Assignment:
Discussion 1
Demand for Labor and Minimum Wage
Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Jared Bernstein's article, Amazon's Raise: Unequivocally Good News.
Based on the article's information and your textbook, respond to the following:
- Why is the demand for labor called a derived demand?
- In the labor market, what are the firm's demand curve for labor and the workers' supply curve of labor?
- How is a firm's wage normally determined in the labor market?
- How could Amazon decide to raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour, despite the federal minimum wage being fixed at $7.25 per hour?
- What are positive and negative effects of Amazon raising its minimum wage to $15 per hour on its employees, total revenue, and other companies and their employees?
Your initial post should be a minimum of 300 words.
Discussion 2
Public Choice and Rent Seeking
Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Tim Worstall's article, One Benefit of Nancy MacLean's Democracy in Chains - Public Choice and Rent Seeking Popularised.
Based on the article's information and your textbook, especially Sections 14.1 and 14.2, respond to the following:
- What is the public choice idea or theory?
- Explain what rent seeking is.
- How can you combine the ideas of public choice and rent seeking?
- Choose one real-world example of combining public choice and rent seeking to evaluate.
Your initial post should be a minimum of 300 words.