Deck 11: Discrimination I: Theory

Question 1

If employers as a group hold negative stereotypes concerning the productivity of minority workers,these stereotypes may:

A) break the connection between market and premarket discrimination.
B) transform into a positive coefficient of employer discrimination.
C) be found to be false in the long run.
D) be self-confirming because these beliefs diminish the incentives for minority workers to accumulate costly skills.
E) be driven out of existence in the long run.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The coefficient of market discrimination is NOT:

A) equal to the gap between the employment of White and Black workers.
B) equal to the gap between the wages of White and Black workers.
C) equal to the proportionate gap between the employment of White and Black workers.
D) equal to the proportionate gap between the wages of White and Black workers.
E) a measure of the wage effects of discrimination.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a prediction of Becker's model of discrimination?

A) In the short run,equilibrium wage discrimination is determined by the tastes of the average employer.
B) A firm hires a Black worker only if the wage is greater than the coefficient of employer discrimination.
C) In the short run,equilibrium wage discrimination may be greater than zero.
D) Over the long run,competitive forces are predicted to eliminate the effects of employer prejudice.
E) The coefficient of employer discrimination dictates whom an employer will hire.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

One of the key problems in the economics of discrimination is:

A) decomposing the differences into one part that reflects inherent productivity differences and another that reflects discrimination.
B) determining what is an observable characteristic.
C) defining discrimination.
D) reconciling different measures of discrimination.
E) distinguishing between premarket and market discrimination.

Question 5

In a model of job search with search frictions,it is difficult and time-consuming for workers and job vacancies to find each other.In this environment,the presence of prejudiced employers has a effect on minorities' wages.The extent of the wage discrimination depends on the prejudice of the employer.

A) negative;average
B) negative;marginal
C) positive;average
D) positive;marginal
E) neutral;average

Question 6

According to Becker's theory of consumer prejudice,

A) White customers suffer a utility loss whenever they acquire products that are served by Black workers but do not when they acquire products that are produced by Black workers.
B) consumer discrimination leads to workers who are employed in completely segregated firms.
C) White consumers are willing to pay less for a good produced by a White worker than they are willing to pay for a good produced by a Black worker.
D) White customers suffer a utility loss whenever they acquire products that are produced or served by Black workers.
E) the wage effects of discrimination will not be zero in the long run.

Question 7

discrimination occurs when impediments hinder certain groups of equally materially productive individuals from entering particular occupations.When the compensation of equally materially productive workers depends upon their group affiliations,discrimination is occurring.

A) Occupational;earnings
B) Market;premarket
C) Earnings;premarket
D) Earnings;premarket
E) Premarket;earnings

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of labor-market discrimination?

A) A man who makes 5 widgets an hour is paid a higher wage than a man who makes 2 widgets an hour.
B) Tim and Alexis are equally popular and productive bartenders but Tim makes $2 per hour more than Alexis.
C) Minorities are accepted into college at lower rates than non-minorities.
D) Only workers with college degrees are interviewed for a job as a high school science teacher.
E) Hannah works at an ice cream shop and makes more money in tips than Hillary because Hannah is nicer to the customers.

Question 9

In a model of job search with search frictions,it is difficult and time-consuming for workers and job vacancies to find each other.In this environment,the presence of prejudiced employers has a effect on minorities' bargaining positions and a effect on minorities' wages.

A) negative;negative
B) negative;positive
C) positive;negative
D) positive;positive
E) neutral;negative

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a correct statement about the coefficient of employee discrimination?

A) It captures the psychic reduction in utility that a prejudiced worker experiences as a result of working with minority workers.
B) If all White workers are prejudiced,employers will be racially segregated.
C) A given worker is unprejudiced if his coefficient of employee discrimination approaches zero.
D) The effect of this coefficient on market wages is expected to be zero in the long run.
E) If all White workers are prejudiced,there will be market wage discrimination.

Question 11

Why might imperfect information lead employers to engage in discrimination?

A) Imperfect information does not actually lead employers to engage in discrimination because employers may rely on screening and signaling in the presence of imperfect information.
B) In the long run,firms do not learn from their mistakes.
C) In the long run,the wage effects of discrimination will be zero.
D) In the long run,firms will fail to form correct expectations if consumers are discriminatory.
E) Competitive pressures force employers to use the information at their disposal efficiently.

Question 12

Why can consumer prejudice lead to persistent wage discrimination?

A) Consumer prejudice leads to employee and employer prejudice.
B) Majority consumers view the goods produced by the majority as different in kind than the goods produced by the minority.
C) Consumer prejudice will cease to exist in the long run.
D) Consumer discrimination leads to complete workplace segregation.
E) Different goods cannot command different prices in perpetuity.

Question 13

A is an attribute a worker can vary while a is an attribute that is predetermined for each individual but which varies across individuals.

A) trait;signal
B) signal;trait
C) signal;screen
D) trait;screen
E) discrimination coefficient;discrimination factor

Question 14

Which of the following is true of the coefficient of employer discrimination?

A) It is the severity of discrimination that ultimately prevails in the marketplace.
B) It approaches infinity if an employer is not prejudiced.
C) It translates the non-pecuniary taste for discrimination to monetary terms.
D) It is equal to infinity if a worker experiences discrimination.
E) It is less than zero if an employer is not prejudiced.

Question 15

What is one of the reasons that the effects of market and premarket discrimination are intertwined?

A) The workers who are most likely to be discriminated against have,on average,the parents that most likely faced discrimination in the past.
B) The anticipation of future discrimination affects current actions.
C) Children's outcomes are independent of their parents' characteristics.
D) A worker can suffer from both occupational and earnings discrimination.
E) Premarket discrimination operates through more than one channel.

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a channel through which premarket discrimination operates?

A) Premarket discrimination can adversely affect a minority's parents.
B) Premarket discrimination can operate through the formal schooling system.
C) Premarket discrimination can hinder certain groups from entering particular occupations.
D) Premarket discrimination can have effects that are lifelong.
E) Premarket discrimination can operate through neighborhood effects.

Question 17

Labor-market discrimination is defined as:

A) a situation in which persons are treated unequally on the basis of an observable characteristic.
B) a situation in which equally materially productive persons are treated unequally on the basis of an observable characteristic.
C) a situation in which equally materially productive persons are treated unequally on the basis of an observable or unobservable characteristic.
D) a worker's decision of which industry to enter.
E) a situation in which persons are treated unequally on the basis of an observable or nobservable characteristic.

Question 18

Which of the following is true of the peer effects literature?

A) Students are homogeneous in their abilities.
B) Students can only use their educational choices to speak to the community at large.
C) Students use low levels of education to signal their commitment to the community.
D) The presence of gangs in crime-prone neighborhoods is thought to increase educational attainment.
E) More able students complete more year of education.

Question 19

Which of the following is an example of statistical discrimination?

A) A firm will not hire any laborer over the age of 50 because of the firm's belief that most workers over 50 are not able to do the job.
B) A restaurant will not hire a Black server because it fears that its customers are discriminatory.
C) A worker chooses not to accept a job offer because the owner of the firm is an expatriate.
D) A school hires only teachers who pass a PRAXIS test of pedagogical knowledge.
E) Only applications from college-educated workers are considered for an opening for CFO.

Question 20

What is a factor which may cause majority workers to receive a positive wage differential for working with minority workers in the presence of positive employee discrimination?

A) population ratios
B) completely segregated firms
C) homogeneous workers
D) heterogeneous workers
E) a coefficient of employee discrimination equal to zero