Question 1

Scenario 19-2
Travis,a student at a community college,is considering what he should do for summer employment.Two recruiters show up at his school in search of summer workers.Recruiter A is looking for workers to help a disaster relief agency distribute food aid in Africa.Recruiter B is looking for custodial help to clean motel rooms in a motel located near the entrance to a famous national park.
-Refer to Scenario 19-2.Travis is carefully considering the options that each recruiter presents.On the basis of knowledge obtained in his economics class,Travis concludes that

Accepted Answer

If the motel job requires additional skills like plumbing, it increases the value of the worker, leading to a higher wage offer.

Question 2

Bill and Phil are identical twins who attended grammar school through college together.Bill took a job as an engineer who does not have to travel out of the state.Phil took a job as an engineer who must travel out of state once a week.Bill earns $105,000 a year,and Phil earns $185,000 a year.Select the best explanation for this wage difference.

Accepted Answer

Phil receives a higher wage to compensate for the disagreeable nature of business travel.

Question 3

Scenario 19-2
Travis,a student at a community college,is considering what he should do for summer employment.Two recruiters show up at his school in search of summer workers.Recruiter A is looking for workers to help a disaster relief agency distribute food aid in Africa.Recruiter B is looking for custodial help to clean motel rooms in a motel located near the entrance to a famous national park.
-Refer to Scenario 19-2.Travis is carefully considering the options that each recruiter presents.On the basis of knowledge obtained in his economics class,Travis concludes that

Accepted Answer

The answer of Scenario 19-2
Travis,a student at a community college,is...

Question 4

Coal mining is a dangerous and dirty job.Suppose someone developed new machinery that made coal mining safer and cleaner;at the same time,it made coal miners more productive.We would expect that the wages of coal miners would

Accepted Answer

The answer of Coal mining is a dangerous and dirty...

Question 5

Which of the following statements does not accurately describe the market for labor?

Accepted Answer

Firms are willing to pay more for better-educated workers regardless of whether there is an excess supply or not. In fact, if there is a shortage of highly skilled workers, firms may be willing to pay even more to attract them.

Question 6

A difference in wages between a highly-educated worker and a less-educated worker is

Accepted Answer

The wage differential between a highly-educated worker and a less-educated worker is a compensating differential for the cost incurred by the highly-educated worker in becoming educated. This difference reflects the higher productivity and skills possessed by the highly-educated worker, and is not considered unfair by economists.

Question 7

Scenario 19-1
Ferris B. ,a student at a community college,is considering what he should do for summer employment.Two recruiters show up at his school in search of summer workers.Recruiter A is looking for lifeguards to patrol the beach at an exclusive island resort in the Caribbean.Recruiter B is looking for workers to staff positions at a summer youth camp.
-Refer to Scenario 19-1.Ferris is carefully considering the options that each recruiter presents.On the basis of knowledge obtained in his economics class,Ferris concludes that

Accepted Answer

The answer of Scenario 19-1
Ferris B. ,a student at a...

Question 8

Which term do economists use to refer to a difference in wages that arises from nonmonetary characteristics of different jobs?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which term do economists use to refer...

Question 9

Which theory is supportive of the idea that increasing educational levels for all workers would raise all workers' productivity and therefore their wages?

Accepted Answer

Human-capital theory argues that investing in education and training increases an individual's productivity and earning potential, leading to higher wages. Thus, increasing education levels for all workers would raise their productivity and wages. The other theories (compensating differentials, efficient-market hypothesis, and signaling theory) do not necessarily support this idea.

Question 10

Jo and Flo are identical twins who attended grammar school through high school together.Jo got a job after high school,and Flo got a job after graduating from college.Jo earns $36,000 a year,and Flo earns $69,000 a year.Select the best explanation for this wage difference.

Accepted Answer

Flo likely earns more because she has more human capital, which includes education and skills acquired through college, leading to higher earning potential compared to Jo, who started working right after high school.

Question 11

Jake and Bill are both college graduates.Jake is a patrolman and Bill is a detective in the same police precint.While Jake's job is inherently more dangerous than Bill's,Bill passed a difficult exam to gain promotion to detective.Bill earns more than Jake because

Accepted Answer

Bill earns more than Jake because he has more human capital, which includes the skills and knowledge gained through experience and passing the difficult exam to become a detective.

Question 12

Which of the following factors affects the marginal productivity of a worker?

Accepted Answer

Human capital, or the skills and knowledge a worker possesses, can greatly affect their productivity. Workers with more experience and education can often complete tasks more efficiently, leading to a higher marginal productivity. The other choices do not directly affect a worker's productivity in the same way.

Question 13

Jobs that involve pleasant work,as opposed to jobs that involve unpleasant work,usually pay

Accepted Answer

If a job involves unpleasant work, it is less likely that workers will be intrinsically motivated to do it, so employers often have to offer higher wages to incentivize people to take the job. On the other hand, jobs that involve pleasant work are often desirable and people may be willing to work for lower wages just to have the opportunity to do that type of work. Therefore, jobs that involve pleasant work usually pay lower wages.

Question 14

Which of the following theories explains why increased education translates into higher wages?

Accepted Answer

The human-capital theory states that individuals who invest in their education, training, and skills acquire higher levels of human capital, which in turn leads to higher productivity, earning potential, and wages. Therefore, increased education directly translates into higher wages.

Question 15

Scenario 19-1
Ferris B. ,a student at a community college,is considering what he should do for summer employment.Two recruiters show up at his school in search of summer workers.Recruiter A is looking for lifeguards to patrol the beach at an exclusive island resort in the Caribbean.Recruiter B is looking for workers to staff positions at a summer youth camp.
-Refer to Scenario 19-1.Ferris is carefully considering the options that each recruiter presents.On the basis of knowledge obtained in his economics class,Ferris concludes that

Accepted Answer

Ferris concludes that if the lifeguard job has a requirement for special training or certification, the wage offer will be higher than otherwise. Therefore, he should consider this when deciding between the two job options.

Question 16

Scenario 19-2
Travis,a student at a community college,is considering what he should do for summer employment.Two recruiters show up at his school in search of summer workers.Recruiter A is looking for workers to help a disaster relief agency distribute food aid in Africa.Recruiter B is looking for custodial help to clean motel rooms in a motel located near the entrance to a famous national park.
-Refer to Scenario 19-2.Travis is carefully considering the options that each recruiter presents.On the basis of knowledge obtained in his economics class,Travis concludes that

Accepted Answer

Travis concludes that if the motel job doesn't require any special skills, the wage offer will be lower than otherwise. Thus, he may want to consider the disaster relief agency job which may offer higher wages due to the specialized skills and potentially hazardous conditions involved in distributing food aid in Africa.

Question 17

Who among the following individuals most likely experiences the largest nonmonetary reward as a supplier of labor? Assume all of the four individuals have the same level of education and work the same number of hours per week.

Accepted Answer

Arnold experiences the largest nonmonetary reward because his job aligns with his personal preference for working at night and sleeping during the day, providing him with personal satisfaction beyond monetary compensation.

Question 18

Which of the following statements is not correct?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following statements is not...

Question 19

Which of the following is an economic explanation for the "beauty premium"?

Accepted Answer

Customers have a preference for dealing with better-looking women, leading employers to pay them a premium.

Question 20

First grade teachers who work in Lynn,Massachusetts (a large,low income city north of Boston)public schools earn more than first grade teachers who work in private schools in more affluent communities north of Boston.Lynn teachers belong to a teachers' union.Which statement best explains the scenario described above?

Accepted Answer

The scenario described above indicates that Lynn school teachers earn more than first grade teachers in private schools in more affluent areas. This suggests that they receive a compensating differential for the more difficult environment in which they work. Additionally, the fact that they belong to a teachers' union means that they are able to negotiate higher wages than they would receive in a non-unionized setting. Therefore, the best explanation for the scenario is that Lynn school teachers receive a compensating differential and higher than market equilibrium wages because they are members of a teachers' union.

Quiz 19: Earnings and Discrimination