The Following Is an Excerpt from Adam Smith's Description of the Pin

question 42

Multiple Choice

The following is an excerpt from Adam Smith's description of the pin industry (Evaluating the Evidence 17.2) : "I have seen a small manufactory of this kind where ten men only were employed, and where some of them consequently performed two or three distinct operations. But though they were very poor, and therefore but indifferently accommodated with the necessary machinery, they could, when they exerted themselves, make among them about twelve pounds of pins in a day. There are in a pound upward of four thousand pins of a middling size. Those ten persons, therefore, could make among them upward of forty-eight thousand pins in a day."
In this passage, Adam Smith suggested that

• A)the division of labor did not yield the production improvements its supporters promised.
• B)the division of labor was really a way to divide laborers and prevent the formation of unions.
• C)the division of labor facilitated the use of unskilled labor.
• D)the division of labor did little for manufacturers and much for workers.

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Definitions:

Summer Driving

Pertains to the increased driving activity and travel that typically occurs during the summer months, often influencing fuel demand and prices.

Demand Curve

A graph showing the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded, with a typical downward slope from left to right.

Quantity Demanded

The total amount of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to purchase at a specific price level in a market.

Price

The financial sum required for the procurement of a good, service, or capital.