Deck 18: Immigration: The International Movement of People

Question 1

Immigration has increased in the latter half of the twentieth century because:

A) the growing discrepancy in incomes between countries has provided people with enormous incentives to seek "a better life" in another country.
B) improved communications have made people more aware of what life is like in other countries.
C) economic growth has lowered transport costs.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Answer 1

All of the above.

Question 2

Immigration has increased in the latter half of the twentieth century because:

A) the growth of the working-age population in relatively poor countries has grown very rapidly in the post-World War II period.
B) in the year 2000 immigrating from one country to another could as much as double a person's income, unlike 200 years ago when incomes were identical everywhere.
C) economic growth has raised transport costs, thus perpetuating income differences across countries.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Answer 2

the growth of the working-age population in relatively poor countries has grown very rapidly in the post-World War II period.

Question 3

Immigration would be even greater than it actually is today if it were not for:

A) the increasingly higher costs of transportation between countries.
B) the intentional barriers to immigration that nearly all countries have put in place.
C) decreasing income differences between countries.
D) increasing cultural differences between countries.

Answer 3

the intentional barriers to immigration that nearly all countries have put in place.

Question 4

The migration of Europeans and Africans to the Western Hemisphere between 1500 and the present:

A) is entirely unique, unlike any other migration episodes in history.
B) resulted in an estimated 75 million Europeans immigrating to present-day Western Hemisphere countries.
C) included an estimated 1 million Africans taken as slaves to the Western Hemisphere and the death of many millions more en route.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 5

Many countries of the world have experienced substantial inflows or outflows of immigrants over the past 50 years, including:

A) the involuntary movement of about 7 million Muslims from India to Pakistan.
B) the 6 million Japanese who moved back to Japan from China (Manchuria), Korea, and Formosa.
C) the involuntary movement of about 7 million Hindus from Pakistan to India.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 6

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) groups immigrants into five categories, including:

A) settlers.
B) enslaved workers.
C) tourists.
D) athletes.

Question 7

The value of the marginal product curve of labor (VMP_L) is:

A) simply the marginal physical product of labor.
B) inversely related to price of the output produced by the labor.
C) upward sloping.
D) the demand for labor curve in the labor market model of immigration.

Question 8

According to the simple supply-side model of international migration, the increase in source country wages caused by migration does not imply that source country welfare improves because:

A) production increases.
B) the owners of non-labor factors suffer losses.
C) increased wages are not enjoyed by most workers.
D) welfare is transferred from workers to the owners of other productive factors.

Question 9

The simple supply-side model of international migration shows that migration:

A) alters the labor-to-capital ratios in the source and destination countries.
B) does not affect the incomes of owners of other factors in both the source and destination countries.
C) can be very beneficial to the immigrants and the source country.
D) will cause a loss of total national welfare in the destination country.

Question 10

In the labor supply model, the demand curve for labor is also known as the:

A) value of the marginal product of labor curve.
B) offer curve.
C) leisure substitution curve.
D) work function.

Question 11

The value of the marginal product curve of labor (VMP_L) curve is:

A) related to the price of the product produced but not to the marginal physical product of labor.
B) upward-sloping because it is directly proportional to price of the output produced by the labor.
C) the product of the marginal physical product of labor and the price of labor.
D) the value of the additional output from employing one more unit of labor in production.

Question 12

According to the supply-side model of international migration, immigration increases the return to capital in:

A) the source country.
B) the destination country.
C) both source and destination countries.
D) neither country; the return to capital is not related to labor migration.

Question 13

According to the supply-side model of international migration, the decrease in destination country wages caused by immigration does not imply that total destination country welfare declines because:

A) production decreases.
B) owners of other factor enjoy gains.
C) decreased wages are earned by a larger number of workers.
D) immigrants suffer income losses.

Question 14

Even if labor is permitted to move freely between two countries, wages in the two countries may still not become equal because:

A) moving is costly.
B) migrating workers must adjust to a new society.
C) there may be discrimination towards migrating workers in the receiving country.
D) All of the above.

Question 15

According to the labor supply model of international migration, labor in a high wage country would tend to:

A) be in favor of unrestricted immigration.
B) be against unrestricted international immigration.
C) be indifferent as to whether immigration is restricted or not.
D) be against the inflow of foreign labor, capital, or any other factors of production.

Question 16

According to the labor supply model of immigration, immigration causes total world welfare to:

A) decrease.
B) increase.
C) remain the same.
D) change in an ambiguous fashion; world welfare can increase or decrease.

Question 17

According to the case study on the market for graduates with Ph.D. degrees in mathematics:

A) immigrants stand little chance of landing a job at a U.S. university.
B) U.S. citizens stand little chance of landing a job at a U.S. university.
C) foreign students have been taking a substantial portion of job openings at U.S. universities.
D) the quality of university education is likely to deteriorate with the entry of foreign graduates into the academic labor market.

Question 18

The Mariel boatlift resulted in:

A) about half of the 125,000 Cuban immigrants in September 1980 settling in New York, whose labor force suddenly expanded by 7 percent in a matter of a few months.
B) a surge in immigration that had a devastating effect on wages in Miami.
C) many competing workers becoming unemployed.
D) no noticeable decline in wages in the Miami labor market.

Question 19

All other things equal, the effect of remittances on the welfare effects of immigration is that:

A) the gains from international migration for the destination country will be much larger.
B) the gains from international migration for the source country will be larger.
C) the gains from international migration for the destination country are unaffected.
D) the gains from international migration for the source country will be smaller.

Question 20

According to the labor supply model of immigration, the effect of remittances on the welfare calculations for immigration is that:

A) the gains from immigration for the destination country may be larger.
B) the gains from immigration for the source country will be larger.
C) the gains from immigration accruing directly to the immigrants will be larger.
D) All of the above.

Question 21

The supply-side model of international migration does not give an accurate picture of the economic effects of immigration because:

A) international migration affects the demand for labor in the destination country.
B) international migration does not affect the demand for labor in the source country.
C) there may be positive and negative externalities connected with international migration.
D) immigrants often send remittances back to the source country.

Question 22

Immigration may raise the destination country's rate of economic growth by:

A) increasing the capital-to-labor ratio.
B) increasing output and generating increasing returns to scale.
C) reducing the number of resources available for innovation.
D) reducing the pressure on the economy's resources.

Question 23

The inflow of large numbers of immigrants can cause the welfare of natives in the destination country to decline if:

A) immigration generates positive externalities.
B) immigration greatly increases the demand for labor.
C) immigration generates negative externalities.
D) immigration causes the economy's rate of growth to increase.

Question 24

The inflow of large numbers of immigrants can cause the welfare of natives in the destination country to increase:

A) if immigration generates positive externalities.
B) if immigration decreases the demand for labor.
C) if immigration generates negative externalities.
D) so long as immigration does not affect the economy's rate of growth.

Question 25

Negative externalities to immigration in the destination country may include:

A) the increased demand for government services caused by the increase in population.
B) faster economic growth.
C) increasing returns to scale.
D) increased resources for innovation.

Question 26

Immigration may cause the costs of innovation to decline in the destination country because it:

A) raises the costs of production.
B) reduces the stock of resources available for production and innovation.
C) helps to transfer technology from abroad.
D) increases the capital-to-labor ratio.

Question 27

The brain drain refers to:

A) the lack of adequate education in countries that lack human capital.
B) the phenomenon where a country's most educated people immigrate to other countries where their talents are more highly rewarded.
C) the immigration of educated people to other countries where their talents are not used, such as foreign engineers driving taxis in New York.
D) the loss of intellect because of unskilled, repetitive jobs.