familiar phrase production possibility frontier in standard exam material.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Resource probability set is not a standard phrase in microeconomics. Probability relates to chance or likelihood, which is not the focus of basic production possibility analysis.

Production probability set again misuses the idea of probability. In this topic we are concerned with feasibility given resources and technology, not with random events.

Resource possibility set might sound reasonable but is not the usual label. The emphasis is on output combinations, so economists refer to production possibilities rather than resource possibilities in this context.


Common Pitfalls:
The main pitfall in this type of question is to be misled by options that sound similar to familiar terms. Because many students know about the production possibility frontier, they may hesitate between production possibility set and production probability set. Remembering that the focus is on feasible production, not on probabilities, helps to avoid this confusion. Another possible error is to overlook the subtle but important difference between resources and outputs; production possibility analysis is about the outputs that can be produced with a given resource base, not about the set of resources themselves.


Final Answer:
The collection of all possible output combinations that can be produced with given resources and technology is called the Production possibility set.

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