Which of the following contains only positive statements, rather than normative statements?
A. The unemployment rate is high mainly because companies are hiring immigrants to fill positions that would have been offered to natives. Companies should hire more native workers.
B. The government should increase cigarette taxes. That is the only way to discourage cigarette smokers.
C. Because of the high unemployment rate, the government should restrict the number of immigrants entering the country. This way, companies are forced to hire native workers to fill vacant positions.
D. Research has shown that a cigarette tax of 4% decreased demand for cigarettes by 8%, while a tax of 6% decreased demand by 12%. Raising the cigarette tax decreases the quantity demanded of
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To determine which of the options contains only positive statements, rather than normative statements, we need to understand the difference between the two types of statements.
Positive statements are objective statements that can be tested or proven true or false. They describe what is currently happening or what has happened in the past.
Normative statements, on the other hand, express opinions or preferences and cannot be tested in the same way. They make value judgments about what should or ought to be.
Now, let's analyze the statements in each option:
A. "The unemployment rate is high mainly because companies are hiring immigrants to fill positions that would have been offered to natives. Companies should hire more native workers."
This statement contains both a positive statement (describing the current situation of high unemployment rate and companies hiring immigrants) and a normative statement (expressing the opinion that companies should hire more native workers).
B. "The government should increase cigarette taxes. That is the only way to discourage cigarette smokers."
This statement is entirely normative. It expresses an opinion about what the government should do to discourage cigarette smokers.
C. "Because of the high unemployment rate, the government should restrict the number of immigrants entering the country. This way, companies are forced to hire native workers to fill vacant positions."
Similar to option A, this statement contains both a positive statement (describing the high unemployment rate) and a normative statement (expressing the opinion that the government should restrict immigration to force companies to hire native workers).
D. "Research has shown that a cigarette tax of 4% decreased demand for cigarettes by 8%, while a tax of 6% decreased demand by 12%. Raising the cigarette tax decreases the quantity demanded of"
This statement is purely positive. It presents research findings about the relationship between cigarette tax and demand.
Therefore, option D is the correct answer as it contains only positive statements and no normative statements.