A utilitarian believes that the redistribution ofincome from the rich to the poor is worthwhile aslong asa. the worst-off members of society benefit from it.b. those contributing to the system are in favor of it.c. each person’s income, after taxes and transfers,reflects his marginal product.d. the distortionary effect on work incentives is nottoo large.

A utilitarian believes that the redistribution ofincome from the rich to the poor is worthwhile aslong asa. the worst-off members of society benefit from it.b. those contributing to the system are in favor of it.c. each person’s income, after taxes and transfers,reflects his marginal product.d. the distortionary effect on work incentives is nottoo large.

Exploring Economics

8th Edition

ISBN:9781544336329

Author:Robert L. Sexton

Publisher:Robert L. Sexton

Chapter17: Income, Poverty, And Health Care

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 3P

See similar textbooks

Similar questions

Imagine that the government reworks the welfare policy that was affecting Jonathan in question 1, so that for each dollar someone like Jonathan earns at work, his government benefits diminish by only 30 cents. Reconstruct the table from question 1 to account for this change in policy. Draw Jonathans labor-leisure opportunity sets, both for before this welfare program is enacted and after it is enacted.
Here is one hypothesis: A well-funded social safety net can increase economic equality but will reduce economic output. Explain why this might be so, and sketch a production possibility curve that shows this tradeoff.
Which set of policies is more likely to cause a tradeoff between economic output and equality: policies of redistribution policies aimed at the ladder of opportunity? Explain how the production possibility frontier tradeoff between economic equality and output might look in each case.
Susan is a single mother with three children. She can earn 8 per hour and works up to 2,000 hours per year. However, if she does not earn any income at all, she will receive government benefits totaling 16,000 per year. For every 1 of income she earns, her level of government support will be reduced by 1. Create a table, patterned after Table 15.3. The first column should show Susans choices of how many hours to work per year, up to 2,000 home. The second column should show her earnings from work. The third column should show her level of government support, given her earnings. The final column should show her total income, combining earnings and government support.
Jonathan is a single father with one child. He can work as a server for $6 per hour for up to 1,500 hours per year. He is eligible for welfare, and so if he does not earn any income, he will receive a total of 10,000 per year. He can work and still receive government benefits, but for every 1 of income, his welfare stipend is 1 less. Create a table similar to Table 15.4 that shows Jonathans options. Use four columns, the first showing number of hours to work, the second showing his earnings from work, the third showing the government benefits he will receive, and the fourth column showing his total income (earnings + government support). Sketch a labor-leisure diagram of Jonathans opportunity set with and without government support.
Exercise 15.2 and Exercise 15.3 asked you to describe the labor-leisure tradeoff for Jonathon. Since, in the first example, there is no monetary incentive for Jonathon to work, explain why he may choose to work anyway. Explain what the opportunity costs of working and not working might be for Jonathon in each example. Using your tables and graphs from Exercise 15.2 and Exercise 15.3, analyze how the government welfare system affects Jonathans incentive to work.
A group 0f 10 people have the following annual incomes: 24,000,18,000,50,000,100,000,12,000,36,000,80,000,10,000,24,000,16,000. Calculate the share of total income that each quintile receives from this income distribution. Do the top and bottom quintiles in this distribution have a greater or larger share of total income than the top and bottom quintiles of the U.S. income distribution?
This chapter discusses the importance of economicmobility.a. What policies might the government pursue toincrease economic mobility within a generation?b. What policies might the government pursue toincrease economic mobility across generations?c. Do you think we should reduce spending oncurrent welfare programs to increase spending onprograms that enhance economic mobility? Whatare some of the advantages and disadvantages ofdoing so?
WHAT ARE SOME POLICIES THAT A GOVERNMENT CAN IMPLEMENT TO REDUCE INCOME INEQUALITY? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY A. Increase spending in education. B. Lower tax for the top quintile. C. Stregnthen anti-discrimination laws based on race, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, and disability status. D. Increase access to affordable healthcare to all. E. Encourage corporate stock ownership.
Suppose that Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits are set according to the following rules: (i) minimum weekly earnings in last week of employment of $200.00 is needed to qualify; (ii) the maximum UI weekly benefit is $1000; and (iii) UI benefits are set equal to 50% of the last week’s earnings between the minimum and maximum levels. A. Show the structure of the UI benefit system on a diagram. B. Compute both the UI benefit level and the replacement rate if weekly earnings in the last week of employment is: (i) $100; (ii) $500; and (iii) $3,000.
The table below is an illustration of Pareto efficiency criterion after the implementation of a state income policy in some selected Ministries . Before policy. After policy Ministry A. 400 800 Ministry B. 200 200 Ministry C . 300 300 Total. 900 1300 Analyse the welfare condition of the Ministries after the income policy.
This question has to do with the minimum wage serving as an anti-poverty program. a. What percentage of a minimum wage increase goes to families below the poverty linenow versus in the 1990s? Why has this changed over the years? Make sure to use exactnumbers in your answer. b. Explain why families below the poverty line receive less than 100% of a minimum wageincrease. c. Jason is employed, earns the federal minimum wage, works 25 hours per week, works 52weeks per year, is single, and has no children. Given these numbers, Jason would bebelow the federal poverty line. Assume the federal minimum wage increases to $15 andJason continues to work 25 hours per week for 52 weeks per year. The large increase inJason’s earnings places him above the poverty line. Describe how it can be true thatJason’s earnings increase significantly, yet his total income (which is income from allsources combined) might be the same as it was before the minimum wage increase.