CH8 Final exam short answer practice questions

Why is eradicating child labor seen as an economic investment?

Economic gains and a high rate of return on the investment needed to eliminate child labor and provide more education up to age 14. child labor: any work being done by youths, often in order to supplement their family's income economic investment: spending money on something today in order for it to provide returns in the future Eradicating child labor is seen as an economic investment because a country would have to put up capital to fund the children's schooling in order for a return of a more productive and well-educated workforce in the future. If the children are working, then they are not in school, and if they are not in school, there is not much of a future for them and the economy as a whole.

Why have poor nations invested so much money in education and health? Evaluate the soundness of these reasons

Education and health improvements will increase labor productivity. Both are essential for sustained growth. -Building stones for human capital. Productive people=productive economy

Is child labor a problem in developing countries? Explain

Eradicating child labor is seen as an economic investment because a country would have to put up capital to fund the children's schooling in order for a return of a more productive and well-educated workforce in the future. If the children are working, then they are not in school, and if they are not in school, there is not much of a future for them and the economy as a whole.

Explain why the education of girls is probably the most cost-effective development investment. Be sure to include in your answer some discussion of at least two of the following: absolute poverty, health and development, fertility, and agriculture.

Female education leads not just to better employment opportunities but to a better distribution of benefits within a family. It leads to improved child health, reduced fertility, and it improves agricultural productivity as women do most of the work in this sector

What is human capital and why is it crucial to expand human capital as part of the development process?

Human Capital- Productive investments in education and health for all individuals. If a country expands Human Capital, they will become more productive and encourage economic development. Human capital is beyond physical labor. It involves assets such as knowledge and experience.Sometimes, more than physical capital, human capital becomes more crucial. It is key for the development process of a business. For example, a person who has knowledge and experience of phones is better than the one who doesn't when it comes to productivity. Human capital is a critical first step in tapping into unrecognized potential; that leads to better leaders, more effective managers, better decisions, and a greater return on investment.

Investment in human capital is very similar to investing in physical capital. True or false? Explain your answer.

Human capital investment is both similar and dissimilar to physical capital investment. An investment in both will lead to increases in productivity and eventually income. They converge on the topic of ownership. Human capital cannot be owned like physical capital can. In addition, the rate of return on human capital cannot be calculated mathematically like it can for physical capital.

What is educational inequality and how is it measured? Why is it important to measure the degree of educational inequality in a country? Explain your answer.

Measures how the quantity of education is distributed amongst the population ages 15 and above.It can be measured by the Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient, much like the distribution of income

Why should the development of a solid elementary education system take precedence over an expansion of the university system in developing countries?

Primary education is important for teaching children basic skills that will be useful throughout their entire lives. The gains from higher education cannot be fully realized without a solid base education. Primary education offers a better return on investment than higher education, and benefits from additional primary education diminish less rapidly than benefits for additional higher education. Also, there may not be enough high-skill jobs available to justify an investment in higher education, but low and medium-skill jobs that would require basic skills like literacy and arithmetic.

Although Progresa/Oportunidades has been successful in Mexico, why might a similar program not work elsewhere?

This problem is designed to get students to think about how development solutions in one breaking the vicious circle between lack of health and low productivity. awareness, and an analysis of theeconomic forces behind the disease. country cannot necessarily be duplicated and be successful in another country. Answers should discuss the financial cost of implementing a similar program as well as the other necessary actions that would have to go hand in hand with such a program, such as the building of infrastructure and national level investments in health care among other things

Explain how a better-educated population will also tend to be healthier, and vice versa, that a healthier population will tend to be better educated.

education and healthcare are complementary