Exam 19: Earnings and Discrimination

When comparing average wages for male and female workers in the United States,wages paid to females have been about 40 percent less than those paid to male workers.

Which of the following statements does not accurately describe the market for labor?

John is an Asian 23-year-old male,and Ken is an Asian 43-year-old male.Both John and Ken are economics majors,and they graduated from the same college with the same GPA - John in 2006 and Ken in 1986.John and Ken both are both financial advisers at the same brokerage firm.John earns $52,000 a year,and Ken earns $88,000 a year.Select the best explanation for this wage difference.

Which of the following is not an explanation for why better educated workers earn more,on average,than less educated workers?

Figure 19-1 -Refer to Figure 19-1.Some policymakers have argued that the government should establish a "living wage." A living wage would provide workers a reasonable standard of living in their city or region.If a living wage of $10 per hour is established in the market pictured here,we would expect

The organized withdrawal of labor from a firm by a union is called

Firms that operate in competitive product markets and choose to practice discrimination in hiring workers

The "superstar" phenomenon can apply to which of these jobs?

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)has long argued that nationally-prominent college athletes are compensated with an investment in human capital that far exceeds the monetary reward of playing professional sports.Examine this argument in light of your knowledge of human capital theory and the economic theory of labor markets.

Efficiency wages will raise the quantity of labor supplied to the market.

Scenario 19-2 Travis,a student at a community college,is considering what he should do for summer employment.Two recruiters show up at his school in search of summer workers.Recruiter A is looking for workers to help a disaster relief agency distribute food aid in Africa.Recruiter B is looking for custodial help to clean motel rooms in a motel located near the entrance to a famous national park. -Refer to Scenario 19-2.Travis is carefully considering the options that each recruiter presents.On the basis of knowledge obtained in his economics class,Travis concludes that

A compensating differential refers to a difference in wages that arises from nonmonetary characteristics.

One explanation for the loss in manufacturing jobs is that new technologies have replaced the need for some workers.

Which of the following statements represents the idea behind signaling in education?

Efficiency wages decrease employee effort.

In the signaling theory of education,

Labor-market discrimination is evident when

The return to investment in human capital is observed

Consumers are often a primary source of discrimination in labor markets.

Given that the median male is better paid than the median female,which of the following is a valid explanation for wage differences?