ECON 1BB3 Lecture 5: Unemployment and Its Natural Rate, and The Monetary System

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cerisegiraffe538

14 Jul 2015

School

McMaster University

Department

Economics

Course

ECON 1BB3

Professor

Bridget O' Shaughnessy

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ECON 1BB3 Full Course Notes

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Econ 1bb3: macroeconomics lecture 5: unemployment and its natural rate, and the. Labour market statistics: labour force (lf, total number of employed individuals (e) and unemployed individuals (u) Unemployment rate (ur: percentage of the lf that is unemployed, ur. Labour force participation rate (lfpr: percentage of the adult population in lf, lfpr = Graphs of the following: labour market, minimum wage, cyclical (disequilibrium) short-run unemployment, unions, efficiency wage theory. Fiscal agent and financial advisor to the government. Chapter 9: page 197, text mentions discouraged searchers" but in the course notes i talk about. Discouraged workers"; each of these concepts means the same thing. Unemployment is measured by the: labour force survey (lfs) Those working at a job part-time or full-time. Those not currently working but actively seeking work. Those who are in a mental institution. Labour force (lf) consists of: employed, and, unemployed individuals.

Related Questions

1.Assume that there was a 10 per cent increase in the price of all goods in 2010; if the base year is 2009, then the price index in 2010 will be Select one:

a. 1100. b. 200. c. 90. d. 110.

2.The value of your money income, in terms of buying goods and services, is referred to like your money's

a. transaction cost.

b. rigidity factor.

c. staying power.

d. purchasing power.

3. Unemployment that is caused by business recessions is called

a. frictional unemployment.

b. seasonal unemployment.

c. structural unemployment.

d. cyclical unemployment.

4.All of the following are examples of a flow EXCEPT

a. the current unemployment rate.

b. a person who is fired from a job.

c. an individual who voluntarily leaves the labour force.

d. a new entrant into the labour force.

5.Which one of these factors plays a role in determining the extent and duration of frictional unemployment?

a. the ease with which job seekers can obtain information about job openings

b. the degree to which the overall level of business activity fluctuates up and down

c. the extent to which government legislation requires firms to provide health insurance for employees

d. the education and skill levels of labour force participants

6.Since 1950, the labour force participation rate in the United States

a. of men and women both decreased.

b. of men decreased and for women increased.

c. of men increased and women decreased.

d. of men and women both increased.

7.Increases in the duration of unemployment may

a. reflect a general downturn in economic activity that depresses job openings.

b. increase the unemployment rate.

c. All of these.

d. increase the number of discouraged workers.

8. A discouraged worker is someone who

a. is unemployed.

b. has been fired.

c. is not in the labour force.

d. is employed.

9.In the United States, the wage floor legislated by the government below which it is generally illegal to pay workers is known as

a. the going wage.

b. the employment gap.

c. the minimum wage.

d. the wage ceiling.

10. Which of the following is an effect of a minimum wage law that establishes a ceiling wage below the current market-clearing wage?

a. Surplus labour, or unemployment

b. A decrease in the market-clearing wage

c. A decrease in the quantity of labour supplied

d. An increase in the quantity of labour supplied

11. Which group of individuals most likely benefits from rent controls?

a. low-income wage earners who fail to obtain rental housing

b. the unemployed who fail to obtain rental housing

c. single-parent families without savings or other financial assets who fail to obtain rental housing

d. upper-income professionals who rent apartments at the price ceiling rate

blushsardine736

Part 1:
Define each one as either employed, unemployed, not in the labor force, not in the adult population.

1) Felix is a 25-year-old professional tennis player. When he's not competing, he works as a coach at a local tennis club.
2) Janis is a 12-year-old student in Middle School. She babysitter younger brother and does other chores, for which her parents give her an allowance of $30 per week.
3) Rajiv is a 30-year-old who lost his job as a copyeditor for a local newspaper. He has spent the past few weeks out of work interviewing for other editing jobs. If his job search doesn'tsucceed after a few more weeks, he is thinking about going back to grad school.
4) Meagan is an 18-year-old who just graduated from high school. She is taking it easy this summer, relaxing by the pool with her friends, and volunteering part-time at a nursery.

Part 2:
The table below contains U.S. employment information from February 2008.
Civil Non-Institutional Population (16 years andolder)=232,809,00
Employed=145,993,000
Unemployed=7,318,000
Discouraged=396,000

The BLS has several measures of joblessness in addition to the official unemployment rate. One alternative in the U-4 measure of labor underutilized, which is calculated at the following:
U-4=(unemployed+discouraged)/(Labor force+discouraged)*100

Official Unemployment Rate=?
The U-4 measure of Labor underutilized=?

Part 3(connected to part 2):
The official unemployment rate and the U-4 measure of laborunderutilized are 2 different measures of joblessness in the economy. If the BLS were to include discouraged workers in the official unemployment rate, the reported unemployment rate would(increase/decrease).

Part 4:
Frictional Unemployment: 1.0%
Cyclical Unemployment: 0.8%
Structural Unemployment: 4.1%
Total Unemployment: 5.9%
Using the table above: True or False. The economy is currently at its natural rate of unemployment?

Part 5:
Define as either Structural, Frictional, or CyclicalUnemployment

1) Automobile demand as fallen during a recent recession, and Haley has been laid off from her job on the assembly line (I think it's cyclical but I'm not too sure)
2) Jack recently lost his job as a waiter at a local restaurant. A recent increase in minimum wage keeps local employers from adding more of the low-skill positions for which he qualifies, so he has been unable to find work. He continues to look for a job but reconsidering going back to school for vocational rate. (I think it's structural but not sure)

Part 6:
Suppose the world price of steel falls substantially. The demand for labor among steel production firms in Pennsylvania(increase/decrease). The labor demand among automobile producing firms in Michigan, for which steel is an input, will(increase/decrease). The unemployment resulting from such sectional shift in the economy is best described as(cyclical/structural/frictional/seasonal) unemployment.

I think it's decrease, decrease, and cyclical but not too sure.

Part 7:
Which of the following policies would reduce the natural rate of unemployment in the economy. More than one can apply.

1) An improvement to a widely used job-search website that allows it to match works to job vacancies more effectively.
2) Establishing government-run employment agencies to connect unemployed workers to job vacancies.
3) Offering recipients of unemployment insurance a cash bonus if they find a new job within a specified number of weeks

plumdog25

Severe unemployment is socially catastrophic. Mark all items below that can occur due to unemployment.

Increased Spending

Increased work hours for other family members

Increased Savings

Uninterrupted schooling

Increased Stress

Postponed medical care

Utilities cut off

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Question 51 pts

What years was the unemployment rate equal to or great than 10%?

1929-1933, 1937-1938, 1981-1982, 2007-2009

1928-1932, 1936-1937, 1980-1981, 2008-2010

1929-1933, 1936-1937, 1980-1981, 2007-2009

1928-1930, 1937-1938, 1981-1982, 2008-2010

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Question 61 pts

The unemployment rate is understated due to:

None of the above.

Part-time workers being counted as unemployed

Discouraged workers not counted in the labor force

Underemployed workers being counted an unemployed

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Question 71 pts

True or False. The Labor force participation rate is the percentage of adults in an economy who are either employed or who are unemployed and looking for a job.

True

False

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Question 81 pts

True or False. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the percentage of labor force unemployed utilizing the current population survey.

True

False

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Question 91 pts

Mark all that apply. Over time the unemployment rate.....

does not fluctuate over time

an upward or downward trend in unemployment rates is apparent

never falls all the way to zero

the timing of rises and falls in unemployment do not match the timing of upswings and downswings in the overall economy

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Question 101 pts

According to the graphs presented by the author in this chapter, which group had the highest unemployment rate in 2010?

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Question 111 pts

According to the information presented by the author in this chapter, which group had the highest unemployment rate in 2015?

New entrants

Re-entrants

Job Losers: non-temporary

Job Leavers

Job Losers: temporary

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Question 121 pts

According to the information presented by the author in this chapter, which group had the highest unemployment rate in 2015?

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Question 131 pts

True or False. An international comparison of unemployment rates across countries can be easily accomplished.

True

False

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Question 141 pts

Mark all that apply. Wages are sticky downward due to:

Implicit contract

Insider-outsider model

Efficiency Wage Theory

Adverse selection of wage cuts argument

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Question 151 pts

Match the word to the correct definition.

Cyclical

[ Choose ] unemployment that occurs as workers move between jobs unemployment that occurs because individuals lack skills valued by employers or the Geographic distribution of jobs changes unemployment closely tied to the business cycle, like higher unemployment during a recession

Frictional

Structural

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Question 161 pts

A financial analyst who quits his/her job in Chicago and is pursuing similar work in Arizona. What type of unemployment occurred?

Structural

Cyclical

Frictional

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Question 171 pts

True or False. With productivity low, average levels of unemployment will tend to be somewhat higher on average.

True

False

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Question 181 pts

True or False. Unemployment benefits in the United States are only federally controlled.

True

False

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Question 191 pts

True or False. The natural rate of unemployment will never be zero due to cyclical and frictional unemployment.

True

False

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Question 201 pts

True or False. Public policies to assist the unemployed as it relates to the supply side of the labor market affect how eager people are to find work

True

False

crimsoncrab890

ECON 1BB3 Lecture 5: Unemployment and Its Natural Rate, and The Monetary System

ECON 1BB3 Full Course Notes

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