Stocks and flows

Correct answer: D. When total accumulated saving on a specific date is stated

Explanation: A stock is an amount measured at a particular point in time. Total accumulated saving on a specified date, such as 31 March, is the balance built up until that date and is therefore a stock. Saving made during a month or year is a flow because it covers a period. A saving rate is a ratio, not a stock. Hence, D is correct.

Correct answer: B. Stock and flow

Explanation: Loan outstanding means the amount still unpaid on a specified date. Since it is measured at one point in time, it is a stock. New loans given during the year are credit transactions occurring over a period, so their total is a flow. The first item is therefore a stock and the second is a flow, making option B correct.

Correct answer: C. Stock and flow

Explanation: Population on a specified date is the number of people present at one point in time, so it is a stock variable. Deaths during a year are events counted over an interval of time, so the number of deaths is a flow variable. The correct sequence is therefore stock followed by flow, which is stated in option C.

Correct answer: A. Stock and flow

Explanation: The opening cash balance is the amount available at the beginning of the day, so it is measured at a point in time and is a stock. Cash sales during the day are transactions accumulated over a time period and are therefore a flow. Consequently, the correct classification is stock followed by flow, as shown in option A.

Correct answer: B. Stock and flow

Explanation: National wealth is the total value of assets owned by a nation at a particular point in time, making it a stock. Domestic product measures the value of goods and services produced during a year, making it a flow. Therefore, option B gives the correct order.

Correct answer: D. Stock and flow

Explanation: The stock of goods at the end of the month is inventory available on a particular date, so it is a stock variable. Purchases made during the month are transactions occurring over a time interval, so their total is a flow variable. Thus, the two quantities are correctly classified as stock and flow, respectively, making option D correct.

Correct answer: B. Interest earned during the year

Explanation: Interest earned during the year is measured over a definite period, so it is a flow variable. It records income generated throughout the year. Bank balance, capital on a date, and month-end stock are measured at particular points in time and are therefore stock variables. The time reference, not the monetary form, determines the classification.

Correct answer: C. Cash balance on a date

Explanation: Cash balance on a particular date is measured at one specific point in time, so it is a stock variable. It shows the amount held at that moment. Annual income, monthly sales, and weekly output are measured over periods and are consequently flow variables. Words such as ‘on a date’ are a useful clue for identifying a stock.

Correct answer: A. Flow and stock

Explanation: Imports during a year record transactions occurring throughout a period, so imports are a flow. Imported goods stored at a port on a particular day represent an inventory existing at one point in time, so they are a stock. Thus, option A gives the correct order. The words ‘during a year’ and ‘on a day’ provide the decisive clues.

Correct answer: B. Flow and stock

Explanation: Annual wage payment is measured over the course of a year, so it is a flow. Wages payable outstanding on a particular date are an unpaid balance existing at that moment, so they are a stock. Therefore, the correct order is flow and stock. A period measure and a point-in-time balance must not be confused merely because both are expressed in money.

Correct answer: C. Stock and flow

Explanation: A car owned at the end of the year is an asset measured at a particular point in time, so it is a stock. Fuel expenditure during the year is accumulated over a period, so it is a flow. Hence the correct order is stock and flow. The classification depends on when the amount is measured, not simply on whether it is a physical good or an expense.

Correct answer: A. Stock and flow

Explanation: The total number of unemployed persons on a specified date is a stock because it measures a condition at one point in time. New unemployment during a month is a flow because it counts additions occurring throughout that month. Thus, the correct order is stock and flow. The distinction is based on the date-versus-period reference, not on the subject of employment itself.

Correct answer: B. Flow and stock

Explanation: Sales revenue is earned through sales made over a period such as a month or year, so it is a flow. Accounts receivable on a particular date is the outstanding amount owed by customers at that moment, so it is a stock. Hence option B is correct. The fact that both appear in business accounts does not make them the same type of variable.

Correct answer: B. Rupees per year

Explanation: ‘Rupees per year’ explicitly refers to an amount measured with respect to a period, so it indicates a flow. A flow records a rate or total movement over time. By contrast, rupees on a date, at present, or at year end refer to a balance at a point in time and therefore indicate a stock. The time unit is decisive.

Correct answer: D. Cash available now

Explanation: Cash available now is measured at the present moment, so it is a stock. It indicates the balance currently held rather than an amount accumulated over a stated period. Monthly expenditure, annual income, and weekly production are all measured during periods and are therefore flows. Words such as ‘now’ and ‘on a date’ identify stock variables.

Correct answer: A. Flow and stock

Explanation: Tax revenue received during a year is measured over that year, so it is a flow. Tax arrears at year end represent the unpaid tax balance existing on a particular date, so they are a stock. Therefore, option A is correct. Revenue records a period’s receipts, whereas arrears record an outstanding amount at a point in time.

Correct answer: D. Calling population on a specified date a flow

Explanation: Population on a specified date is the number of people existing at one point in time, so it is a stock. Calling it a flow is the mistake described in option D. Income, investment, and depreciation are measured over periods and are therefore flows. The key test is whether the quantity is a level at a date or an activity during an interval.

Correct answer: A. Flow and stock

Explanation: Annual exports are the value of transactions completed over a year, so exports are a flow. Foreign currency balance at year end is the amount held at a specific point in time, so it is a stock. Therefore, option A gives the correct order. A year-end balance should not be confused with the currency transactions that occurred during the year.

Correct answer: C. If measurement is on a date see stock and if it is over a period see flow

Explanation: A stock is measured at a particular point in time, such as capital on 31 March. A flow is measured over a period, such as income earned during a year. Thus, option C gives the best rule. The subject matter or size of a figure does not decide its classification; the relevant time reference does.

Correct answer: B. Flow and stock

Explanation: Advertising expenditure is measured over the entire year, so it is a flow variable. The advertising material remaining at the end of the year is measured at one particular point in time and represents inventory, so it is a stock variable. Therefore, option B correctly gives the order: flow and stock.

Correct answer: C. Flow and stock

Explanation: Capital formation means the addition to capital made during a specified period, such as a year. Because it is measured over time, it is a flow variable. Capital stock means the total capital existing at a particular point, such as the beginning of the year, so it is a stock variable. Therefore, the correct order is flow and stock.

Correct answer: A. Tax liability on a date is stock and tax payment during the year is flow

Explanation: A tax liability reported on a particular date is an outstanding amount existing at that point of time, so it is a stock. Tax payment made during a year is measured over the entire year, so it is a flow. The wording “on a date” identifies a stock, while “during the year” identifies a flow. Hence, option A is correct.

Correct answer: B. Stock

Explanation: Finished goods available on the closing date represent the firm's inventory at one specific point in time. A quantity measured at a date is a stock variable. Production and sales, by contrast, are normally measured over a period such as a month or year and are flow variables. Therefore, option B is correct.

Correct answer: C. Flow

Explanation: Inventory held at a particular date is a stock because it is measured at one point in time. However, the net increase in inventory during a year records a change over a period. Such a change, often called inventory investment, is a flow variable. The phrase “during the year” makes option C the correct answer.

Correct answer: C. Public debt is stock and fiscal deficit is flow

Explanation: Public debt is the accumulated outstanding borrowing of the government at a particular date, so it is a stock variable. Fiscal deficit measures the excess of government expenditure over receipts during a financial year, so it is a flow variable. A flow such as the fiscal deficit can add to the stock of public debt. Therefore, option C is correct.