Economics 403: Advanced Topics in Macroeconomics

Midterm exam #1

Fall 2002

• Answer each question in your own words. Do not copy phrases from the readings and do not use words you do not understand.
• Be as specific as you can: rather than saying "guys really like pie," say "Jones (1993) finds that men eat 20% more apple pie than women."
• Don't feel that you have to write a book. I would rather see one well-thought-out page per question.

1. “An individual's socioeconomic prospects are strongly influenced by the groups to which he is attached over the course of his life.” Evaluate this claim using the available empirical evidence, with specific references to the sources of this evidence.
2. “Social interaction effects play a large role in explaining economic inequality.” Explain how this might be the case with reference to the theoretical articles you have read. Then evaluate the claim using the available empirical evidence.
3. “Segregation is extremely difficult to prevent.” Evaluate this claim in the light of the models we have looked at so far.