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TBChap 006
TBChap 006
Human Capital
1.
In 2013, approximately what percent of adults in the United States had not graduated from high school?
A.
2%
B.
5%
C.
10%
D.
15%
E.
20%
6-1
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
2.
In 2013, approximately what percent of adults in the United States had received more education than a high
school degree?
A.
15%
B.
25%
C.
35%
D.
60%
E.
90%
3.
Which group of workers tends to have the highest unemployment rate among high school dropouts?
A. Men
B. Women
C. Blacks
D. Hispanics
E. Whites
6-2
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
4.
Labor force participation rates tend to
A.
increase with education level for both men and women.
B.
decrease with education level for both men and women.
C.
decrease with education level for men but increase with education level for women.
D.
be unrelated to education level for both men and women.
E.
be unrelated to education level for men but increase with education level for women.
6. Paula is considering going to law school. If she does, she will spend $60,000 on tuition and books to get a
college education (during the first time period), $120,000 on tuition and books to get a law degree (during
the second time period), and her law degree will earn her $620,000 during the remainder of her work-life
(during the third time period). Paula's time preference for money is associated with a per-period interest
rate of 20 percent. Approximately what is Paula's present value of obtaining a law degree?
A. $100,100
B. $210,400
C. $270,500
D. $440,000
E. $621,900
6-3
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
7. The wage-schooling locus is
9. What does not enter into the present value calculation of a college degree?
10. What is the stopping rule for choosing one's years of schooling?
A. End one's schooling when the return from more schooling is zero.
B. End one's schooling when the cost of one more year of schooling is zero.
C. End one's schooling after college.
D. End one's schooling when the rate of return to one more year of schooling equals the worker's rate of
discount.
E. End one's schooling when the worker's rate of discount equals zero.
A. Because there is more time to benefit from the higher wages that are typically associated with more
education.
B. Because all of their friends pursue education while young.
C. Because living expenses are low for a younger person.
D. Because parents force their children to attend college immediately after high school.
E. Because they are more likely to receive a scholarship.
6-4
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
12. Which statement about human capital is false?
13. What is implied when the wage-schooling profile is drawn as a concave (i.e., increasing at a decreasing
rate) function?
15. Suppose all 18-year-olds are identical in every way except that some have easy access to credit (i.e., they
face a low interest rate when borrowing money) while others have a difficult time accessing credit (i.e.,
they face a high interest rate when borrowing money). Which of the following statements is not true?
A. Those who have easy access to credit have a lower rate of discount than those who do not have easy
access to credit.
B. Those who have easy access to credit will be more likely to go to college than those who do not have
easy access to credit.
C. The present value calculation of college will be higher for those who have easy access to credit than for
those who do not have easy access to credit.
D. Some people who have easy access to credit will not go to college.
E. No one without easy access to credit will go to college.
16. Selection bias is a problem when trying to estimate the return to education in a standard human capital
model. In this context, what does selection bias refer to?
6-5
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McGraw-Hill Education.
17. If ability is positively related to schooling, then estimating the returns to education directly from the wage-
schooling profile will likely
18. Which of the following reasons is not a likely explanation as to why college completion rates are greater,
on average, for whites than for blacks?
A. Because a college education signals to firms that the worker is highly motivated.
B. Because a college education increases one's productivity, which will be rewarded in the labor market
with higher wages.
C. Because someone enjoys the process of becoming educated.
D. Because one cannot find employment.
E.
All of the above.
A. The signal must be more costly for low-skilled workers than for high-skilled workers.
B. The cost of purchasing the signal must not be so costly that high-skilled workers don't value obtaining it.
C. Firms must be able to easily verify each worker's amount of schooling.
D. Some people must choose to not complete schooling.
E.
All of the above are required for schooling to serve as a signal.
6-6
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
21. Suppose 40 percent of all potential workers are highly skilled and contribute $50,000 to the firm each year.
The remaining 60 percent of potential workers are less skilled and contribute only $30,000 to the firm each
year. When schooling is not used as a signaling device, how much is the firm willing to pay a worker
chosen at random?
A. $30,000
B. $34,000
C. $38,000
D. $42,000
E. $50,000
22. Suppose 40 percent of all potential workers are highly skilled and contribute $50,000 to the firm each year.
The remaining 60 percent of potential workers are less-skilled and contribute only $30,000 to the firm each
year. Schooling costs a highly skilled worker y per year, while it costs a less-skilled worker 2y per year.
What range of y will support a signaling equilibrium?
23.
The data suggest that wages increase more with age for the highly educated compared to the less educated.
This is evidence that
A.
the return to education is low for all education levels.
B.
the return to education is constant with respect to age.
C.
on-the-job training is unrelated to the level of formal schooling.
D.
less-educated workers invest in on-the-job training more so than do the highly educated.
E.
highly educated people also invest more in post-schooling human capital compared to the less educated.
6-7
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
24. What is an example of specific job training?
26. Why is it that a firm will typically not pay for general training?
E. The skills gained from the general training are transferable to other firms.
27. Temporary layoffs are common in the United States especially among workers who are heavily invested
with specific training. Why?
A. Specific training deteriorates quickly, so a laid-off worker with specific training is not valuable to any
firm.
B. The laid-off worker with specific training is more valuable to the firm that laid her off than she is to any
other firm. Thus, it is in the worker's best interest to remain unemployed until recalled to work at her
original firm.
C. Workers without specific training are never hired in the first place.
D. Workers with specific training know they don't need to work hard when employed.
E. Unemployment benefits are tied to specific training.
6-8
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
28. Suppose Amy has 100 efficiency units of labor; Bill has 50 efficiency units of labor; and Chris has 20
efficiency units of labor. Which of the following is true?
E.
A firm will never hire Chris, regardless of wages.
A. ability bias.
B. the signaling effect.
C. the social return to schooling.
D. the value of the marginal product of labor.
E. the age earnings profile.
30.
What is the main selection issue researchers must address when trying to estimate the effectiveness of
government training programs?
A.
The true cost of government training programs is unknown because unemployed workers also receive
welfare benefits.
B.
The most motivated unemployed workers are the ones who are also most likely to take advantage of
government training programs.
C.
Government training programs are usually geared toward developing general skills rather than providing
specific job training.
D.
Most government training programs are only offered to the unemployed and not to workers who would
like to switch jobs.
E.
Evaluation schemes tend to lose track of participants once they start a new job after the training.
6-9
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 06 Human Capital Answer Key
1.
In 2013, approximately what percent of adults in the United States had not graduated from high school?
A.
2%
B.
5%
C.
10%
D.
15%
E.
20%
6-10
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
2.
In 2013, approximately what percent of adults in the United States had received more education than a
high school degree?
A.
15%
B.
25%
C.
35%
D.
60%
E.
90%
3.
Which group of workers tends to have the highest unemployment rate among high school dropouts?
A. Men
B. Women
C. Blacks
D. Hispanics
E. Whites
6-11
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
4.
Labor force participation rates tend to
A.
increase with education level for both men and women.
B.
decrease with education level for both men and women.
C.
decrease with education level for men but increase with education level for women.
D.
be unrelated to education level for both men and women.
E.
be unrelated to education level for men but increase with education level for women.
6-12
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
6. Paula is considering going to law school. If she does, she will spend $60,000 on tuition and books to get
a college education (during the first time period), $120,000 on tuition and books to get a law degree
(during the second time period), and her law degree will earn her $620,000 during the remainder of her
work-life (during the third time period). Paula's time preference for money is associated with a per-
period interest rate of 20 percent. Approximately what is Paula's present value of obtaining a law
degree?
A. $100,100
B. $210,400
C. $270,500
D. $440,000
E. $621,900
AACSB: Analyze
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Topic: Present Value
6-13
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
9. What does not enter into the present value calculation of a college degree?
10. What is the stopping rule for choosing one's years of schooling?
A. End one's schooling when the return from more schooling is zero.
B. End one's schooling when the cost of one more year of schooling is zero.
C. End one's schooling after college.
D. End one's schooling when the rate of return to one more year of schooling equals the worker's rate
of discount.
E. End one's schooling when the worker's rate of discount equals zero.
A. Because there is more time to benefit from the higher wages that are typically associated with more
education.
B. Because all of their friends pursue education while young.
C. Because living expenses are low for a younger person.
D. Because parents force their children to attend college immediately after high school.
E. Because they are more likely to receive a scholarship.
6-14
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Topic: The Schooling Model
13. What is implied when the wage-schooling profile is drawn as a concave (i.e., increasing at a decreasing
rate) function?
15. Suppose all 18-year-olds are identical in every way except that some have easy access to credit (i.e.,
they face a low interest rate when borrowing money) while others have a difficult time accessing credit
(i.e., they face a high interest rate when borrowing money). Which of the following statements is not
true?
A. Those who have easy access to credit have a lower rate of discount than those who do not have easy
access to credit.
B. Those who have easy access to credit will be more likely to go to college than those who do not
have easy access to credit.
C. The present value calculation of college will be higher for those who have easy access to credit than
for those who do not have easy access to credit.
D. Some people who have easy access to credit will not go to college.
E. No one without easy access to credit will go to college.
6-15
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
16. Selection bias is a problem when trying to estimate the return to education in a standard human capital
model. In this context, what does selection bias refer to?
17. If ability is positively related to schooling, then estimating the returns to education directly from the
wage-schooling profile will likely
18. Which of the following reasons is not a likely explanation as to why college completion rates are
greater, on average, for whites than for blacks?
6-16
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
19. Why might people choose to go to college?
A. Because a college education signals to firms that the worker is highly motivated.
B. Because a college education increases one's productivity, which will be rewarded in the labor
market with higher wages.
C. Because someone enjoys the process of becoming educated.
D. Because one cannot find employment.
E.
All of the above.
A. The signal must be more costly for low-skilled workers than for high-skilled workers.
B. The cost of purchasing the signal must not be so costly that high-skilled workers don't value
obtaining it.
C. Firms must be able to easily verify each worker's amount of schooling.
D. Some people must choose to not complete schooling.
E.
All of the above are required for schooling to serve as a signal.
21. Suppose 40 percent of all potential workers are highly skilled and contribute $50,000 to the firm each
year. The remaining 60 percent of potential workers are less skilled and contribute only $30,000 to the
firm each year. When schooling is not used as a signaling device, how much is the firm willing to pay a
worker chosen at random?
A. $30,000
B. $34,000
C. $38,000
D. $42,000
E. $50,000
6-17
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
22. Suppose 40 percent of all potential workers are highly skilled and contribute $50,000 to the firm each
year. The remaining 60 percent of potential workers are less-skilled and contribute only $30,000 to the
firm each year. Schooling costs a highly skilled worker y per year, while it costs a less-skilled worker 2y
per year. What range of y will support a signaling equilibrium?
23.
The data suggest that wages increase more with age for the highly educated compared to the less
educated. This is evidence that
A.
the return to education is low for all education levels.
B.
the return to education is constant with respect to age.
C.
on-the-job training is unrelated to the level of formal schooling.
D.
less-educated workers invest in on-the-job training more so than do the highly educated.
E.
highly educated people also invest more in post-schooling human capital compared to the less
educated.
6-18
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
24. What is an example of specific job training?
26. Why is it that a firm will typically not pay for general training?
E. The skills gained from the general training are transferable to other firms.
6-19
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
27. Temporary layoffs are common in the United States especially among workers who are heavily invested
with specific training. Why?
A. Specific training deteriorates quickly, so a laid-off worker with specific training is not valuable to
any firm.
B. The laid-off worker with specific training is more valuable to the firm that laid her off than she is to
any other firm. Thus, it is in the worker's best interest to remain unemployed until recalled to work
at her original firm.
C. Workers without specific training are never hired in the first place.
D. Workers with specific training know they don't need to work hard when employed.
E. Unemployment benefits are tied to specific training.
28. Suppose Amy has 100 efficiency units of labor; Bill has 50 efficiency units of labor; and Chris has 20
efficiency units of labor. Which of the following is true?
E.
A firm will never hire Chris, regardless of wages.
A. ability bias.
B. the signaling effect.
C. the social return to schooling.
D. the value of the marginal product of labor.
E. the age earnings profile.
6-20
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
30.
What is the main selection issue researchers must address when trying to estimate the effectiveness of
government training programs?
A.
The true cost of government training programs is unknown because unemployed workers also
receive welfare benefits.
B.
The most motivated unemployed workers are the ones who are also most likely to take advantage of
government training programs.
C.
Government training programs are usually geared toward developing general skills rather than
providing specific job training.
D.
Most government training programs are only offered to the unemployed and not to workers who
would like to switch jobs.
E.
Evaluation schemes tend to lose track of participants once they start a new job after the training.
6-21
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.