Question 1

The median wage among physicians is over $166K a year, while the median salary for physician assistants is $86K a year. These salaries suggest that physicians have ________ human capital than physician assistants and hence the demand for labor for physicians is ________ than the demand for labor for physician assistants.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The median wage among physicians is over...

Question 2

High-skilled workers earn more than low-skilled workers in part because

Accepted Answer

High-skilled workers have specialized knowledge and skills that make their productivity higher, thus increasing their value of marginal products and justifying higher wages. Government legislation and supply and demand elasticity are not the main factors determining wage differentials between high-skilled and low-skilled workers.

Question 3

The demand curve for low-skilled labor lies to the left of the demand curve for high-skilled labor because

Accepted Answer

The answer of The demand curve for low-skilled labor lies...

Question 4

Information technologies ________ the demand for low-skilled labor, increase the ________ high-skilled labor, lower the wage rate of ________ labor, and raise the wage rate of ________ labor.

Accepted Answer

Information technologies often replace low-skilled tasks with machines or automation, therefore reducing the demand for low-skilled labor. These technologies typically require high-skilled workers to design, operate, and maintain them, therefore increasing the demand for high-skilled labor. As a result of decreased demand, the wage rate of low-skilled labor will typically decrease, while the wage rate of high-skilled labor will increase.

Question 5

Information technologies are a ________ for low-skilled labor and a ________ for high-skilled labor.

Accepted Answer

Information technologies can replace some low-skilled jobs, such as clerical and assembly line work, but they can also create more high-skilled jobs, such as in programming, data analysis, and IT consulting. Therefore, they act as a substitute for low-skill labor and a complement to high-skill labor.

Question 6

Because of their higher value of marginal product

Accepted Answer

The higher value of marginal product for high-skilled workers implies that firms are willing to pay more for their services, leading to a higher demand for these workers. This, in turn, causes the demand curve for high-skilled workers to shift to the right, while the demand curve for low-skilled workers may shift to the left or remain relatively constant. Therefore, choice A is the best answer.

Question 7

The distribution of income in the United States became more unequal in the 1990s. One explanation for this trend is that advances in information technologies have ________ low-skilled labor and ________ high-skilled labor.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The distribution of income in the United...

Question 8

Suppose there are two types of labor, high skilled and low skilled. The demand curve for high skilled labor lies ________ the demand curve for low skilled labor and the supply curve of high skilled labor lies ________ the supply curve of low skilled labor.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Suppose there are two types of labor,...

Question 9

Computers and laser scanners are ________ for low-skilled labor and ________ for high-skilled labor. The introduction of these technologies ________ the wage rate of high-skilled workers and ________ the wage rate of low-skilled workers.

Accepted Answer

Computers and laser scanners are substitutes for low-skilled labor because they can perform tasks that were previously done by low-skilled workers. However, they are complements for high-skilled labor because these technologies require skilled workers to operate and maintain them. The introduction of these technologies raises the wage rate of high-skilled workers because their skills are in higher demand, but lowers the wage rate of low-skilled workers as their jobs are replaced by machines.

Question 10

Relative to the demand curve for low-skilled workers, the demand curve for high-skilled workers lies

Accepted Answer

The demand for high-skilled workers is typically higher than the demand for low-skilled workers, therefore the demand curve for high-skilled workers lies to the right of the demand curve for low-skilled workers. This is because high-skilled workers are often more productive and can generate more value for the firm, which justifies a higher salary or wage.

Question 11

Welding has changed dramatically over the last decade with more welding jobs dependent on the use of computers. Computers are a complement only for high-skilled welders, so as more welding companies buy computers the wages of high-skilled welders will ________ and the wages of low-skilled welders will ________.

Accepted Answer

As more welding jobs become dependent on computers, the demand for high-skilled welders with computer skills will increase, leading to an increase in their wages. However, the demand for low-skilled welders without computer skills will decrease, leading to a decrease in their wages. Therefore, the wages of high-skilled welders will rise, and the wages of low-skilled welders will fall.

Question 12

High skilled labor and information technology are ________ while low skilled labor and information technology are ________.

Accepted Answer

High skilled labor and information technology are complements because they complement each other and lead to increased productivity and efficiency. On the other hand, low skilled labor and information technology are substitutes because low-skill jobs can be easily automated or outsourced to technology, making them substitutes for each other.

Question 13

High-skilled workers have

Accepted Answer

High-skilled workers have invested more in education and training to acquire specific skills and knowledge, which gives them a higher amount of human capital. This higher human capital allows them to work more efficiently and effectively, resulting in a higher value of marginal product. Additionally, their labor supply curve may differ from that of low-skilled workers, as they may have more flexibility in choosing their hours and location of work, leading to a different labor market experience. Thus, option C is the correct answer.

Question 14

One possible reason the U.S. income distribution has become more unequal is

Accepted Answer

Information technology has increased the demand for skilled workers who can use and manage new technologies, while decreasing the demand for unskilled workers whose jobs can now be automated. This has led to a smaller pool of jobs available for those without specialized skills, causing a widening income gap between skilled and unskilled workers.

Question 15

Relative to the supply curve of high-skilled workers, the supply curve of low-skilled workers is

Accepted Answer

The supply curve of low-skilled workers is to the right of the supply curve of high-skilled workers. This is because there are generally more low-skilled workers available in the labor market than high-skilled workers.

Question 16

The supply curve for high-skilled labor lies to the

Accepted Answer

The answer of The supply curve for high-skilled labor lies...

Question 17

Because skills are costly to obtain, at a given wage rate, the

Accepted Answer

The answer of Because skills are costly to obtain, at...

Question 18

The demand curve for high-skilled labor lies to the right of the demand curve for low-skilled labor because

Accepted Answer

High-skilled labor is more productive than low-skilled labor, which means that firms are willing to pay more for high-skilled workers. This results in a higher demand for high-skilled labor and a rightward shift in the demand curve. Factors such as the relative scarcity of high-skilled workers and the minimum wage in the market for low-skilled labor do not directly affect the position of the demand curve for high-skilled labor.

Question 19

Welding has changed dramatically over the last decade with more welding jobs dependent on the use of computers. This change increased the demand for welders with computer skills and decreased the demand for welders who lack these skills and is an example of when technology is a ________ to a high-skilled job and a ________ to a low-skilled job.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of technology being a complement to a high-skilled job because it increases the demand for welders who possess computer skills. At the same time, it is a substitute for low-skilled jobs because it decreases the demand for welders who lack these skills.

Question 20

The wage rate for high-skilled labor is higher than that for low-skilled labor because

Accepted Answer

The demand for high-skilled labor is greater than the demand for low-skilled labor because high-skilled labor is necessary for jobs that require specialized skills and education. On the other hand, low-skilled labor jobs can be performed by a larger pool of workers because they require less specialized skills and education. Additionally, the supply of high-skilled labor is less than the supply of low-skilled labor because it takes more time, effort, and resources to acquire the specialized skills and education necessary for high-skilled jobs. As a result, the wage rate for high-skilled labor is higher than that for low-skilled labor to incentivize workers to acquire the necessary skills and to compensate them for the scarcity of workers with those skills.

Quiz 19: Economic Inequality

High-skilled workers earn more than low-skilled workers in part because

The demand curve for low-skilled labor lies to the left of the demand curve for high-skilled labor because

Information technologies the demand for low-skilled labor, increase the high-skilled labor, lower the wage rate of labor, and raise the wage rate of labor.

Information technologies are a for low-skilled labor and a for high-skilled labor.

Because of their higher value of marginal product

The distribution of income in the United States became more unequal in the 1990s. One explanation for this trend is that advances in information technologies have low-skilled labor and high-skilled labor.

Suppose there are two types of labor, high skilled and low skilled. The demand curve for high skilled labor lies the demand curve for low skilled labor and the supply curve of high skilled labor lies the supply curve of low skilled labor.

Computers and laser scanners are for low-skilled labor and for high-skilled labor. The introduction of these technologies the wage rate of high-skilled workers and the wage rate of low-skilled workers.