Exam 11: Labour Markets and the Distribution of Income

Which of the following government programs are likely to aid the rich more than the poor?

Several Members of Parliament have been greatly concerned about the fairness of salaries in the marketplace. They are contemplating enacting a law that would fix the wage rate at WA. Their aides have returned with the results of an investigation into the matter, as portrayed in Graphs A and B. FIGURE 11-1 -Refer to Figure 11-1. If the law were not enacted, what would the prevailing wage rate and quantity of labour at equilibrium in the market for computer software programmers be?

In the Nanaimo coalfields in British Columbia in the 1870s, miners of Chinese descent received lower wages than miners of British and Scottish descent. Although the wages of both groups tended to rise over time, the gap persisted until after WWI. Both groups of miners did the same work and were equally productive. What do economists call this pay differential?

The greatest disparities in income are found in industrialized countries like Canada and the United States.

A decrease in the price of a firm's output will shift the firm's demand curve for labour to the right, other things being equal.

Which of the following will contribute to lower wage rates for labour?

Other things being equal, if the quantity of labour supplied is less than the quantity of labour demanded, wages will tend to fall.

If poverty is defined as spending 20 percent more of after-tax income on food, clothing, and shelter than the average Canadian, then it cannot be eradicated through economic growth.

A monopsony is a market with a single buyer.

Which of the following best describes labour unions and the wage rate?

If the demand for hockey tickets increases, why might one expect the salaries of hockey players to increase?

Which of the following is NOT expected to increase the marginal product of labour?

Since the 1950s, the share of measured income received by the lowest fifth of families has risen.

Which of the following best describes the makeup of labour force participation in Canada?

How is a monopsony defined?

Does compulsory licensing of physicians benefit health-care patients alone?

What is an alternative to the quota rules implicit in employment equity laws?

Which of the following will NOT result in a rightward shift of the market supply curve for labour?

Union workers earn approximately 10-25 percent more than otherwise identical nonunion workers do.

Which of the following government programs is most likely to reduce relative poverty?