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Sally and Harry both work at the local factory producing cars. Sally earns $22 per hour working the day shift, and Harry earns $25 per hour working the night shift. Sally and Harry do the same job, have the same experience, and have the same level of education. This means that the


A) higher-paying job has a compensating wage differential of $3 per hour.
B) higher-paying job has a compensating wage differential of $25 per hour.
C) higher-paying job is intrinsically more attractive than the lower-paying job.
D) factory is discriminating against Sally because she is a woman.

E) A) and B)
F) A) and C)

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Figure 19-6​ Figure 19-6​   -Refer to Figure 19-6. This figure depicts labor demand and supply for the widget industry. The equilibrium market wage is $15. If a labor union forms within the widget industry and subsequently negotiates an hourly wage of $20.00, then there will be an A) excess demand of 50 labor hours. B) excess demand of 20 labor hours. C) excess supply of 20 labor hours. D) excess supply of 50 labor hours. -Refer to Figure 19-6. This figure depicts labor demand and supply for the widget industry. The equilibrium market wage is $15. If a labor union forms within the widget industry and subsequently negotiates an hourly wage of $20.00, then there will be an


A) excess demand of 50 labor hours.
B) excess demand of 20 labor hours.
C) excess supply of 20 labor hours.
D) excess supply of 50 labor hours.

E) A) and B)
F) B) and C)

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A plumber who specializes in cleaning plugged sewer lines is typically paid a higher wage than a plumber who works on installing water systems in new residential housing. Which of the following would push the wages of plumbers who work on sewer lines higher?


A) Plumbers who work on new residential housing require more training than plumbers working on sewer lines.
B) Plumbing jobs that involve sewer lines are likely to have a high element of personal satisfaction.
C) Plumbers who work with sewer lines are more likely to work the day shift.
D) plumbers who work with sewer lines are likely to be perceived as having a "dirty" job.

E) A) and C)
F) B) and C)

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Which of the following could explain the changing gap in income between unskilled and skilled workers in the United States?


A) International trade has decreased the domestic demand for skilled labor and increased the domestic demand for unskilled labor.
B) Certain technological changes such as the introduction of computers have increased the domestic demand for skilled labor and decreased the domestic demand for unskilled labor.
C) Both a and b are correct.
D) Neither a nor b is correct.

E) All of the above
F) B) and D)

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Most of the time, a profit motive eliminates discriminatory behavior from a market; however, a discriminatory wage gap can persist even if the firm owners only care about profit if there is

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customer d...

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If firms are competitive, then labor-market discrimination


A) cannot exist in either the short run or the long run.
B) will be more of a problem than if the market were monopolistic or imperfectly competitive.
C) likely will not be a long-run problem unless customers exhibit discriminatory preferences or government maintains discriminatory policies.
D) likely will be more of a problem in the long run than in the short run due to the zero-profit condition that characterizes long-run equilibrium for competitive firms.

E) A) and D)
F) A) and C)

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Cheryl is a professor at a local university. She hired a student from the university to babysit for her children and paid the student a wage higher than the typical wage paid to babysitters in her area to ensure the babysitter's reliability and that attention is paid to her children. What is the name for this above-equilibrium wage?

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Human capital is


A) an important determinant of wages, but it does not affect the production of goods and services.
B) an important determinant of wages, and it affects the production of goods and services.
C) a specific type of physical capital made by humans rather than machines.
D) very different from physical capital in that physical capital represents an investment, while human capital does not represent an investment.

E) A) and C)
F) All of the above

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The theory of education that states firms use educational attainment as a way of sorting between high-ability and low-ability workers is called

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Tom, the manager and owner of a small company, believes in the signaling theory of education, not the human capital theory. As such, Tom would be most likely to agree with which of the following quotes?


A) "We encourage our employees to enroll in night classes to improve their on-the-job productivity."
B) "We encourage our employees to participate in online seminars to learn new skills."
C) "We pay higher wages to employees who have MBAs because, on average, their job performance is better than similar employees who do not have MBAs."
D) "When we interview prospective employees at job fairs, we are looking for college graduates because they have the determination and follow-through to finish what they start."

E) All of the above
F) A) and B)

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If an employer's behavior is supportive of the theory of efficiency wages, the employer would


A) raise wages in an effort to increase worker effort.
B) raise wages in an effort to increase worker turnover.
C) decrease wages in an effort to increase worker effort.
D) decrease wages in an effort to increase worker turnover.

E) All of the above
F) A) and B)

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Suppose that a college student receives an offer for a summer internship with a stock brokerage firm. Unfortunately for the student, the internship is unpaid. Is it ever economically beneficial to accept an unpaid job?


A) Yes, because the experience gained during the internship would increase the student's human capital.
B) No, because the opportunity cost is too high.
C) No, because the student is signaling to future employers that he or she is willing to accept low wages.
D) Yes, because accepting an unpaid job signals to future employers that the student has stable personal finances.

E) A) and B)
F) None of the above

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Of the theories listed below, which do the best job of explaining why educated people are paid more than uneducated people?


A) human-capital and price-fixing
B) human-capital and signaling
C) wage-differential and signaling
D) wage-differential and compensating-differentials

E) A) and B)
F) B) and C)

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Economists who study labor markets have discovered that


A) only about 5 percent of wage differences are related to chance.
B) ability is not difficult to measure but is largely insignificant in explaining wage differences.
C) work effort is difficult to measure but is not likely to contribute much to an explanation of wage differences.
D) ability, effort, and chance are likely to be significant contributors to wage differences.

E) C) and D)
F) A) and B)

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Which of the following statements is not correct?


A) If a firm discriminates by paying short workers less than tall workers, the firm may be able to compete in the market if the firm's customers also prefer taller workers to shorter workers.
B) If the government passes regulations that prevent shorter workers from working in higher paying jobs, taller workers may continue to earn higher wages than shorter workers.
C) Government regulation that prohibits discrimination is economically necessary because market forces support discrimination.
D) Competitive markets will eliminate discrimination in wages over time unless customer preferences also reflect discrimination and/or government intervention promotes discrimination.

E) None of the above
F) All of the above

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Why would a wage differential due to discrimination in hiring be unlikely to persist in a competitive labor market?


A) There is a cost advantage for firms that do not discriminate.
B) Workers who are victims of discrimination will eventually drop out of the labor market.
C) Competing firms will hire fewer of the workers who are temporarily victimized by discrimination.
D) Discrimination cannot exist in markets.

E) C) and D)
F) None of the above

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Which of the following theories would suggest that attending school does not improve productivity but that high-ability people are more likely to stay in school?


A) physical-capital theory
B) human-capital theory
C) signaling theory
D) neoclassical theory

E) B) and D)
F) A) and C)

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Which of the following is least likely to be the reason women are underrepresented in the economics profession?


A) labor market discrimination
B) the choice of women to select other occupations
C) cultural bias in primary and secondary education
D) the inability of women to solve problems in economics

E) All of the above
F) None of the above

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Which of the following statements is not correct?


A) If the signaling theory of education is correct, additional schooling does not affect worker productivity but rather signals a correlation between natural ability and education.
B) The theory of efficiency wages suggests that firms pay higher wages to workers in order to induce workers to be more productive.
C) Discrimination against workers of a certain race or ethnicity is often in conflict with a firm's desire to maximize profits.
D) The theory of compensating wage differentials reflects the different skills, abilities, and productivity of workers.

E) A) and D)
F) B) and C)

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The theory of efficiency wages suggests that firms may pay above-equilibrium wages


A) to reduce employee turnover.
B) to prevent unions from recruiting members.
C) to reduce the need for minimum wage laws.
D) to increase the demand for better-skilled workers.

E) C) and D)
F) B) and D)

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