1.For France and the United States, describe and compare the changes in income inequality that took place between 1910 and 2010 (measured by the share held by the top 1% and top 10%). Then discuss:

a.The relationship between wage inequality, wealth inequality and total income inequality.

b.The differential historical changes in both wage inequality and wealth inequality.

c.What underlying factors drove these changes overtime in each country.

2.Compare and contrast trends in income inequality between 1910 and 2010 in Continental Western European Countries such as France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, as well as Japan, as a group relative to Anglo-Saxon countries such as Canada, United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.Discuss three periods: Approximately 1910-1940, 1940s-1970s, 1980-2010.

a.What policy differences have been put forward to explain the 1980-2010 period?

b.Does the evolution of inequality in these two groups of countries support the Skill biased technological change argument or the "institutionalist" argument of increasing inequality? (Define both and explain).

c.Are emerging economies following a pattern of income inequality more similar to the Anglo-Saxon countries or continental Europe? Explain.

3.Describe the Skill Biased Technological Change (SBTC) explanation of rising wage inequality in the United States since the 1970s. Your answer should include:

a.What determines the supply and demand for skills in the SBTC framework;

b.How wages are set in the SBTC theory, and how can workers increase their wages in this framework;

c.A supply and demand graph that summarizes the changes as described by the theory, depicting the relative employment and wage of skilled workers relative to unskilled workers (clearly indicate the old and new equilibrium values and label axes).

d.Discuss some criticisms of the SBTC argument. What alternative explanations do critics put forward as driving rising inequality in the United States since the 1970s?Which explanation do you find most convincing?

4.Compare and contrast the "human capital" versus "signaling" theories of education and its relation to the distribution of jobs to individuals. If a "signaling" model was "true" and the "human capital" model was "false", would the Skill Biased Technological Change argument or institutionalist arguments be more likely to hold? (Define both and explain).

5.Summarize the shift in the economic policy regime that took place between the "Golden era" (1945-1980) compared to the neoliberal period (1980-2015), for Canada (and other countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom).Discuss resulting differences in:

a.The goal(s) of monetary policy

b.Economic growth rates

c.Real income growth for different income groups

d.Extent of publicly owned enterprise

e.Social Assistance and unemployment benefit levels

f.State intervention in the economy

g.Unionization rates

h.The real value of minimum wage

6.Unions and the labour market:

a.Suppose that the labour market is perfectly competitive.Using a supply and demand diagram, show the impact of the unionization of the workforce (assume industrial unionism).

i.Clearly label the initial and new wage and quantity of labour employed, the total producer and consumer surplus, and the change in deadweight loss.

ii.Explain in words the impact of unionization on employment levels.

b.Now suppose the labour market is a monopsony. Draw a new graph, and clearly label the wage paid and the level of employment in the absence of collective bargaining.

i.Suppose now that all workers are unionized by a single union. If the union successfully negotiates a binding agreement with a wage increase for all workers, what happens to the monopsonist's optimal employment level?

ii.Show on your graph that range of higher potential wages rates that are achievable for the union while still leaving the employer with a net revenue increase on the last employee hired.

iii.Assuming that the labour demand curve for the monopsonist is the same as the total labour demand under perfect competition, show on your graph the deadweight loss generated due to monopsony.

c.Explain, with examples, why some economists believe that monopsony is the norm, as opposed to perfect competition in labour markets.Discuss three examples of policy changes that could lead to reduced monopsony power.

7.What are some of the normative reasons that a society may want to limit economic inequality and/or reduce poverty rates?