Legislators argue that a minimum wage law is instituted to help poor people. Economists can attack the minimum wage law on two fronts. First, some argue that government should not help the poor. Second, some argue that minimum wage laws actually hurt the poor because it creates unemployment. Which argument is normative and which is positive?

What will be an ideal response?


An opinion about the role of government is a normative statement. An observation about the impact of a law is a positive statement.

Economics

You might also like to view...

The table above gives information about the economy of France. The growth rate of real GDP per person in 1998 is ________ percent

A) 0.4 B) 3.1 C) 1.9 D) 3.6 E) 4.0

Economics

Suppose your tastes are defined by the utility function . a. Suppose your income is $1,000, the price of is 1 and the price of

style="vertical-align: -7px;" width="15px" height="20px" align="absmiddle" /> is . Set up your utility maximization problem.
b. Derive the quantity of you will consume.
c. What happens to your consumption of if increases?
d. Now suppose that your and my tastes are captured by the utility function , with the parameter   different for you than it is for me. When increases, you consume more than before and I consume less. What range of   is consistent with your behavior, and what range is consistent with mine? Use your answer to (b) to explain.

What will be an ideal response?

Economics

If the Fed decides to use an open market operation to reduce the money supply by $1 million, and if the money multiplier is 10, then what total amount of Treasury securities must the Fed initially sell?

A. $10,000,000. B. $1,000,000. C. $100,000. D. $10,000.

Economics

The price elasticity of demand for color printers is 1.6 and you would like to see the quantity demanded for color printers to increase by 32%. Then the percentage change in price should be:

A. 10%. B. 15%. C. 20%. D. 25%.

Economics