econ 309 hw 4

If the steady-state rate of unemployment equals 0.10 and the fraction of employed workers who lose their jobs each month (the rate of job separations) is 0.02, then the fraction of unemployed workers who find jobs each month (the rate of job findings) must be:

0.18.

Which of the following characteristics made the 2008-2009 recession differ most sharply from previous recessions?

a large spike in the duration of unemployment

Paying efficiency wages helps firms reduce the problem of moral hazard by:

encouraging unsupervised workers to maintain a high level of productivity.

One reason for unemployment is that:

it takes time to match workers and jobs.

Discouraged workers are counted as:

out of the labor force

Wage rigidity:

prevents labor demand and labor supply from reaching the equilibrium level.

According to efficiency-wage theories, firms benefit by paying higher-than-equilibrium wages because worker _____ increases.

productivity

One efficiency-wage theory implies that firms pay high wages because:

the more a firm pays its workers, the greater their incentive to stay with the firm

When the unemployment rate is at a steady state

the number of people finding jobs equals the number of people losing jobs.

The generosity of unemployment insurance benefits is measured by:

the replacement rate and the duration of benefits.

All of the following are causes of structural unemployment except:

unemployment insurance.

What was the median replacement rate of the unemployment insurance during the COVID pandemic?

134%

If the number of employed workers equals 200 million and the number of unemployed workers equals 20 million, the unemployment rate equals ______ percent (rounded to the nearest percent).

9

Which of the following is the best example of structural unemployment?

Kirby is seeking a job as an airline pilot, but the high union wages in the industry have limited the number of jobs available.

Which of the following is an example of frictional unemployment?

Dave searches for a new job after voluntarily moving to San Diego.

Unions contribute to structural unemployment when collective bargaining results in wages:

above the equilibrium level.

Which of the following statements about minimum-wage workers in the United States is not correct:

minimum-wage workers are more likely to be male.

If s is the rate of job separation, f is the rate of job finding, and both rates are constant, then the steady state unemployment rate is approximately:

s / (s + f).

Unemployment insurance increases the amount of frictional unemployment by:

softening the economic hardship of unemployment.

The unemployment resulting when real wages are held above equilibrium is called ______ unemployment, while the unemployment that occurs as workers search for a job that best suits their skills is called ______ unemployment

structural; frictional