Labor Economics Research Project 2
Labor Economics Research Project 2
Subject: Economics / General Economics
Question
Labor Economics Research Project 2
You may work with one partner on this project. You are responsible for selecting your partner and any deficient performance that may emerge; choose wisely or simply work alone. If you choose to work with a partner you need only do one submission in Blackboard through either partner’s account.
Group Member 1 Name: __________________________________Red-ID________________________
Group Member 2 Name:_________________________________ Red-ID_________________________
By the due date, upload into Blackboard this Word file with answers typed in red font along with one Excel file corresponding to questions 1& 2. Points are weighted equally across the letters, not numbers.
1. (Calculate with Excel only) Consider Carl, a 26 year old native San Diegan who has just graduated from SDSU with a B.A. in Economics. He has received two job offers, one in San Diego that pays him $40,000/year and another in Miami, Florida that will pay him $48,000/year. He is planning on working in the position, regardless of the location, until he finishes his 20th year of work. His added monetary costs in Miami will be $7,800 each year and he expects psychic costs totaling $1,000 the first three years only. He can borrow a rate of 2.3%. Using the information provided and assuming all costs and benefits are incurred/accrued at the end of each year determine the following:
a. Calculate the net present value of his migration (round to hundredths).
b. Calculate the internal rate of return of his migration (round to hundredths).
c. Based on the NPV and IRR, should he migrate? Why?
2. Visit the BLS website link provided here and using the report (table A, Dec 2016) complete the following:
a. (Use Excel only) Using Figure 7.1 in the text as your template, generate a pie chart reflecting the Compensation Components for Private Industry.
b. Do the same as abovefor State and Local Government data.
c. Compare the two pie charts and determine the following:
i. Which sector (Private or Government) is providing a compensating wage differential?
ii. Which categories of fringe benefits represent a compensating wage differential?
3. Using Table-1 of the Census Bureau’sIncome and Poverty in the U.S. for 2015, answer the following:
a. What is the median household income in 2015 and by what percent has it increased or decreased from the prior year?
b. Which “Type of Household” had the highest and lowest median income in 2015? What are the figures? Give at least 2 reasons this difference might exist.
c. Which “Race Origin of Householder” had the highest and lowest median income in 2015? What are the figures? Give at least 2 reasons this difference might exist.
d. Which “Age of householder under 65” had the highest and lowest median income in 2015? What are the figures? Give at least 2 reasons this difference might exist.
e. Determine the 2015 median income for “native born” and “naturalized citizen”? How much more/less in percent terms does a naturalized citizen make relative to a native born?
f. Which “Region” had the highest and lowest median income in 2015? What are the figures? Give at least 2 reasons this difference might exist.
g. Looking at the EARNINGS OF ALL FULL-TIME YEAR ROUND WORKERS for 2015, calculate in percentage terms how much higher the median wage is for men relative to women. Give at least 2 compensating wage differential explanations for this difference.
4. Using Page 8 of the Census Bureau’sIncomeand Poverty in the U.S. for 2015, answer the following:
a. Determine how much in income a household would need to make to be in the 95th percentile of U.S. income earners?
5. Using Table-3 of the Census Bureau’sIncome and Poverty in the U.S. for 2015, answer the following:
a. Determine which Race, Age, Sex, Nativity, Region and Education Attainment have the lowest and highest poverty rates in 2015? What are the figures?
6. Using Table-5 of the Census Bureau’sIncome and Poverty in the U.S. for 2015, answer the following:
a. If the level of income necessary to qualify as “Poverty” was doubled, what percent of Hispanic (any race) would be considered in the poverty rate?
Characteristic 2016Actual Wage Advantage in PercentageTerms
Compare “Represented by Unions” to “Non-Union”
Round % to tenths 2016Percent of Employed Represented by Unions
Use “Represented by Union”
Round % to tenths
Total over age 25
Men over age 25
Women over age 25
Black over age 16
White over age 16
Asian over age 16
Hispanic over age 16
Full-time workers ———N/A————
Part-time workers ———N/A————
7. Visit the following BLS websites regarding union affiliation and income:
a. Complete the following table.
b. Based on the data, which race has the highest and lowest measured wage advantage from unionization? Give at least 2 reasons this difference might exist?
c. Based on the data, which characteristic has the highest and lowest level of union representation? Give at least 2 reasons this difference might exist?
d. Based on the 2016 “Members of Unions” data, what is the difference between the number of women over the age of 16 and men over the age of 16. Calculate overall and for each racial category (make sure to use proper denominations: i.e. 1000 thousands is written as 1,000,000) and indicate if there are more men or women that are members.
8. Visit the following BLS website illustrating the wage and employment statistics from May 2015 and perform the following operations:
a. Sort all occupations by annual mean wage. What industry is most represented in thetop 10 highest paying occupations? What level of education do they all require?
b. What industry is most represented in the bottom 10 (ignore the ones without data) and what level of education do they require?
c. Click on the occupation labeled “Accounts and Auditors” and fill in the bell curve below with the hourly wage data provided. Also, include the median corresponding to the 50th percentile.
d. Based on the completed bell curve what is the probability of a randomly selected Accountant/Auditor making more the 90 percent of others in the profession?
e. Locate the anticipated occupation you are going to compete in once graduating college. Create a similar bell curve based on the same BLS data. What do you believe you will need to do, or what skill do you think you will need to have, to be part of the 90th percentile?
