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3. The labor supply and demand equations in Mexico and the US are

Ndmex = 180 – 2 Wmex and Nsmex = 60

NdUS = 540 – 4 WUS and NsUS = 180

(Notice: To make the exercise simple, we are assuming that the labor supply curves are perfectly vertical at 60 in México and at 180 in the US).

where Ndmex and NdUS are the number of workers demanded in Mexico and the US (in millions of workers). Wmex and WUS are the yearly wage rates in Mexico and the US (in thousands of dollars). Nsmex and NsUS are the number of workers supplied in Mexico and the US (in millions of workers).

a. What are the equilibrium wages in Mexico and the US.

b. Due to the higher US wages (see your answer to part a), millions of Mexican workers

want to emigrate to the US. However, the US inmigration authorities issue work

permits for only 10 million Mexican workers. How will this limited flow of Mexican

workers affect wages both in Mexico and the US (hint: if these flows take place, how

many workers will there be left in México, how many workers will there be in

the US, i.e., how do the labor supply curves shift?).

c. If an unlimited flow of Mexican workers is allowed (free movement of labor across

borders), at the end, wages will be equal in both countries (basically, in practice,

there will be just one unified labor market). What would be this wage? How many

Mexican workers will emigrate to the US? How many Mexican workers will be

demanded in the US? At the end, how many workers will there be in México and the

US? (Hint: Find the total labor supply and demand equations).

d. With the creation of a Free Trade Zone in North America between the US, Mexico and

Canada (the NAFTA agreement), the demand for Mexican food (produced mainly using

labor intensive techniques) will increase. This in turn, will increase the demand for

labor in Mexico. Asume that the new demand for labor in Mexico is:

Ndmex = 240 – 2 Wmex

Suppose that at the same time, the Mexican government sets a minimum wage of 90.

Discuss the effects of these two simultaneous events on the Mexican labor market.

e. The US authorities know that wages for unskilled labor in the US will go down with the

immigration of Mexican workers to the US. Suppose that the US authorities want to

keep US wages at 88. How many Mexican workers should be allowed to enter to the US

(i.e., how many work permits should the US government issue)?

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Joshua Stredder
Joshua StredderLv10
28 Sep 2019

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Related questions

1. Professor Gordon Hanson has a favorable view of illegal immigration because

Select one:

a. illegal immigration responds to the forces of the free market.

b. legal immigration is determined by a bureaucratic process which does not necessarily respond quickly to market forces.

c. spouses and children of skilled legal immigrants (who come with them) may not have marketable skills - so the case for legal immigration is weakened.

d. all of the above.

2. Gordon Hanson calculates gain/loss due to Mexican migration to the United States. He shows that because of Mexican migration to the United States:

Select one:

a. Original American workers lose 65% of US GDP.

b. Original American workers lose 1% of US GDP.

c. World income goes up by about 1.2% of US GDP.

d. Mexican wages fall by 0.03% of US GDP.

3. The Bracero Program refers to a temporary work visa program which is no longer in place. Under the program a large number of mostly Mexican farm workers could come and work in the Unirted States.

Select one:

True

False

4. This question may require some research. The US-Mexico Bracero Program was eventually opposed by:

Select one:

a. President Ronald Reagan.

b. Governor Rick Perry of Texas.

c. Cesar Chavez.

d. US Employers.

5. Which of the following is likely to contradict Samuel Huntington's idea that Mexican migrants to the US may not have an "Americano dream?"

Select one:

a. Mexican-American consumption pattern is not too different from the consumption pattern of rest of America.

b. Mexican immigrants who come from Mexican villages take longer to assimilate, but the educated Mexican immigrants assimilate readily.

c. Latinos are quite adept at climbing out of poverty. Sixty-eight percent of those who have been in this country 30 years, own their own homes.

d. A large number of Mexican-Americans join the US Army.

e. All of the above.

6. Which of the following would be called "Distributive Coalition" that prevents free entry and thereby creates deadweight losses?

Select one:

a. Racism

b. Casteism

c. Religious Fundamentalism

d. All of the above.

7. Which of the following events created a large number of refugees to the United States?

Select one:

a. The North Korean Famine of 1996

b. The Irish Potato Famine 1845-1850

c. The Chinese Famine 1958-1962

d. The Sudan Famine 1998

8. Approximately how many people in the world die every hour from hunger, malnutrition and starvation?

Select one:

a. 36

b. 3600

c. 3.6

d. 1000

9. According to Michael Clemens, World GDP would increase by 50% or more if inter-country immigration restrictions were removed.

Select one:

True

False

10. What is the current status of Senate Bill S. 744 (113th US Congress of 2013 - 2014) also known as Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act?

Select one:

a. It failed in the US Senate

b. It failed in the US House of Representatives.

c. Although the S 744 passed in 2013, it has not yet been introduced in the House of Representatives.

d. The bill was passed by the US Congress, but President Obama vetoed it.

11. In a country called George-David (named after George Borjas and David Card), the labor demand curve is given by: W = K – 4L

where W is the wage rate, K is a variable determined by capital stock in the country, and L is the labor force in the country.

K is created by capitalists and capitalists always convert 10 percent of their income to add to the stock of K (assume there is no depreciation).

Example: In this period if K is 60 and in this period, capitalists’ income is 100, in the next period, the value of K will be (old K + 10% of capitalists’ income in this period) = (60 + 0.10*100) = 70.

**

Suppose in period 1. K = 50 and the labor supply is 10. What is the capitalists' income in period 1?

Select one:

a. 200

b. 100

c. 300

d. None of the above.

12. Refer to the question above, What are capitalists' incomes in the next three periods? (Period 2, Period 3 and Period 4) in this country if labor supply remains the same at 10?

Select one:

a. 200, 210, 220

b. 200, 200, 200

c. 100, 200, 300

d. None of the above.

13. Refer to the question above. Show how the wages change in the next three periods (Period 2, Period 3 and Period 4) in this country if labor supply remains the same at 10.

Select one:

a. 10, 10, 10

b. 10, 20, 30

c. 30, 50, 70

14. Refer to the question above. What are the incomes of the capitalists’ in the next three periods (Period 2, Period 3 and Period 4) in this country if an immigration takes place and labor supply becomes 11 beginning Period 2?

Select one:

a. 200, 240, 280

b. 242, 242, 242

c. 202, 234, 256

d. None of the above.

15. Refer to the question above. What are the wage rates in Period 2, Period 3 and Period 4 in this country if an immigration takes place and labor supply becomes 11 beginning Period 2?

Select one:

a. 10, 10, 10

b. 10, 15, 20

c. 20, 23, 27

d. 25, 28, 31

e. None of the above.

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