宏观经济 习题apter 28.doc

SOLUTIONS TO TEXT PROBLEMS: Quick Quizzes The answers to the Quick Quizzes can also be found near the end of the textbook. 1. The unemployment rate is measured through a survey of 60,000 households to determine the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed. The unemployment rate overstates the amount of joblessness because some of those who report being unemployed may not, in fact, be trying hard to find a job. But the unemployment rate may understate the amount of joblessness because discouraged workers are considered not in the labor force even though they are workers without jobs. 2. An increase in the world price of oil increases the amount of frictional unemployment as oil-producing firms increase output and employment, but other firms, such as those in the auto industry, reduce output and employment. The sectoral shift from the auto industry to oil firms causes higher frictional unemployment for a time until workers have shifted from the auto industry to the oil industry. Although no increase in unemployment is really desirable, this type of frictional unemployment is a natural outcome of the reallocation of resources between different sectors. Public policies that might affect the unemployment caused by this change in the price of oil include government-run employment agencies, which can help autoworkers move into the oil industry, job-training programs to help workers adapt to a new industry, and unemployment insurance, which keeps workers from suffering economic hardship while changing from one industry to another. 3. Figure 1 shows the supply curve (S) and the demand curve (D) for labor. The wage (W) is above the equilibrium wage (WE). The result is unemployment, equal to the amount by which the quantity of labor supplied (LS) exceeds the quantity of labor demanded (LD). Figure 1 4. A union in the auto industry raises the wages of workers employed by General Motors and Ford by threatening to strike. To prevent the co