Exam 15: Inequality in Earnings

Table 14.1 Incomes in Pololand Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4 Thomas \ 50,000 \ 40,000 \ 60,000 \ 100,000 Nina \ 40,000 \ 40,000 \ 40,000 \ 80,000 Becky \ 30,000 \ 30,000 \ 30,000 \ 60,000 Rose \ 20,000 \ 20,000 \ 20,000 \ 40,000 Charlie \ 10,000 \ 20,000 \ 0 \ 20,000 -The Gini coefficient in a society where all families have equal incomes would be

Which of the following best describes the statement "Earnings at the 80th percentile were $20,000"?

The widget industry is perfectly competitive and produces 1000 widgets.Currently,it takes one unit of skilled labor and two units of unskilled labor to produce one widget.Technological change then increases the productivity of skilled labor only.Afterward,the total employment of skilled workers goes up.Which of the following is consistent with this result? ________ units of skilled workers and two units of unskilled labor are needed to produce one widget and total output is ________ widgets.

In nation X,inequality is measured with reported income and does not include welfare benefits.Suppose welfare benefits are increased and those on welfare who continue to work cut slightly back on their hours of work.Measured inequality will ________ and true inequality will likely ________.

Table 14.1 Incomes in Pololand Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4 Thomas \ 50,000 \ 40,000 \ 60,000 \ 100,000 Nina \ 40,000 \ 40,000 \ 40,000 \ 80,000 Becky \ 30,000 \ 30,000 \ 30,000 \ 60,000 Rose \ 20,000 \ 20,000 \ 20,000 \ 40,000 Charlie \ 10,000 \ 20,000 \ 0 \ 20,000 -Which of the following is not a major cause of the increase in the inequality since 1980?

An increase in inequality will always be accompanied by

The coefficient of variation of incomes of full-time workers is highest among

An economist in a foreign land observes that the earnings of college graduates have increased relative to the earnings of high school graduates.Over the same period,the relative number of college graduates has gone down.Which of the following explanations is consistent with these two observations? The increase in earnings inequality between high school and college graduates

What is the variance of earnings? How does the variance of earnings measure earnings inequality? What are the drawbacks of the variance of earnings as a measure of earnings inequality?

The earnings and employment of those with more human capital have both increased dramatically since 1980.This suggests that their ________ curve had shifted ________.

The widget industry is competitive.Widgets (W)are produced with skilled labor (S)such that each skilled worker produces c widgets such that W = aC.If technological progress makes skilled labor more productive,then more skilled workers will be employed

Interpret the elasticity of sons' earnings with respect to fathers' earnings if that elasticity equals 1,and if that elasticity equals 0.If the actual value of the elasticity is 0.6,what does that say about the degree of intergenerational earnings mobility?

The Gini coefficient is 0.20.What is the area under the Lorenz curve?

If the fraction of the people in the middle of the income distribution decreases by 20 percent with half of these moving to the lower end and the other half to the upper end,then income inequality will

Jeb and his brother John are in manufacturing jobs that pay the mean earnings in the United States.They then become farmers and their usual earnings,while remaining the same on average as the mean earnings in the United States,vary from year to year.In one year,Jeb earns $20,000 more than usual while John earns $20,000 less than usual.If this occurred for many workers,then

According to the text,the main reason for the increase in inequality since 1980 is

Which of the following could NOT increase the earnings gap between highly-educated and less-educated workers?

If a number of new workers enter the labor force and all of them find jobs at the mean level of wages,then this will cause the variance of wages to

Compared to other developed countries,where does the U.S.stand in terms of earnings inequality? What may account for this position?

Table 14.1 Incomes in Pololand Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4 Thomas \ 50,000 \ 40,000 \ 60,000 \ 100,000 Nina \ 40,000 \ 40,000 \ 40,000 \ 80,000 Becky \ 30,000 \ 30,000 \ 30,000 \ 60,000 Rose \ 20,000 \ 20,000 \ 20,000 \ 40,000 Charlie \ 10,000 \ 20,000 \ 0 \ 20,000 -According to Table 14.1,in which period is the Gini coefficient lowest?