Are the following statements true, false, or uncertain? Explain your answer.
1. If the threat effect is larger than the spillover effect, then the difference between the wages earned by union members and those earned by comparable non-union workers is greater than the amount by which unionization increases the wages of union members
2. More than 50% percent of workers in the U.S. earn incomes that are less than the average income.
3. If the age at which a retired person can claim full Social Security benefits rose, the equilibrium wage rate would most likely fall, but more so in the short run than in the long run.
4. Between 20 and 40 percent of the increase in wage inequality over the past three decades is attributable to growing inequality in the amounts of education and experience that workers possess.
5. A firm interested only in maximizing profits would base hiring decisions solely on applicants’ productivities, so any difference in its willingness to hire people from different groups is due to actual differences in the skills possessed by the individuals within those groups.
6. Although unionization has been on the decline in the U.S., the fraction of European workers who belong to labor unions has been increasing over the past two decades.