Abstract
Labor issues, and returns to various types of labor, decide how a large portion of our economic pie is divided. This chapter discusses how we value and allocate labor within a modern economy. Topics covered include the formation of labor skills through part-time teenage employment, the extent and limits of job automation, the upside and downside of unemployment, wage–life tradeoffs, and the occurrence of wage premia in general. Collectively, these issues take us on a journey from skill formation, to choice of profession, and finally to labor market outcome.
Labor issues, and returns to various types of labor, decide how a large portion of our economic pie is divided. This chapter discusses how we value and allocate labor within a modern economy.
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Notes
- 1.
The central limit theorem further specifies that the “average” such note is expected to vary normally, or in a bell-shaped manner, about the “true” note.
- 2.
This number does not include Lyndon Johnson, who halted a re-election bid in the first month of the 1968 Democratic Primary race. Johnson’s decision was fueled by Party turmoil and cardiovascular health problems, and his chances of re-election had he continued the bid are unclear.
- 3.
The NBER recessionary dating procedure takes into account not only percent changes in GDP but also unemployment rate and percentage of industries with declining employment. This procedure is commonly accepted within the economics profession.
- 4.
As the NBER has recognized in its recessionary dating procedure, a recession is multifaceted. Therefore, it would be incomplete to feature graphs of GDP fluctuations over time to characterize economic conditions during a Presidential term. Especially when voter preferences are considered, distributional economic issues, such as the unemployment rate, are important to consider.
- 5.
The acute reader might point out that a tax cut for Mr. Athlete would shift his labor supply curve right and thus reduce his gross wage level. However, Mr. Athlete's net (after tax) wage would increase, along with his quantity of employment. Thus, there exists a range of tax cuts that would make Mr. Athlete better off while also reducing the level of tax injustice he faces.
- 6.
Footage of the play is not for the faint of heart.
- 7.
In the sense that new CD prices partly reflect a buyer’s ability to resell the CD, one might argue that the used purchase market does have an influence upon musician support.
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Sanders, S. (2020). Labor Issues. In: The Economic Reason. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56043-0_3
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