Explain each problem properly

Economics of Race and Gender: Practice Problems for Final Exam

1. Consider the following hypothetical information about the occupational distribution in Country Y. Assume that 100 employed men and 100 employed women work in either Occupation A or Occupation B. Employed Women(%) Employed Men(%) Occupation A 70 20 Occupation B 30 80 Total 100 100

a. Calculate the index of occupational segregation by sex.

b. Explain exactly what the number you obtained in (a) means in light of the verbal definition of the segregation index.

2. Think about the factors that affected your own college major decision (or if you prefer, think about the decision of someone you know well.) What role did societal discrimination, role models/mentors, expected family plans, and other factors discussed in this chapter play in the decision?

3. It is claimed that employers are reluctant to hire women for some jobs because of their higher expected quit rates. Assuming women are more likely to quit, use human capital theory to explain what kind of jobs an employer would be especially reluctant to hire women for. Explain the reasons for the employer's reluctance. How valid do you think such employer assumptions about women are today?

4. What factors explain why some researchers conclude that labor market discrimination against women is small while others come to a different conclusion?

5. What measured factors have been found to be most important in explaining pay differences between men and women?

6. Summarize Becker's model of employer discrimination. Are its predictions consistent with some of the gender differences we observe in the labor market? Why do economists question whether gender differences due to employer discrimination can persist in the long run?

7. "If employers pay women less due to their correct perception of gender differences in

productivity, this does not constitute discrimination as economists define it." Is this statement true or false? Explain your answer fully.

8. Use the crowding model to explain the relationship between occupational segregation of women and the gender wage gap. Can you think of a real world example where overcrowding may play a role in explaining the gender wage gap? Explain your reasoning.

9. To the extent that it is true that women earn less because they spend less time in the labor market and that they spend less time in the labor market because they are paid less, how can this vicious circle be broken?

10. Explain the difference between taste-based discrimination and statistical discrimination. What are the three kinds of taste-based discrimination?

11. An individual is deciding whether to end her schooling at a high school diploma or to continue to college. Briefly present a model that uses an economic approach to analyze this decision. What should this model predict about the likelihood of college attendance in men as opposed to women? What should it predict about likelihood of college attendance in Black-Americans relative to White Americans? Are these predictions consistent with the patterns that we observe in college attendance?

12. We have read several papers that examine the existence of discrimination between men and women. We have also read several papers that examine whether discrimination exists due to race, particularly between white and black Americans. Based on your reading of these papers, describe three items of evidence that support the existence of discrimination.

13. Based on the readings from the textbook and the journal articles, recommend one policy or social change that would remedy discrimination. Explain why you believe it would be successful.

14. Answer the following. a. What is stereotype threat? Is there a reason to believe it exists? b. What is conspicuous consumption? Is there a reason to believe it exists? c. What is the hit rate test of discrimination in policing? Do you believe it to be effective?

15. We compared two audit studies in this class: one in a journal article, and a second in a somewhat dated Dateline video. What is an audit study? What have we learned from them? Propose one additional audit study and what question it would answer.

16. Explain why economists pay so much attention to the role of paid work within a given country in determining women's status.

17. Suppose you have a dataset on Black and white men. You estimate the average earnings () , average years of education ( ), and the effect of an additional year of education on earnings ( ) for each group as follows: Black men White men (average earnings) $10,000 $20,000 (average years of education) 10 12 (effect of an additional year of education on earnings) 2,000 2,500

a) Use the Oaxaca decomposition to calculate the portion of the wage gap between Black and white men that is explained by differences in education.

b) Calculate the portion of the wage gap that is left unexplained. Answer the following question only if we have discussed the section on Discrimination and Physical Appearance in class:

18. Studies have shown that the less attractive have lower earnings in the labor market. Why does Hamermesh believe that this earning premium exists? In addition, there is strong evidence that those with the lowest ratings on appearance have significantly higher likelihoods of participating in criminal behavior. Based on the findings in Hamermesh, why might this be the case?