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Scarcity, Choice and Opportunity Cost: Question 10

Syllabus 1.1, 1.2

Multiple choice AS 1 mark

A government is considering introducing a carbon tax on domestic flights. Four commentators each make a claim about this proposed tax.

Claim 1: A $50-per-tonne carbon tax would raise the price of an average return domestic flight by around $12, ceteris paribus.

Claim 2: A carbon tax is essential if the country is to meet its environmental responsibilities.

Claim 3: Introducing a carbon tax would reduce the quantity of domestic flights demanded, ceteris paribus.

Claim 4: Government data show that domestic flight numbers fell by 12% in the year after a similar carbon tax was introduced in a neighbouring country.

Which ONE of these four claims is a normative statement?

Choose an answer to check it, then compare with the worked solution below.
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Worked solution

Step 1: Recall the test for a normative statement

A positive statement is a testable claim about what is, or what would happen, that contains no value judgement. A normative statement contains a value judgement about what should, ought to, or needs to happen, and cannot simply be proved true or false by evidence. The value judgement is not always signalled by an obvious word like “should”. Words such as “essential,” “fair,” or “responsibilities” can smuggle in a judgement just as clearly.

Step 2: Test each claim

  • Claim 1 predicts a specific, numerical price effect, ceteris paribus. It could be checked against real flight prices once the tax exists, positive.
  • Claim 2 says a carbon tax is “essential” for the country to meet its environmental “responsibilities.” Neither word is a testable fact: both express the commentator’s opinion about what the government ought to do and what obligations it should recognise, normative.
  • Claim 3 predicts a fall in quantity demanded, ceteris paribus, with no judgement about whether this is good or bad, positive.
  • Claim 4 reports already-observed government data from another country, a factual claim that could be checked directly, positive.

Step 3: Rule out the other options

  • Option A (Claim 1) and Option C (Claim 3) are both positive, testable, ceteris paribus predictions with no value judgement.
  • Option D (Claim 4) is a factual, historical report of data, not an opinion.

Final answer

Only Claim 2 expresses a value judgement about what the government ought to do, using the value-laden words “essential” and “responsibilities” rather than an explicit “should”, so it is the normative statement, option B.