Chapter 15: Q.27 (page 378)
What are the main reasons economists give for the
increase in inequality of incomes?
Short Answer
-Change in the household structure
-The shift in an allotment of pay
-Education
Chapter 15: Q.27 (page 378)
What are the main reasons economists give for the
increase in inequality of incomes?
-Change in the household structure
-The shift in an allotment of pay
-Education
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Identify some public policies that can reduce the
level of economic inequality.
Consider two of the income security programs in the United States: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
a. When a woman with Children and very low income earns an extra dollar, she receives less in TANF benefits. What do you think is the effect of this feature of TANF on the labor-supply of low-income women? Explain.
b. The EITC proves greater benefits as low-income workers earn more income (up to a point). What do you think is the effect of this program on the labor-supply of low-income individuals? Explain.
c. What are the disadvantages of eliminating TANF and allocating the savings to EITC?
What are some reasons why a certain degree of
inequality of income would be expected in a market
economy?
This problem uses the analogy of a “leaky bucket” to explain one constraint on the redistribution of income.
a. What elements of the U.S. system for redistributing income create the leaks in the bucket? Be specific.
b. Between Republicans and Democrats, who do you think generally believes that the bucket used for redistributing income is leaky? How does that belief affect their views about the amount of income redistribution that the government should undertake?
Suppose there are two possible income distributions in a society of ten people. In the first distribution, nine people would have incomes of \(30,000 and one person would have an income of \)10,000. In the second distribution, all ten people would have incomes of $25,000.
a. If the society had the first income distribution, what would be the utilitarian argument for redistributing income?
b. Which income distribution would Rawls consider more equitable? Explain.
c. Which income distribution would Nozick consider more equitable? Explain.
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