Exam 20: Poverty, Inequality, and Discrimination

Which of the following is most accurate about poverty in the United States as measured by the poverty line?

The negative income tax has little support among economists because it distorts incentives to work.

The distribution of income in the United States has grown substantially more unequal since about

Susan argues that she is the victim of economic discrimination. The primary technical difficulty for an economist investigating her claim will be

What are the reasons for unequal distribution of income? List at least six reasons.

The fundamental criticism from the efficiency perspective of AFDC and other antipoverty programs is that

The existence of differences between the average earnings of men and women

Since 1970, the share of income in the

Who would receive payments from the government under a negative income tax system?

In a market economy, incomes would be very equal if there was no discrimination.

What has been the trend in eliminating poverty since 1960?

Which of the following is not a source of inequality in incomes?

Economists generally agree that in reducing poverty, policies should be sought that do the

The U.S. income tax system is progressive.

Suppose that a negative income tax was created that set a minimum income for a family of $5,000 per year and had a marginal tax rate of 33 percent. What is the break-even level of income? If a person earned $5,000, what would the after-tax income level be? If the earnings were $10,000, what would the after-tax income be?

Economic discrimination occurs when equivalent factors of production receive different payments for equal contributions to output.

Which of the following measures absolute poverty?

Falling below a minimum standard of living illustrates the concept of absolute poverty .

About what percentage of the poor are children?

If income redistribution policy is based on the relative concept of poverty, the war on poverty