Before Bank Underground takes a festive break, it’s time for the Annual Bank Underground Christmas Quiz. Test yourself against our 10 festively themed questions on economics, finance and all things central banking…
1) (Currency) Which festive object appears on the back of a commemorative UK 50p coin?
A snowman
Correct. A snowman, in tribute to Raymond Briggs Christmas story, “The Snowman”
A Christmas Pudding
A reindeer
A brussels sprout
2) (Commodities) The lighting of the Menorah at the Jewish winter festival of Hanukkah recalls the miracle of a jug of oil burning longer than the day it was expected to last. In this early example of commodity consumption, for how many days in total did the jug of oil keep the lamp lit?
Eight days
Correct. The jug of oil kept the lamp going for a full eight days
Four days
Seven days
Ten days
3) (Monetary Economics) The silver denarius was the main coin used by the Romans in first century Palestine and a key part of the monetary system. In the 15 BCE decree of Caesar Augustus, what was the silver content of the coin?
95%–98%
Correct. According to Alan W Pense (1992) article in Materials Characterization the value stood at 95-98%
99%–100%
70%–75%
50%–60%
4) (History of Economic Thought) Which Nobel prize winning economist penned this festive ditty to the tune of Jingle Bells:
‘Maximize, maximize, that’s the crucial key; Allocate resources by their productivity; Equalize VMP’s with their price; and Your production function is the finest in the land.’?
Milton Friedman
Correct. Milton Friedman, as documented in the Hoover Institution Archives, Box 79
Paul Samuelson
Paul Krugman
Ben Bernanke
5) (International Economics) Which country uses the ‘dram’ as its currency?
Armenia
Correct. The Armenian dram
Mongolia
Uzbekistan
Cambodia
6) (Economic History) How far back in time would you have to go to find wild reindeers walking in the City of London?
Around 10,000 years
Correct. Fossil evidence suggests reindeers living in London at least until the late Ice Age. The Vertebrates of the Last Cold Stage in Britain and Ireland on JSTOR)
Around 1,000 years
Around 100,000 years
Reindeers never lived in England
7)(Macroeconomics) What is the current projection for CPI inflation according to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Report on Christmas 2024?
1.4%
Correct. The latest Monetary Policy Report forecasts inflation within target in the third quarter 2024 Monetary Policy Report – November 2022.
0%
3%
There are no projections
8) (Central Banking) Which darts player shares a name with a central banker and walks out to ‘King of Kings’ by Motorhead?
Mervyn ‘The King’ King
Correct. Mervyn ‘The King’ King. All the other nicknames are real by the way.
‘Helicopter’ Ben Bernanke
Alan ‘The Undertaker’ Greenspan
Mark ‘Carnage’ Carney
9) (Economic Theory) Which economist called simple economic textbook models with neat solutions ‘Santa Claus’ – examples in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech?
Paul Samuelson
Correct. Paul Samuelson used this term in comparing these textbook examples to the richer economic dynamics of reality
Milton Friedman
Paul Krugman
Ben Bernanke
10) (Currency Unions) Which central banker said of the euro ‘Whether one is buying a reindeer skin at one end of the continent or a bottle of suntan lotion at the opposite end, the same banknotes will be used without discrimination’?
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa
Correct. Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa talked of reindeer in his speech a few months before the introduction of Euro banknotes
Wim Duisenberg
Ottmar Issing
Alexandre Lamfalassuy
I had a real fun with your quiz. Thanks