Labor Economics ECON 315 Lesson 7, 8, and 9 Concept Quizzes – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Unlock answers
question
The equilibrium model of migration predicts that
answer
worker flows tend to equalize the overall value of the job package offered in each region.
question
Immigration and outsourcing both reflect
answer
competition among workers.
question
An increase in his or her expected career length will make a worker
answer
more likely to change jobs.
question
The earnings of immigrants, when compared to those of similar native workers, start out
answer
below those of the native workers, but increase more rapidly
question
For workers who emigrate to the United States from a country with a less equal distribution of earnings,
answer
the largest potential gain exists for unskilled workers
question
When considering competition in the labor market due to immigrating workers, the substitution effect
answer
describes a situation where the immigrating workers are direct substitutes for domestic workers.
question
If skilled and unskilled labor are gross substitutes and if an influx of unskilled immigrants drives down the wages paid to unskilled workers, it will also
answer
decrease the wage of skilled workers
question
Which of the following would decrease the mobility of workers within a nation?
answer
an increase in the percent of jobs that are unionized, laws requiring a mandatory waiting period before persons moving into a community qualify for welfare benefits, and laws making it more costly for employers to fire workers
question
Those who are willing to immigrate over a long distance and at a high cost are more likely to
answer
have low discount rates.
question
The costs associated with moving do NOT include
answer
the risk-return trade-off.
question
In an industry, a unit of output can be produced by 3 unskilled workers or by 1 skilled worker. From this information, skilled and unskilled workers are
answer
substitutes-in-production.
question
Assuming the demand curve for labor does not shift, a given inflow of immigrants will lower wages more when
answer
Neither the labor demand curve being more elastic nor the domestic labor supply curve being more elastic will cause the wage to fall more.
question
Which of the following is NOT an explanation for return and repeat migration?
answer
Family members in a family decision model of migration prefer being in the same location.
question
An increase in the number of immigrants causes
answer
the labor supply curve to shift to the right.
question
When considering competition in the labor market due to immigrating workers, the scale effect
answer
describes a situation where the immigrating workers are complements to domestic workers and lead to increased specialization.
question
Under competitive conditions, immigration does NOT tend to
answer
lower the wages of immigrant workers.
question
An individual is more likely to migrate, ceteris paribus,
answer
the lesser the length of the training time.
question
Increased border control on the US-Mexico border directly affects
answer
the cost of migration
question
The returns to immigration are generally larger for people
answer
who have greater educational attainment
question
A firm could profitably pay for a worker's general training if
answer
the training program would also serve as a screening device
question
Which of the following will not destroy at least part of the returns to the firm's investment in specific human capital?
answer
off-the-job training
question
Which of the following is not an example of an industry-specific skill?
answer
literacy
question
If a firm offers specific training to its workers, when the training is over,
answer
workers will most likely be paid a wage that is less than their marginal product.
question
Initially, when a firm hires a fourth worker, its wage rate goes from $80 a worker to $90. The marginal revenue product of the fourth worker is $100. Then the government imposes a minimum wage of $90 a worker. If the firm now hires the fourth worker, its profits
answer
will increase by $10.
question
The marginal product of a new worker is 80 units and the marginal expense of a new worker is $80. The marginal product of hiring current workers another hour is 10 units and the marginal expense of hiring current workers another hour is $12. If the firm needs extra hours of work (assuming the work could be done by either the new or current workers), it should
answer
hire new workers
question
Which of the following is definitely NOT a quasi-fixed cost of labor?
answer
overtime pay
question
Suppose that mobility costs incurred by workers are low. In this circumstance, the best way to provide incentives for on-the-job training is for
answer
employers and employees to share the costs of the investment
question
Compared with general training, specific training will lead to a life-cycle earnings pattern that is
answer
flatter.
question
Employment protection policies adopted in many European countries tend to
answer
reduce layoffs and reduce job creation
question
Use of temporary-help agencies
answer
requires employers to pay more per hour than if they hired the worker directly.
question
Two employers, A and B, pay the same wage but Employer A faces a more inelastic supply curve of labor than Employer B. Both firms are monopsonies but have similar outputs and technologies. Other things being the same, then in the long run
answer
Employer A will employ more capital than Employer B.
question
All else equal, a firm will prefer to hire a worker who will
answer
stay at the firm for a long period of time
question
A firm employs 10 workers at a weekly wage of $500. If it employs an eleventh worker, it has to raise all of its workers wage to $520. The eleventh worker adds $750 a week to revenues. If the firm hires the eleventh worker, its weekly profits will
answer
go up by $30.
question
Under the most basic assumptions of the human capital model, ____ are more willing to pay for general training and ____ more willing to pay for specific investments.
answer
workers, firms
question
The evidence suggests that on-the-job training increases with all but which of the following?
answer
layoffs
question
An increase in quasi-fixed costs would probably lead to a(n) ________ in the number of employees hired and a(n) ________ in the number of overtime hours worked.
answer
decrease; increase
question
Suppose the wages of both high school and college graduates decrease by $2,000 per year. In response to the opportunity cost, the number of people attending college will consequently ________.
answer
increase
question
Which of the following is a cost of going to college?
answer
not the cost of living in a dorm and not the cost of college cafeteria food
question
Which of the following is NOT an investment in human capital?
answer
buying stock in a company that publishes textbooks
question
Present-oriented people discount future earnings ________ forward-looking people.
answer
at a higher rate than
question
Increased grants and loans for college expenses would ________ the number of college graduates, while ________ wages paid to college graduates.
answer
increase; decreasing
question
Which of the following will increase the value of attaining an education in the human capital framework?
answer
increased expected working lifespan
question
Workers with relatively high levels of natural ability are quite likely to attend college. This can cause ________ bias when estimating educational returns because ________.
answer
an upward; ability increases earnings
question
Fewer women leaving the labor market to raise children has yielded age-earnings profiles which are ________ than they were about twenty years ago.
answer
no different
question
The psychic costs of college are usually lowest for
answer
students with relatively high ability.
question
If both the demand for and the supply of college graduates shift to the left, then the equilibrium wage would ________ and the number of college graduates would ________.
answer
change ambiguously; decrease
question
John is trying to decide whether to go to college or to start working right out of high school. College as an investment is most likely justified when ________ is greater than the cost of going to college.
answer
the present value of the difference between what John would earn as a college graduate and what he would earn as a high school graduate
question
Firms use signals to estimate productivity so that they can
answer
save on the costs of more accurate estimates.
question
Women generally receive ________ on-the-job training than men, causing their age-earnings profiles to be ________ than those of men.
answer
less; flatter
question
Human capital is:
answer
any investment in a worker's skills.
question
Students who attend college because they enjoy the lifestyle and freedom are treating college
answer
as a consumption good.
question
Which of the following would likely, in the long run, reduce the observed rate of return from going to college?
answer
Educational reforms cause going to college to be fun and enjoyable.
Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New