中级宏观经济学-ppt-课件-第6章-1.pptVIP

* These data show that union workers (and non-union workers represented by unions) earn about 18% more than non-union workers in the same industry. Also, there is a positive correlation between the proportion of workers in unions or covered by union contracts and the wage ratio (the correlation equals 0.5). Before revealing the “U % of total” column, you might ask your students which of these industries they think are most heavily unionized. source: Bureau of Labor Statistics () Key to columns: 2. “U % of total” = number of union members as a % of total # of employed workers. 3. “RBU % of total” = number of nonunion workers represented by a union as % of the total # of employed workers. 4. Wage ratio = 100 times X/Y, where X is (a weighted average of) the mean weekly earnings of union RBU workers, Y is the mean weekly earnings of nonunion workers in the industry. (The weights in X are the number of union RBU workers). The last row gives data for all workers in the industries shown. The table omits data for the agriculture industry; there were fewer than 50,000 union workers in agriculture, so the BLS did not report average weekly earnings for union workers in agriculture. * * It is useful to pause your lecture at this point and give students an opportunity to apply what you’ve covered so far to answer this policy question. Possible answers: Stop raising the (nominal) minimum wage, so that its real value will gradually erode to zero. Regulate unions (just like other monopolies are regulated) to reduce unions’ impact on wages. Reduce the generosity of unemployment insurance. Government employment agencies to increase the accessibility of information about job vacancies and available workers. Public funding to help retrain workers displaced from jobs in declining industries. Suggestions for conducting the discussion: If you ask for responses immediately after posing the question, it is likely that a small number of students will volunteer to p