经济学原理_28失业教案详解.ppt

* As in previous chapters, “eq’m” is short for “equilibrium.” The textbook has an FYI box entitled “Who earns the minimum wage?” It summarizes a recent study by the Department of Labor detailing minimum wage earners. * Information about the union wage premium differs. The textbook says that union wages are 10-20% higher. Other sources, such as the AFL-CIO and the New York Times article featured in the “In the News Box,” say the figure is closer to 20%, not including the increased benefits that union workers enjoy. The BLS () reports that, in 2004, median weekly earnings of full-time employed workers were $781 for union members and $612 for non-union members – a difference of 28%. So the range of estimates seems to be about 10-30%. I picked 20%, a nice round number in the middle of this range, to put on this slide in the 3rd bullet point. In preparing these PowerPoints, I had to make judgments about which details from the textbook to omit (it would be neither possible nor desirable to include every detail from the book in these PowerPoints). I have omitted the terms “collective bargaining” and “strike” along with their definitions. I was reluctant to do so, as they are boldfaced terms with definitions in the margins. However, most students know these terms already (as well as the definition of “union”), and they aren’t necessary for the presentation of material in this section. I respect that you might disagree with me, though, and encourage you to add these terms their definitions to your presentation if you feel it appropriate. * * In the case of unions and minimum wage laws, firms that pay above-equilibrium wages do so involuntarily. The theory of efficiency wages, however, suggests that firms may willingly pay extra-high wages in order to increase the productivity of their workers. * 1. This is clearly not relevant in rich countries like the U.S., where equilibrium wages for nearly all workers are way more than enough to provide for t