A large employer gives each new hire an aptitude test, which is scored from 1 to 20. Let T be a worker's score on the test. The firm then pays the new worker a wage of w = 0.57' + 0.5G where G is the average score for the worker's gender: 16 for women and 12 for men. What is the wage for a male who scores 16 on the test? Now, suppose that the employer still uses the same formula, but that the wage paid to a male worker and to a female worker is identical. In this case, is there anyone who is facing discrimination? Explain. 2. (6 points) Discuss the changing economic role of African-Americans in the United States from 1865 to the present. What were the major factors and processes that kept African-Americans, on average, relatively poor since the Civil War? To what extent are these processes still operating today? Explain. 3. (4 points) Using the labor demand and supply framework, explain why the gender wage gap was relatively constant between 1885 and 1980, and why the ratio of female-to-male earnings has increased from 0.628 in 1980 to 0.805 in 2010. 4. (5 points) Consider the following information for a hypothetical economy:
Total reserves (R) = $500 billion Currency (C) = $400 billion
A. If banks are holding $80 billion in required reserves, and the required reserve ratio (RR/D) is 0.10, what is the dollar value of checkable deposits (D)? B. What is the dollar value of excess reserves (ER)? C. What is the dollar value of the money supply (M)? What is the dollar value of the monetary base (MB)? What is the value of the money multiplier (m)? 5. (5 points) Why did the Federal Reserve fail to act as a lender of last resort during the Great Depression and why did the Fed allow the money supply to contract and prices to fall by so much?