ECON 2010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Market Failure, Microeconomics, Unemployment Benefits

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

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

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Question 51 pts

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

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Question 61 pts

The unemployment rate is understated due to:

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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.

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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.

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Question 91 pts

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

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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?

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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.

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Question 141 pts

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

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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

[ 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

Structural

[ 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

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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?

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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.

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Question 181 pts

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

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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.

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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

1. A financial crisis coupled with a recession seems to affect the severity and duration of the recession. How?

a. Financial crises tend to make recessions milder and shorter
b. Financial crises tend to make recessions milder, but last longer
c. Financial crises tend to make recessions longer and more severe
d. Financial crises tend to make recessions more severe, but shorter

2. The end€ of the Great Depression troubled a lot of people. Why?

a. It lasted so long that people actually missed it
b. It disappeared without any warning
c. It ended so slowly that the public thought that was no improvement
d. It never really ended; it was merely interrupted by World War II
e. President Roosevelt said that he had ended the depression, but he was lying
f. The end of the depression coincided with massive inflation

3.

Suppose that you have been asked to compare the problem of bank failures during the Obama recession with the past. How does the number of bank failures in the Obama recession compare to the 1930s or the Reagan recession?

a. the Obama recession had far more bank failures than the Great Depression or the Reagan recession
b. the bank failures of the 1930s were the worst, but the Obama recession was second only to the Great Depression in bank failures
c. bank failures were more numerous in the 1930s and in the Reagan recession
d. many banks failed in the 1930s and the current situation is not quite as bad, but there were no bank failures in the Reagan recession

4.

When we reach full employment in the U.S. economy today, what will the unemployment rate be?

a. 0%

b. 3%

c. 4% - 4.5%

d. 5.0% - 6.0%

e. 10%

5. Which type of unemployment includes a person who has given up looking for a job because he thinks it is just a waste of time?

a. frictional unemployment
b. structural unemployment
c. cyclical unemployment
d. seasonal unemployment
e. voluntary unemployment
f. discouraged workers

6.

Choose the answer that fills-in both blanks: How good was the original fit€ of the data for the Phillips Curve for the U.S. economy in the 1960s? __________ How good was the fit of the data for the Phillips Curve for the U.S. economy after the 1960s? ______________
a. adequate/okay
b. adequate/very good
c. okay/not as good, but still okay
d. adequate/not good
e. very good/even better
f. very good/okay
g. very good/not good
h. very good/very good

7.

In the 20th century, only two countries stood out in terms of robust job creation. The two countries were:

a. China and Japan
b. Germany and France
c. The U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
d. The U.S. and Japan
e. The U.S. and Germany

8. It is very common to see the unemployment rate actually increase as the economy begins to recover (i.e., after the trough). What causes the unemployment rate to rise at this time?

a. structural unemployment increases
b. cyclical unemployment increases
c. seasonal unemployment increases
d. voluntary unemployment increases
e. discouraged workers return to the workforce

9.

Danish labor market reforms are referenced in the Commentary. These reforms attempt to make it easier for firms to hire and fire workers. Which of these two are easier to hire or easier to fire is the primary or critical dimension of the reforms?
a. hire workers
b. fire workers
c. neither hire nor fire workers; the reforms have nothing to do with either

10.

The original Phillips Curve depicted by Almarin Phillips sought to show a relationship between unemployment and _______________. Subsequent versions of the Phillips Curve usually depict a relationship between unemployment and ___________________.
a. real GDP / nominal GDP
b. nominal GDP / real GDP
c. changes in wages/changes in prices (inflation)
d. changes in prices/changes in wages
e. changes in employment/changes in new jobs created
f. changes in new jobs created / changes in employment
g. changes in hat sizes/changes in dress sizes