Microeconomics 20th Edition by McConnell, Sean Flynn, Stanley Brue

تمرين 3

In 2012, many unskilled workers in the United States earned the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. By contrast, average earnings in 2012 were about $22 per hour, and certain highly skilled professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, earned $100 or more per hour.
a. If we assume that wage differences are caused solely by differences in productivity, how many times more productive was the average worker than a worker being paid the federal minimum wage How many times more productive was a $100-per-hour lawyer compared to a worker earning minimum wage
b. Assume that there are 20 minimum-wage workers in the economy for each $100-per-hour lawyer. Also assume that both lawyers and minimum-wage workers work the same number of hours per -week. If everyone works 40 hours per week, how much does a $100-per-hour lawyer earn a week How much does a minimum-wage earn a week
c. Suppose that the government pairs each $100-per-hour lawyer with 20 nearby minimum-wage workers. If the government taxes 25 percent of each lawyer's income each week and distributes it equally among the 20 minimum-wage workers with whom each lawyer is paired, how much will each of those minimum-wage workers receive each week If we divide by the number of hours worked each week, how much does each minimum-wage worker's weekly transfer amount to on an hourly basis
d. What if instead the government taxed each lawyer 100 percent before dividing the money equally among the 20 minimum-wage workers with whom each lawyer is paired-how much per week will each minimum-wage worker receive And how much is that on an hourly basis