Deck 24: Appendix: Earnings Differences Between Men and Women

Question 1

Which of the following is true about those graduating with college degrees?

A)The proportion of college degrees earned by women has been declining in recent decades.
B)The proportion of college degrees earned by women has been virtually constant during the last four decades.
C)In 2008, only about 42 percent of those graduating from college were women.
D)In 2008, only about 42 percent of those graduating from college were men.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Between 1960 and 1980, the female/male annual earnings ratio of full-time workers ____. Between 1980 and 2009, the female/male annual earnings ratio of full-time workers ____.

A)changed very little; fell
B)changed very little; rose
C)fell; changed very little
D)rose; changed very little

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following factors are likely to lead to an increase in the female/male earnings ratio in the future?

A)As the labor force participation of women increases, their years of work experience will become more similar to men.
B)In recent years, a higher proportion of women have been preparing for careers in the professions.
C)As the proportion of families headed by a female parent increases, the average hours worked per week of female employees will decline.
D)Both a and b are correct.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is true?

A)The earnings differential between men and women who never married is considerably smaller than the differential between married men and married women.
B)After adjusting for education, age, language, and location, the earnings of women are almost identical with the earnings of men.
C)Between 1980 and 2000, the female/male annual earnings ratio of full-time workers was virtually unchanged.
D)The hourly earnings of women were approximately 60 percent of their male counterparts in 2009.

Question 5

Which of the following is true?

A)Employers who discriminate against women will have lower costs than rival firms that hire employees strictly on the basis of merit (productivity).
B)If employers can hire equally productive female employees at a lower wage than males, the profit motive gives them a strong incentive to do so.
C)The female/male earnings ratio is higher for persons who are married than for those who remain single.
D)Both a and c are true.

Question 6

Since the 1970s, the percentage of women preparing for careers in professions has been ____, while the female/male earnings ratio has been ____ during this same period.

A)rising; declining
B)rising; increasing
C)falling; increasing
D)falling; declining

Question 7

When employment discrimination results from the personal prejudices of employers, economic theory suggests that

A)it is costless for employers to discriminate against groups they do not like.
B)the wages of employees who are discriminated against will rise.
C)an employer who discriminates will experience higher costs.
D)discrimination by an employer will reduce production costs since the employer can pay lower wages.

Question 8

In 1961, ____ percent of college degrees were earned by women.

A)19
B)29
C)39
D)51

Question 9

When female/male earnings differentials are adjusted for age, education, language, and locational characteristics, the

A)differential between the earnings of males and those of females increases substantially.
B)differential between the earnings of males and those of females does not change much.
C)corrected earnings of males are equal to those of similar females.
D)corrected earnings of females are greater than those of similar males.

Question 10

If an employer could really hire women who were willing and able to do the same work as men for 20 percent less, profit-seeking employers would have

A)a strong incentive to hire more women, which would shrink this differential.
B)little incentive to hire women, since hiring men would still be more profitable.
C)a strong incentive to hire fewer women, and this would reduce the wage gap between men and women.
D)a strong incentive to hire fewer women, which would expand the wage gap between men and women to an even higher level.

Question 11

Which of the following is true?

A)Due to anti-employment discrimination legislation that was passed in the early 1960s, there was a large increase in the earnings of women relative to men in the 1960s and 1970s.
B)The female/male earnings ratio for full-time workers rose substantially between 1980 and 2010.
C)The number of women preparing for careers as professionals has declined during the last two decades.
D)In 2010, only about 42 percent of those completing college degrees were women.

Question 12

Which of the following is true?

A)Employers who discriminate against women will have lower costs than rival firms that hire employees strictly on the basis of merit (productivity).
B)If employers can hire equally productive female employees at a lower wage than males, the profit motive gives them a strong incentive to do so.
C)The female/male earnings ratio is higher for persons who are married than for those who remain single.
D)Both a and c are true.

Question 13

Women earn less on average than men. Which of the following would be the logical conclusion?

A)Women must be the victim of employment discrimination.
B)Women must be less productive.
C)Men must be more highly motivated and materialistic.
D)Without consideration of preferences and productivity factors, differences in unadjusted mean earnings do not necessarily reflect employment discrimination.

Question 14

Between 1960 and 1980, the labor force participation rate of women ____. Between 1980 and 2009, the labor force participation rate of women ____.

A)fell; fell
B)rose; rose
C)fell; rose
D)rose; fell

Question 15

Which of the following would constitute the strongest evidence of employment discrimination against female employees?

A)The average wage of female workers is lower than the average wage of males.
B)The average wage of female employees is lower than the average wage of males with similar productive characteristics.
C)The mean number of years of schooling of female workers is lower than that of males.
D)The average hours worked by female employees is less than the average hours worked by males.

Question 16

The earnings difference between men who have never been married and women is

A)significantly less than the earnings difference between married men and women.
B)about the same as the earnings difference between married men and women.
C)significantly more than the earnings difference between married men and women.
D)modestly more than the earnings difference between married men and women.

Question 17

Since 1980, the female/male annual earnings ratio of full-time workers has been ____, while the labor force participation rate of women has been ____ during this same period.

A)rising; declining
B)rising; increasing
C)falling; increasing
D)falling; declining

Question 18

During the last two decades, the number of women preparing for careers as professionals has ____, and the proportion of those completing college degrees has ____.

A)increased; decreased
B)increased; increased
C)decreased; decreased
D)decreased; increased

Question 19

When employment discrimination results from the personal prejudices of employers, economic theory suggests that

A)competitive forces will tend to reduce discrimination.
B)the wages of employees who are discriminated against will rise.
C)an employer who discriminates will have the same costs as those who do not discriminate.
D)discrimination by an employer will reduce production costs since the employer can pay lower wages.

Question 20

If a firm refuses to hire any females due to a personal prejudice, its profits will

A)increase markedly.
B)decrease.
C)not be affected.
D)increase slightly.

Question 21

Women earn less on average than men. Which of the following would be the logical conclusion?

A)Women must be the victim of employment discrimination.
B)Women must be less productive.
C)Men must be more highly motivated and materialistic.
D)Without consideration of preferences and productivity factors, differences in unadjusted mean earnings do not necessarily reflect employment discrimination.

Question 22

When employment discrimination results from the personal prejudices of employers, economic theory suggests that

A)employers who discriminate will have lower production costs.
B)the wages of employees who are discriminated against will rise.
C)employers who discriminate will have the same production costs as those who do not discriminate.
D)employers who discriminate will have lower profits.

Question 23

The F/M earnings ratio for full-time workers

A)has been steadily declining.
B)has been roughly constant since 1980.
C)has increased significantly since 1980.
D)increased until 1980, but it has declined steadily during the last two decades.

Question 24

During the decade following the passage of the 1962 equal pay legislation and the 1964 civil rights legislation,

A)the male/female wage differential became much smaller.
B)the male/female wage differential became much larger.
C)there was little change in the earnings of women relative to men.
D)the educational choices of women and men became less similar.

Question 25

Which of the following would tend to cause the observed earnings of women to be lower than the observed earnings of men?

A)The average woman has fewer years of schooling than the average man.
B)The average number of hours worked is smaller for women than men.
C)Women are more likely to prefer jobs that have more flexible hours.
D)All of the above would be causes.

Question 26

The earnings difference between single men and women is

A)significantly more than the earnings difference between married men and women.
B)significantly less than the earnings difference between married men and women.
C)about the same as the earnings difference between married men and women.
D)none of the above.

Question 27

In the future, the earnings differential between women and men is expected to

A)widen.
B)become smaller.
C)remain about the same as it is now.
D)become smaller over the next five years then begin to widen again.

Question 28

If the wages of equally qualified women were really 20 percent less than those of men,

A)profit-seeking employers would have a strong incentive to hire more women, resulting in this differential falling.
B)profit-seeking employers would generally find that hiring men was still more profitable.
C)employers would still be reluctant to hire women because they generally care little about their profits.
D)profit-seeking employers would have a strong incentive to hire fewer women, resulting in this differential rising even further.

Question 29

Which of the following is true?

A)The proportion of college degrees earned by women has been virtually unchanged during the last four decades.
B)There was a substantial increase in the earnings of women relative to men in the 1960s and 1970s following the passage of legislation prohibiting employment discrimination against women.
C)The number of women preparing for careers as professionals has declined during the last two decades.
D)In 2010, 57 percent of those completing college degrees were women.

Question 30

When employment discrimination results from the personal prejudices of employers,

A)only legal requirements will be able to reduce the amount of employment discrimination.
B)competitive markets will generally tend to promote discrimination as firms try to lower their costs to increase their profits.
C)competitive markets will tend to make it costly for employers to discriminate, reducing the amount of discrimination.
D)none of the above will be true.

Question 31

The share of college degrees earned by women was ____ in 2010 compared to ____ in 1961.

A)50 percent; 50 percent
B)47 percent; 30 percent
C)57 percent; 39 percent
D)51 percent; 48 percent

Question 32

In 2010, ____ percent of college degrees were earned by women.

A)27
B)37
C)47
D)57

Question 33

The hourly earnings of full-time working women were a little more than what percent of those of their male counterparts in 2007?

A)60 percent
B)70 percent
C)80 percent
D)90 percent

Question 34

The proportion of degrees earned by women in which of the following fields has increased since 1970?

A)economics
B)engineering
C)architecture
D)all of the above

Question 35

Given the traditional responsibility for monetary earnings in the family, men were more likely than women to

A)have continuous labor force participation.
B)move in order to get a higher-paying job.
C)accept jobs with long hours, uncertain schedules, and out-of-town travel.
D)do all of the above.

Question 36

As a result of the educational and career choices of women becoming more like those of men during the last two decades, the earnings of women have

A)risen toward those of men.
B)fallen relative to those of men.
C)remained relatively unchanged relative to those of men.
D)fallen in clerical occupations, but risen in business careers.

Question 37

Which of the following is true?

A)Employers who discriminate against women will have lower costs than rival firms that hire employees strictly on the basis of merit (productivity).
B)On average, the number of hours worked per year by women in the labor force is greater than the hours worked by men in the labor force.
C)The female/male earnings ratio is substantially higher for never married persons than for those married with a spouse present.
D)As the proportion of women preparing for careers as professionals has increased in recent decades, the earnings of women have declined relative to those for men.

Question 38

As the proportion of women preparing for careers as professionals increases,

A)their years of work experience will become more similar to men.
B)the female/male earnings ratio will rise.
C)their level of human capital will become more similar to men.
D)all of the above.

Question 39

In 2007, the labor force participation rate of women was

A)20.6 percent.
B)40.6 percent.
C)60.6 percent.
D)80.6 percent.

Question 40

During the last two or three decades, the educational and career choices of women have become

A)more like those of men, and the earnings of women have declined relative to those of men.
B)more like those of men, and the earnings of women have increased relative to those of men.
C)less like those of men, and the earnings of women have increased relative to those of men.
D)less like those of men, and the earnings of women have declined relative to those of men.

Question 41

In 1964 civil rights legislation was passed

A)that made it illegal for women to make less than the minimum wage.
B)that created the No Woman Left Behind Commission.
C)prohibiting employers from discriminating based on race and gender.
D)requiring fields traditionally dominated by male workers to hire more female candidates.

Question 42

Traditionally, men have been more willing to accept jobs that

A)required continuous employment in the labor force.
B)require relocation if necessary to get a higher paying job.
C)have long working hours.
D)All of the above are correct.

Question 43

In the years ahead we can expect the F/M earnings ratio to

A)remain constant.
B)continue to increase.
C)continue to increase until 2020, when the 'baby boom" generation retires" and then level off.
D)decline.

Question 44

Why is it NOT surprising that men make up the minority of college graduates?

A)Because of discrimination against women, men are able to get good jobs with only a high school degree.
B)Men are smarter than women and they do not need a higher education to be attractive to employers.
C)Given their greater physical strength, many men accept high-paying but physically demanding jobs instead of going to college.
D)Many men decide to pursue jobs in professional sports and this significantly reduces the number of males who go to college.

Question 45

Which of the following is true?

A)Due to anti-employment discrimination legislation that was passed in the early 1960s, there was a large increase in the earnings of women relative to men in the 1960s and 1970s.
B)The female/male earnings ratio for full-time workers has been virtually constant since 1980.
C)The number of women preparing for careers as professionals has increased substantially since the 1980s.
D)In recent years only about 40 percent of those completing college degrees were women.

Question 46

"If it were not for employment discrimination against women, the average earnings of men and women would be equal." Is this statement true or false?

Question 47

Evaluate the following: "Employers who discriminate against women will have lower costs than rival firms that hire employees strictly on the basis of merit (productivity)."