Assignment: Labor Economics Research Project
You may work with one partner on this project. You are responsible for selecting your partner and any deficient performance that may emerge; choose wisely or simply work alone. If you choose to work with a partner, you need only do one submission in Blackboard through either partner's account and indicate in the blackboard comments section who you worked with.
By the due date upload into Blackboard this Word file with answers typed in red font and one Excel file corresponding to questions 1 & 2.
1. (Calculate with Excel only) Consider Bob, who just turned 18 years old and is about to embark on a four-year degree program. The tuition for the course is $20,000 per year. Bob currently works at Vons making $18,000 per year and will have to surrender his job to pursue the degree. Based on the BLS Occupational Handbook Bob anticipates his earnings will be $25,000 more each year following graduation (starting when he turns 22) until he retires on his 60th birthday. He anticipates his incremental earnings will increase by 4% each year of his career. For your calculations, you can assume all payments and income are incurred-received at the end of each year and that he can borrow/save at an interest rate of 6%.
a. Calculate the net present value of this investment.
b. Calculate the internal rate of return from the investment in education (round answer to a whole percent).
c. Based on the NPV and IRR, should he undertake the program? Why?
2. (Calculate with Excel only) Consider Carl, a 26-year-old San Diegan who has just graduated from SDSU with a B.A. in Economics. He has received two job offers, one in San Diego that pays him $40,000/year and another in Miami, Florida that will pay him $44,000/year. He is planning on working in the position, regardless of the location, until he finishes his 20th year of work. His added monetary costs in Miami will be $2,500 each year and he expects psychic costs totaling $5,000 each year for the first 5 years only. He can borrow/save at a rate of 6%. Using the information provided and assuming all costs and benefits are incurred/accrued at the end of each year determine the following:
a. Calculate the net present value of his migration.
b. Calculate the internal rate of return of his migration (round answer to a whole percent).
c. Based on the NPV and IRR, should he migrate? Why?
3. Visit the BLS website and using the report (table A, Sept. 2017) complete the following:
a. (Use Excel only) Using Figure 7.1 in the text as your template, generate a pie chart reflecting the Compensation Components for Private Industry.
b. Do the same as above for State and Local Government data.
c. Compare the two pie charts and determine which sector (Private or Government) is providing a compensating wage differential?
4. Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website and create a monthly labor force participation rate time-series graph for each of the following demographics. You are to cut and paste your graphs in this document. (use seasonally adjusted data only):
a. Men >16:years 1980-2018
b. Women >16: years 1980-2018
c. Teenagers: years 1980-2018
d. Bachelor's Degrees and Higher (use left panel A-4 data): years 1992-2018 for age 25 and over.
e. Less than a High School Diploma (use left panel A-4 data): years 1992-2018 for age 25 and over.
5. Using the information from your graphs in #4 respond to each of the following:
a. Do you notice any turning points where the trend has shifted during the periods specified? Explain.
b. For each graph what, if anything, changed during the Great Recession (12/07-6/09)? Explain.
6. Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website to answer the following: What was the seasonally adjusted number of employed, unemployed, and civilian labor force (not percentage but a count of people in correct denominations) for January 2018. How do these numbers compare to the Great Recession numbers in June of 2009?
7. Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website to answer the following: What is the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for each level of educational attainment (
8. Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics website and in sequence select "CES Databases" and "Top Picks" to find info about employment by industry. Use numbers only, not words: i.e. 100,000,000 instead of one hundred million. Round percentage answers to the nearest whole number.
a. How many people were employed in "total private" and "manufacturing" in December 2007, June 2009, and January 2018? Calculate the percentage increase or decrease for these two intervals (12/07-6/09 and 6/09-1/18) round percentages to the tenth place. Based on the data, how did the Great Recession and subsequent recovery impact total private and manufacturing?
b. On average how many hours did people work in "total private" and "manufacturing" in December 2007, June 2009, and January 2018? Calculate the percentage increase or decrease for these two intervals (12/07-6/09 and 6/09-118) round percentages to the tenth place. Based on the data, how did the Great Recession and subsequent recovery impact total private and manufacturing?
c. On average, what was the hourly wage of "total private" and "manufacturing"in December 2007, June 2009, and January 2018? Calculate the percentage increase or decrease for these two intervals (12/07-6/09 and 6/09-1/18) round percentages to the tenth place. Based on the data, how did the Great Recession and subsequent recovery impact total private and manufacturing?
d. How many people were employed in "manufacturing" and "leisure &hospitality" in January 1980 and January 2018? Calculate the percentage increase or decrease for both (round to a whole percent). What does this tell you about any changes in the structure of the U.S. economy over this time interval?
9. For each of the following visit the corresponding website link and locate the appropriate data. Round ratios to the nearest 100th and percentages to the nearest 10th .
a. In 2015 what percentage of the population over age 65 had achieved at least each of the following credentials:
i. High School diploma
ii. Bachelor's degree
iii. Associate' degree
iv. Advanced degree
v. Based on the data, do men or women have a higher probability of attaining at least a bachelor's degree? What is the percent difference?
b. In 2009 what was the median monthly earnings of someone age 35-44 for
i. HS graduate to ii. Associates to HS
iii. BA graduate to Associates
iv. Advanced degree to Bachelors
v. BA to HS
vi. Write a brief narrative explaining the results of i-iv.
c. Calculate the 2009 ratio of earnings for Advanced degree to BA graduate in each of the following demographic categories then identify the group that has the greatest and least benefit of attaining a graduate degree after a bachelor's degree. What is the percentage difference between the highest group relative to the lowest group:
i. White (non-Hispanic White alone)
ii. Black
iii. Asian
iv. Hispanic (of any race)
v. Male
vi. Female
vii. Write a brief narrative explaining the results of i-vi.
d. Using the 2009 educational data by region table, determine the following:
i. Which region of the US has the highest and lowest college grad rates (identify region and their percent)?
ii. What are the top and bottom 3 states in terms of HS graduation rates (identify state and percent)?
iii. Write a brief narrative explaining the results from above.
10. Using Table-1 of the Census Bureau'sIncome and Poverty in the U.S. for 2015, answer the following:
a. What is the median household income in 2015 and by what percent has it increased or decreased from the prior year?
b. Which "Type of Household" had the highest and lowest median income in 2015? What are the figures? Give at least two reasons this difference might exist.
c. Which "Race Origin of Householder" had the highest and lowest median income in 2015? What are the figures? Give at least two reasons this difference might exist.
d. Which "Age of householder under 65" had the highest and lowest median income in 2015? What are the figures? Give at least 2 reasons this difference might exist.
e. Determine the 2015 median income for "native born" and "naturalized citizen"? How much more/less in percent terms does a naturalized citizen make relative to a native born? Explain why this difference might exist.
f. Which "Region" had the highest and lowest median income in 2015? What are the figures? Give at least 2 reasons this difference might exist.
g. Looking at the EARNINGS OF ALL FULL-TIME YEAR ROUND WORKERS for 2015, calculate in percentage terms how much higher the median wage is for men relative to women. Give at least 2 compensating wage differential explanations for this difference.
11. Using Page 8 of the Census Bureau'sIncomeand Poverty in the U.S. for 2015, answer the following:
a. Determine how much in income a household would need to make to be in the 95th percentile of U.S. income earners?
12. Using Table-3 of the Census Bureau'sIncome and Poverty in the U.S. for 2015, answer the following:
a. Determine which Race, Age, Sex, Nativity, Region and Education Attainment have the lowest and highest poverty rates in 2015? What are the figures?
13. Using Table-5 of the Census Bureau'sIncome and Poverty in the U.S. for 2015, answer the following:
a. If the level of income necessary to qualify as "Poverty" was doubled, what percent of Hispanic (any race) would be considered under the poverty threshold?
14. Visit the following BLS websites regarding union affiliation and income:
a. Complete the following table.
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Characteristic
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2017Actual Wage Advantage in PercentageTerms Compare "Represented by Unions" to "Non-Union" Round % to tenths
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2017Percent of Employed Represented by Unions Use "Represented by Union" Round % to tenths
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Total over age 25
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Men over age 25
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Women over age 25
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Black over age 16
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White over age 16
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Asian over age 16
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Hispanic over age 16
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Full-time workers
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---------N/A------------
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Part-time workers
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---------N/A------------
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b. Based on the data, which race has the highest and lowest measured wage advantage from unionization? Give at least two reasons this difference might exist?
c. Based on the data, which characteristic has the highest and lowest level of union representation? Give at least two reasons this difference might exist?
d. Based on the 2016 "Members of Unions" data, what is the difference between the number of women over the age of 16 and men over the age of 16? Calculate overall and for each racial category (make sure to use proper denominations: i.e. 1000 thousands is written as 1,000,000) and indicate if there are more men or women that are members.
15. Visit the following BLS website illustrating the wage and employment statistics from May 2016 and perform the following operations:
a. Sort all occupations by annual mean wage. What industry is most represented in the top 10 highest paying occupations? What level of education do they all require?
b. What industry is most represented in the bottom 10 (ignore the ones without data) and what level of education do they require?
c. Click on the occupation labeled "Economists" and fill in the bell curve below with the hourly wage data provided. Also, include the median corresponding to the 50th percentile.
d. Based on the completed bell curve, the top 10% of economists earn more than ___________ and the bottom 10% of economists earn less than___________?
e. Locate the anticipated occupation you are going to compete in once graduating college. Create a similar bell curve based on the same BLS data. What do you believe you will need to do, or what skill do you think you will need to have, to be part of the 90th percentile? (If working with a partner you need to do this one for each person).
