chapter 18 - workers Flashcards
(25 cards)
What are wage factors that attract someone to a job?
Salary, bonuses, overtime pay, and commission.
What are non-wage factors that influence job choice?
Working hours, job satisfaction, location, job security, and career prospects.
What are limiting factors when choosing a job?
Qualifications, experience, health, and family responsibilities.
How are wages determined in competitive labour markets?
By the interaction of labour demand and labour supply.
What is labour demand?
The number of workers firms are willing and able to hire at a given wage rate.
What causes a shift in the labour demand curve?
Changes in productivity, demand for goods, technology, and cost of capital.
What is labour supply?
The number of workers willing and able to work at a given wage rate.
What causes a shift in the labour supply curve?
Population changes, education, immigration, and preferences for work.
What is elasticity of labour demand?
The responsiveness of quantity of labour demanded to changes in wages.
What affects labour demand elasticity?
Availability of substitutes, proportion of labour costs, and time.
What is elasticity of labour supply?
The responsiveness of quantity of labour supplied to changes in wages.
What affects labour supply elasticity?
Skills required, training time, and availability of alternative jobs.
What happens when labour demand increases?
Wages rise and employment increases.
What happens when labour supply increases?
Wages fall, assuming demand remains constant.
How does elasticity affect wage changes?
Inelastic supply or demand leads to larger wage changes from shifts.
How do government policies affect wages?
Through minimum wage laws, unemployment benefits, and public sector wages.
What is the impact of a minimum wage?
It sets a legal wage floor, which can increase earnings but may cause unemployment.
How do unemployment benefits affect labour supply?
They may reduce the incentive to work, lowering labour supply.
How do trade unions affect wages?
By bargaining for higher pay and better working conditions.
How does public opinion influence wages?
It can affect wage decisions, especially for high-profile roles (e.g. politicians, CEOs).
How does discrimination affect wages?
Workers may be underpaid due to race, gender, or other biases.
What is division of labour?
Splitting production into tasks done by different workers.
What is specialisation?
Focusing on a specific task to improve skill and efficiency.
What is one advantage of division of labour for firms?
Higher productivity and lower costs.
