Economics: Principles and Policies, 9e: Chapter Poverty, Inequality, and Discrimination

Chapter Poverty, Inequality, and Discrimination

Your Full Name:

Your Email Address: (required)

The Email address of an instructor to mail your quiz results:

1. The poverty line is the income level: a. earned by a worker employed full time at the minimum wage.
b. below which a family is officially considered "poor."
c. above which a family is not entitled to government assistance.
d. that is the average for American families.

2. The two ways to define poverty are which of the following?: a. Relatively and absolutely
b. Absolutely and definitely
c. Definitely and conceptually
d. Definitely and receptively

3. The figure below shows a Lorenz curve for a hypothetical economy. Which of the following statements is true?: a. The poorest 20 percent of families earn 15 percent of the total income
b. The poorest 40 percent of families earn 13 percent of the total income.
c. The richest 40 percent of families earn 64 percent of the total income.
d. The richest 20 percent of families earn 57 percent of the total income.

4. Schooling and other types of training: a. are regarded as investment in human capital.
b. are an important cause of income differentials.
c. involve workers sacrificing current income in order to enjoy higher future income.
d. All of the above are correct.

5. Susan argues that she is the victim of economic discrimination. The primary technical difficulty for an economist investigating her claim will be: a. defining economic discrimination.
b. finding a worker with the same productivity as Susan for comparison purposes.
c. defining statistical discrimination.
d. measuring Susan's human capital.

6. By law, employers in the United States may not ask prospective female employees whether they plan to have babies. The existence of this law seems most likely to: a. increase the probability that firms will practice economic discrimination against women.
b. decrease the probability that firms will practice economic discrimination against women.
c. increase the probability that firms will practice statistical discrimination against women.
d. decrease the probability that firms will practice statistical discrimination against women.

7. An example of a policy to combat poverty is: a. TANF.
b. food stamps.
c. Social Security.
d. All of the above are correct.

8. The public assistance program that economists believe can promote economic equality at the least cost in economic efficiency is: a. Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).
b. a negative income tax (NIT).
c. food stamps.
d. Medicaid.

9. A tax is more likely to promote economic equality if it is: a. regressive.
b. proportional.
c. indirect.
d. progressive.

10. Critics of affirmative action programs argue that they: a. promote statistical discrimination.
b. impair economic efficiency by preventing firms from freely choosing the most productive employee for a particular job.
c. are not as efficient as quota systems at hiring women and minorities.
d. All of the above are correct.