Deck 15: Issues in Labor Markets: Unions, Discrimination, Immigration

Question 1

In circumstances dealing with poverty, the term _______ means taking income from those with higher incomes and providing income to those with lower incomes.

A) safety net
B) estate tax
C) minimum wage
D) redistribution

Answer 1

redistribution

Question 2

The concept of a poverty line raises a number of complex questions. Which of the following represents such a question?

A) Should the poverty line be adjusted to take income equality into account?
B) Do antipoverty programs belong in a command economy?
C) Should the national poverty line be applied in all states?
D) Why give cash and not just food stamps to the poor?

Answer 2

Should the national poverty line be applied in all states?

Question 3

If a rise in incomes for both low-income and high-income workers is higher for the high- income workers,

A) then poverty will fall and inequality will rise.
B) then poverty will rise and inequality will fall.
C) then poverty will fall and inequality will fall.
D) then poverty will rise and inequality will rise.

Answer 3

then poverty will fall and inequality will rise.

Question 4

Economic inequality compares the share of the _______
In society that is received by
Different groups; such as comparing the share of income received by the _______ to the share of income received by the _______.

A) total wealth; top 10%; bottom 10%
B) answers a and c are correct.
C) total income; bottom 10%; top 10%
D) none of the above are correct.

Question 5

The group of government programs that provide assistance to the poor and the near-poor is synonymous with which of the following?

A) safety net
B) safety quintiles
C) poverty net
D) antipoverty net

Question 6

When reference is made to the _______, it means the specific amount of income needed for a basic standard of living.

A) poverty trap
B) income line
C) income gap
D) poverty line

Question 7

If incomes rise for both low-income and high-income workers, but rise less for the high- income workers,

A) then poverty will rise and inequality will fall
B) then poverty will fall and inequality will rise.
C) then poverty will rise and inequality will rise.
D) then poverty will fall and inequality will fall.

Question 8

In the United States, the official definition of the poverty line traces back to a single person: _______
, whose idea was to _______.

A) Mollie Orshansky; define a poverty line based on the cost of a healthy diet
B) Lawrence Ellison; define a range of government policies to reduce poverty
C) Molly Orshansky; define a range of government policies to reduce poverty
D) Max Lorenz; define the Lorenz curve to illustrate the poverty line

Question 9

If the 2014 poverty line is based on the amount of money an individual has earned as income, then

A) the poverty line will be adjusted to take the value of non-cash government assistance into account.
B) government programs that provide non-cash assistance to the poor are not considered.
C) the concept of what poverty means in the 21st century should be rethought from scratch.
D) it will be difficult to compare poverty rates over time in a market-driven economy.

Question 10

In the U.S., poverty rates are relatively low

A) for the elderly
B) for the well-educated
C) for the male-headed households
D) for whites and all of the above

Question 11

With respect to market forces and/or labor markets that determine peoples' wages, which of the following is a true statement?

A) labor markets consider how much a family needs for health care
B) market forces consider what happens to families in their business decisions
C) labor markets consider how much a family needs for necessities
D) labor markets create considerable inequalities relating to income

Question 12

In the U.S., comparisons of high and low incomes raise issues of economic _______.

A) inequality and poverty
B) equality and wealth distribution
C) wealth distribution and poverty
D) equality and inequality

Question 13

A method often used by economists to look at distribution of income in a society's economy involves

A) programs for wealth redistribution.
B) quintiles, or dividing a whole group into fifths.
C) imposing taxes to redistribute wealth.
D) quads, or dividing a whole group into fourths.

Question 14

An individual whose income level is just above the poverty line would most likely be classified as being a member of the _______.

A) working poor
B) poverty trapped
C) near-poor
D) illiterate poor

Question 15

Antipoverty programs that are set up so that the amount of government benefits will decline substantially as poor people earn more income typically create _______.

A) a poverty trap
B) an income inequity
C) a poverty line
D) a safety net

Question 16

If Congress voted every few years to redefine completely what poverty means,

A) it will be useful to have a poverty line whose basic definition changes a lot.
B) then it will set two poverty lines that it applies to welfare and the near-poor.
C) then a substantial share of the U.S. population will subsist in dire poverty.
D) then it would be difficult to compare poverty rates over time.

Question 17

A Lorenz curve refers to a graphic illustration of the share of population on the _______
And the cumulative percentage of total income received on the _______.

A) left quintile; right quintile
B) right quintile; left quintile
C) horizontal axis; vertical axis
D) vertical axis; horizontal axis

Question 18

A situation of _______ arises when one group receives a higher share of total income or wealth than others.

A) poverty
B) inequality
C) poverty entrapment
D) quintiles

Question 19

Poverty is measured by the number of people who fall below

A) a certain level of income.
B) the income needed for a basic standard of living.
C) the nation's economic poverty line.
D) all the above are correct.

Question 20

If a rise in incomes is the same proportion for both low-income and high-income workers,

A) then poverty will rise and inequality will remain unchanged.
B) then poverty will rise and inequality will rise.
C) then poverty will fall and inequality will remain unchanged.
D) then poverty will fall and inequality will fall.

Question 21

A government has decided to phase out its antipoverty program support payments more slowly to help the near-poor become self-sufficient. One criticism about this policy is likely to be

A) that this antipoverty program costs the government more money.
B) that the near-poor will not be required to pay back benefits.
C) that the near-poor may still lack skills for menial jobs.
D) that antipoverty programs shift wealth from the rich to the poor.

Question 22

If the poverty trap were made even more difficult to overcome because a working mother will have extra expenses like transportation and child care that a nonworking mother will not face, then

A) she will have a powerful incentive to work more than one job.
B) the family better off than if she did not work at all.
C) her economic gains from working will be even smaller.
D) working now and in the future is even more attractive.

Question 23

Medicaid is a federal-state joint program enacted in 1965 that provides medical insurance for

A) the near-poor and the low-income elderly.
B) all those below the poverty line.
C) low-income mothers, but not their spouses.
D) the disabled and all of the above.

Question 24

In the U.S., government support programs that are focused specifically on the poor include which of the following?

A) Medicaid credits
B) welfare
C) income stamps
D) food credits

Question 25

From the Great Depression of the 1930s until 1996, the United States' most visible antipoverty program was Aid to Families with Dependent Children, which provided cash payments to

A) married men with families who were below the poverty line.
B) married women with families who were below the poverty line.
C) all mothers with children who were below the poverty line.
D) only those orphans who were living below the poverty line.

Question 26

Under which of the following antipoverty programs does the federal government give a fixed amount of money to each state?

A) ADFC
B) TANF
C) AFDC
D) TNAF

Question 27

There seems to be little evidence that poor families experienced _______ as a result of _______.

A) a tax refund; having earned income
B) a tax break; having earned income
C) an increased standard of living; EIC
D) a reduced standard of living; TANF

Question 28

Robert is a widower raising 5 year old twin boys. In 2013, after the plant where he had worked for 10 years shut down, he was able to obtain part-time work that paid him $13,000.00 a year. He receives the earned income tax credit. If Robert receives a raise, so that he will earn
$16,350, the earned income credit will be

A) reduced by 21 cents per dollar.
B) reduced by 25 cents per dollar.
C) phased out completely.
D) will not be reduced.

Question 29

Under which of the following government programs would the federal government's welfare spending rise or fall depending on the number of poor people, and on how each state set its own welfare contribution?

A) ADFC
B) TANF
C) TNAF
D) AFDC

Question 30

If incomes rise for low-income workers but don't change for high-income workers,

A) then poverty will fall and inequality will fall.
B) then poverty will rise and inequality will fall.
C) then poverty will rise and inequality will rise.
D) then poverty will fall and inequality will rise.

Question 31

To address a common poverty trap problem for many low-paid Americans whose jobs pay enough that a family could lose its eligibility for_______ , yet those jobs don't offer _______
Either, some states guaranteed that children would not loose their coverage if their parents worked.

A) food stamps; retirement benefits
B) Medicaid; health insurance benefits
C) Medicaid; drug insurance benefits
D) food stamps; Medicaid benefits

Question 32

If the income level falls for low-income workers, but remains unchanged for high-income workers,

A) then poverty will rise and inequality will fall.
B) then poverty will fall and inequality will fall.
C) then poverty will fall and inequality will rise.
D) then poverty will rise and inequality will rise.

Question 33

The food stamp benefit

A) is a state funded program started in 1984.
B) does not contribute to the poverty trap from an economic viewpoint.
C) has time limits and is not a complete disincentive to work.
D) is reduced by $35 for every $100 earned and a and c above.

Question 34

One reason that the welfare reform bill TANF worked as well as it did is that

A) the EIC was greatly expanded in the early 1990s.
B) the EIC was greatly expanded in the late 1980s.
C) it was able to generate an increase in the returns to work for the poor.
D) its worth about $2,500 per family with children and all of the above.

Question 35

If the level of incomes rises for high-income workers but doesn't change for low-income workers,

A) then poverty will not change and inequality will fall.
B) then poverty will not change and inequality will rise.
C) then poverty will rise and inequality will fall.
D) then poverty will fall and inequality will rise.

Question 36

How does being caught in a poverty tap affect an individual's future job prospects?

A) it causes working in the future even less attractive
B) it causes a lack of job experience and contacts
C) it creates a powerful incentive to acquire skills training
D) it creates the outcomes presented in both a and b

Question 37

A government program guarantees $18,000 in income, even for those who do not work at all. If the recipient earns income by working, then the $18,000 benefit is reduced by 50 cents for each
$1 earned. Will this program eliminate the poverty trap?

A) Yes, enacting such a program will eliminate the poverty trap.
B) No, enacting such a program may still reduce the incentive to work.
C) Yes, and enacting such a program will cost the government less money.
D) Yes, enacting such a program will create adequate incentive to work.

Question 38

Which of the following is a key requirement imposed under the Welfare Reform Act's new antipoverty program?

A) states receiving TANF grants must impose work or school attendance requirements
B) no one can receive TNAF benefits for more than 3 years while attending school
C) no one can receive AFDC benefits for more than 5 years over their lifetime
D) states receiving ADFC benefits must impose work or school attendance requirements

Question 39

Which of the following is a safety net that could provide a decent standard of living and/or incentives to work?

A) government-subsidized school lunches and breakfasts
B) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
C) the Special Supplemental Food Program for WIC
D) Supplemental Security Income and the above

Question 40

Government developed a method called _______ to assist the working poor through the tax system. The amount of the tax break _______ with the amount of income earned, _______.

A) eligible income credit; decreases; and by age of child
B) earned income credit; increases; up to a point
C) eligible income credit; increases; and by age of child
D) earned income credit; decreases; up to a point

Question 41

Why did inequality of household income increase in the United States in recent decades?

A) growth of single-parent families at the top end of the income distribution
B) higher-earner couples near the top end of the income distribution
C) increase in earnings received by high-skilled labor relative to low-skilled labor
D) demand for high-skilled labor at higher wages increased and b and c

Question 42

Suppose that new high-technology farming equipment is developed. These new machines are substitutes for low-income workers such as farm laborers, but they are complements for high- income workers such as farm technicians and farm owners. This new technology will shift the demand curve for low-income workers to the _______ while shifting the demand curve for high-
Income workers to the _______.

A) left, left
B) left, right
C) right, left
D) right, right

Question 43

A group of 10 golfing buddies have the following annual incomes: $32,000, $12,000, $56,000,
$120,000, $10,000, $38,000, $70,000, $16,000, $20,000, $24,000. The share of income received by the third quintile of this income distribution is

A) 13.1%
B) 13.9%
C) 14.1%
D) 14.9%

Question 44

A Lorenz curve graphs the _______ recieved by everyone up to a certain quintile.

A) unequal distribution over time
B) normative shares of income
C) cumulative shares of income
D) total share of income

Question 45

One common way of measuring income inequality is to rank all households by income, from lowest to highest, and then

A) to divide all households into quintiles.
B) comparing the groups.
C) to divide all households by size.
D) comparing the share of the population.

Question 46

The greater inequality of wages can be viewed as a sign that

A) demand for skilled labor is increasing faster than supply.
B) supply for skilled labor is decreasing faster than demand.
C) demand for skilled labor is decreasing faster than supply.
D) supply for skilled labor is increasing faster than demand.

Question 47

A group of 10 golfing buddies have the following annual incomes: $32,000, $12,000, $56,000,
$120,000, $10,000, $38,000, $70,000, $16,000, $20,000, $24,000. The share of income received by the lowest quintile of this income distribution is _______ than that for the bottom quintile of the
U.S. income distribution in 2005. The share of income received by the highest quintile of this income distribution is _______ than that for the highest quintile of the U.S. income distribution in 2005.

A) lower, lower
B) lower, higher
C) higher, higher
D) higher, lower

Question 48

Lesley is a single mother with 2 children. She can earn $10 per hour and can work up to 1,800 hours per year. However, if she does not earn any income at all, she will receive government benefits totaling $18,000 per year. For every $1 of income she earns, her level of government support is reduced by $1. Lesley

A) has no monetary incentive to work, though she may still choose to work
B) has a monetary incentive to work and will maximize her income if she works for 300 hours
C) has a monetary incentive to work and will maximize her income if she works for 600 hours
D) has a monetary incentive to work and will maximize her income if she works for 900 hours

Question 49

Every Lorenz curve diagram begins with a line _______.

A) sloping down at a 45-degree angle
B) sloping up at a 45-degree angle
C) upward sloping U-shape
D) downward sloping hump shape

Question 50

Paddy has lots of cousins. With a family reunion in the near future, Paddy decides to collect income information for himself and all his cousins. He obtains the following data points: $52,000,
$22,000, $92,000, $8,000, $118,000, $62,000, $38,000, $14,000, $132,000, $46,000, $26,000,
$96,000, $54,000, $110,000, $80,000. The share of income received by the bottom quintile of this income distribution is _______, which is _______ than that for the bottom quintile of the U.S. income distribution in 2005.

A) 2.6%, lower
B) 4.6%, lower
C) 4.6%, higher
D) 2.6%, higher

Question 51

In the framework of a Lorenz curve, the final entry in the cumulative income column needs to be _______.

A) total income
B) cumulative income
C) 100%
D) 45%

Question 52

Bruce is a single father with 1 child. He can work as a bagger at the local grocery store for $6 per hour up to 1,200 hours per year. He is eligible for welfare, and if he does not earn any income, he will receive $15,000 a year. If Bruce works, the government policy is to deduct 60
Cents from his welfare stipend for every $1 that he earns in income. With this policy in place, if Bruce works 600 hours, his income will be

A) $3,600
B) $16,440
C) $15,000
D) $12,840

Question 53

If a society decides to reduce the level of economic inequality, which of the following sets of tools can it use?

A) a tax imposed on the value of inheritances
B) redistribution from those with high incomes to those with low incomes
C) trying to assure that a ladder of opportunity is widely available
D) the three mains sets of tools it can use include all of the above

Question 54

Paddy has lots of cousins. With a family reunion in the near future, Paddy decides to collect income information for himself and all his cousins. He obtains the following data points: $52,000,
$22,000, $92,000, $8,000, $118,000, $62,000, $38,000, $14,000, $132,000, $46,000, $26,000,
$96,000, $54,000, $110,000, $80,000. The share of income received by the highest quintile of this income distribution is _______, which is than that for the highest quintile of the U.S. income distribution in 2005.

A) 37.9%, lower
B) 39.7%, lower
C) 37.9%, higher
D) 39.7%, higher

Question 55

Crystal is a single mother with 2 children. She can earn $10 per hour and can work up to 1,800 hours per year. However, if she does not earn any income at all, she will receive government benefits totaling $18,000 per year. For every $1 of income she earns, her level of government support is reduced by $1. Crystal's labor-leisure opportunity set

A) has doubled
B) is smaller with the government support program
C) is not affected by the government support program
D) is larger with the government support program

Question 56

Measuring economic inequality involves comparing those with _______.

A) high incomes and those below the poverty line
B) high incomes and those with low incomes
C) high incomes middle incomes, and low incomes
D) high incomes and those near the poverty line

Question 57

Tim is a single father with 1 child. He can work as a bagger at the local grocery store for $6 per hour up to 1,200 hours per year. He is eligible for welfare, and if he does not earn any income, he will receive $15,000 a year. If Tim works, the government policy is to deduct 60 cents from his welfare stipend for every $1 that he earns in income. This government policy provides a monetary incentive to work, because

A) it pays the same amount, regardless of how much Tim works
B) Tim receives a stipend regardless of whether he works or not
C) Tim's income level increases the more he works
D) benefits are not phased out

Question 58

A group of 10 golfing buddies have the following annual incomes: $32,000, $12,000, $56,000,
$120,000, $10,000, $38,000, $70,000, $16,000, $20,000, $24,000. The share of income received by the bottom quintile of this income distribution is

A) 3.5%
B) 5.5%
C) 7.5%
D) 9.5%

Question 59

Paddy has lots of cousins. With a family reunion in the near future, Paddy decides to collect income information for himself and all his cousins. He obtains the following data points: $52,000,
$22,000, $92,000, $8,000, $118,000, $62,000, $38,000, $14,000, $132,000, $46,000, $26,000,
$96,000, $54,000, $110,000, $80,000. The share of income received by the second-to-bottom quintile of this income distribution is

A) 11.6%
B) 12.6%
C) 13.6%
D) 14.6%

Question 60

Lance is a single father with 1 child. He can work as a bagger at the local grocery store for $6 per hour up to 1,200 hours per year. He is eligible for welfare, and if he does not earn any income, he will receive $15,000 a year. If Lance works, the government policy is to deduct 60 cents from his welfare stipend for every $1 that he earns in income. When Lance works 1,200 hours, he receives _______ in government support and his total income is _______.

A) $10,680, $15,000
B) $7,800, $15,000
C) $10,680, $17,880
D) $7,800, $17,880

Question 61

Briefly discuss what measuring inequality involves, and provide two examples for doing so.

Question 62

List at least 5 plausible reasons for a degree of income inequality.

Question 63

Suppose that new high-technology farming equipment is developed. These new machines are substitutes for low-income workers such as farm laborers, but they are complements for high- income workers such as farm technicians and farm owners. This new technology will _______ wages in for low-income workers and _______ income inequality.

A) increase, decrease
B) increase, increase
C) decrease, decrease
D) decrease, increase

Question 64

Suppose that the government implements a new policy that provides free skills training to all low-skilled workers, which makes them more productive and turns them into high-skilled workers. This will _______ the supply of low-skilled workers and _______ the supply of high-skilled workers.

A) increase, decrease
B) increase, increase
C) decrease, decrease
D) decrease, increase

Question 65

Briefly explain how markets determine wages and where this can lead.

Question 66

List three policies that can affect the level of economic inequality.

Question 67

Briefly discuss what the poverty rate, including what it is, how it is determined, and how this relates to the near poor.

Question 68

Briefly compare and contrast the effects and outcomes of pushing too aggressively and pushing moderately for economic equality.

Question 69

Suppose that new high-technology farming equipment is developed. These new machines are substitutes for low-income workers such as farm laborers, but they are complements for high- income workers such as farm technicians and farm owners. This new technology will _______ employment and _______ wages for high-income workers.

A) increase, decrease
B) increase, increase
C) decrease, decrease
D) decrease, increase

Question 70

Briefly discuss the various aspects of the poverty trap.

Question 71

Briefly discuss how income inequality in the U.S. has increased from the 1970s into the 2000s, as well as the two most common explanations cited by economists for this change.

Question 72

Identify what the groups of government programs that assist the poor are called and provide examples of the prominent programs that are provided in the U.S..

Question 73

Briefly compare and contrast poverty and economic inequality.