Buec 280
Spring 2002
D. Maki
MIDTERM EXAMINATION


Instructions:  There are 12 questions on this examination, all equally weighted.  Answer all questions.  For each question, define any concepts underlined, and briefly answer the question asked.

1.  If you are considering undertaking a certain type of educational program, and you calculate the net present value of this investment to be positive, should you make the investment?  Always?  Explain.

2.  If human capital theory is wrong, and education is merely a signal, does it still have a social benefit?
Explain.

3.  "Even in a partial-equilibrium analysis, indigenous workers suffer no loss due to immigration if it is restricted to occupations with unfilled vacancies".  Do you agree with the statement?  Explain.

4.  Are immigrant remittances a cost to the destination country of immigration?  Explain.

5.  What is the main reason why defined-benefit pension plans are more popular than defined-contribution plans?

6.  If a person's ability to earn income between the ages of 60 and 65 increases, does this increase the probability of early (pre-65) retirement (a) in fact?  (b) theoretically?

7.  Is the demand curve for labour more elastic in oil refineries or in accounting firms?  Is it more elastic at the level of the firm or the industry?  In both cases, explain.

8.  What was the connection between the Knights of Labor and the Trades and Labour Congress?

9.  What was the main point at issue in the recent dispute between the BCTF and the School Trustees?  What was the resolution, and how did it come about?

10.  At a given wage rate, will a firm competitive in the output market employ the same amount of labour as a monopolist?  At a given level of employment, will a firm competitive in the labour market pay the same wage rate as a monopsonist?  In both cases, explain.

11.  What is the impact on the demand for and supply of union services of a change in certification procedures from 
merely showing most workers have signed cards to a mandatory secret ballot?

12.  How does the gravity model explain internal labour mobility?