Assume that labor is the only factor of production and that wages in the United States equ

Membership in labor unions in the United States reached its peak of 17 millions members in 1960.

The United States Department of Labor (enforces) laws that (promote) the welfare of wage earners, (improving) occupational conditions and (advance) employment opportunities.

A．enforces

B．promote

C．improving

D．advance

The United States Department of Labor (enforces) laws that (promote) the welfare of wage earners, (improving) occupational conditions and (advance) employment opportunities.

A．enforces

B．promote

C．improving

D．advance

The author provides information concerning newly farmed lands in the United States in paragraph 1 to support

A．a proposal by Frederick J. Turner that was later disputed by John D. Hicks.

B．an elaboration by John D. Hicks of thesis that formerly had been questioned by Turner.

C．the thesis that important changes occurred in the nature of international trade during the second half of the 19th century.

D．the view that the American frontier did not become closed during the 19th century or soon thereafter.

Labor Force

The labor force is the part of a nation's population that works for pay or that is looking for a paying job. In 1800, the United States had about 2 million people in its labor force. Most of them worked on farms, most of whom were men. In 1993, about 130 million Americans were in the labor force. 96 million workers were found in large cities, 46 percent of whom were women.

New Kinds of Jobs

In the twentieth century, the U.S. labor force has undergone many changes. One of the most significant of these changes is in the decline in the number of blue-collar jobs and the rise in the number of white-collar jobs.

A blue-collar job involves manual or outdoor labor. Blue-collar workers include factory assemblers and welders; carpenters, plumbers(水暖工), mechanics, and painters, construction workers, and truck drivers. Although the number of blue collar workers increased in the twentieth century, the future will see a declining need for such workers. Some of their jobs will be taken over by advanced automated and computerized machinery that can do certain blue-collar jobs more quickly and efficiently than people can.

In contrast, a white-collar job involves work that is not chiefly manual. For example, white collar workers include accountants, engineers, teachers, lawyers, and sales personnel. In 1900, white-collar workers made up about 20 percent of the labor force; today, 67 percent of all American wage earners hold white-collar jobs. Advances in computer technology have created many new white collar jobs, such as those in programming and information processing. These changes will continue to dramatically change the nature of existing jobs.

The Rise of Women in the Labor Force

Until 1940, the opportunities for women to hold jobs were limited. Prejudice and discrimination(歧视)against women forced many of them to find employment as teachers, nurses, and secretaries. In 1940, women held only 25 percent of the jobs.

World War II—1941 through 1945—brought about many changes in the labor force. Men were drafted to serve in the armed forces of the United States. At the same time, the country needed labor to keep factories running at full production to support the war effort. As a result, women were suddenly needed and hired even though they had been previously excluded from such jobs. Women not only repaired airplanes and land vehicles, but they also drove trucks, operated radios and machinery, and did clerical work.

During the war years, the percentage of women in the labor force rose from 25 percent to 35 percent. Married women, many of whose husbands were in the armed forces, made up the greatest number of new women workers. In 1940, fewer than half of working women were single, but by 1945 a majority of women workers were married. By the end of the war, one out of every three workers in industry and business was a woman.

The Postwar Years

After the war, the men who returned from the armed forces went back to the same jobs they had held prior to the war. As a result, many women lost their wartime jobs. However, not all the women who had held jobs for the first time returned to their former roles as homemakers. Women had proved they could do these jobs well. As a result, the traditional barriers against the employment of women in such industries as steel and shipbuilding started to disappear, As the postwar prosperity continued, new positions became available for the returning men and for the many women workers now in the labor force.

Many women found that they enjoyed not only employment outside their homes but also the benefits of paying jobs. Many women were beginning to see work as a permanent part of their lives. By earning their own income, they became less dependent and more self-sufficient. Their independence gave them new choices and made them aware of a wider range of roles avai

A．Y

B．N

C．NG

Let us assume, for the moment, that labor is not prepared to work for a lower money-wage and that a reduction in the existing level of money-wages would lead, through strikes or otherwise, to a withdrawal from the labor market of labor which is now employed. Does it follow from this that the existing level of real wages accurately treasures the marginal disutility of labor? Not necessarily. For, although a reduction in the existing money-wage would lead to a withdrawal of labor, it does not follow that a fall in the value of the existing money-wage in terms of wage-goods would do so, if it were due to a rise in the price of the latter. In other words, it may be the case that within a certain range the demand of labor is for a minimum money-wage and not for a minimum real wage. The classical school has tacitly assumed that this would involve no significant change in their theory. But this is not so. For if the supply of labor is not a function of real wages as its sole variable, their argument breaks down entirely and leaves the question of what the actual employment will be quite indeterminate. They do not seem to have realized that, unless the supply of labor is a function of real wages alone, their supply curve for labor will shift bodily with every movement of prices. Thus their method is tied up with their very special assumptions, and cannot be adapted to deal with the more general case.

Now ordinary experience tells us, beyond doubt, that a situation where labor stipulates (within limits) for a money-wage rather than a real wage, so far from being a mere possibility, is the normal case. Whilst workers will usually resist a reduction of money-wages, it is not their practice to withdraw their labor whenever there is a rise in the price of wage-goods. It is sometimes said that it would be illogical for labor to resist a reduction of money-wages but not to resist a reduction of real wages. For reasons given below, this might not be so illogical as it appears at first; and, as we shall see later, fortunately so. But, whether logical or illogical, experience shows that this is how labor in fact behaves.

Moreover, the contention that the unemployment which characterizes a depression is due to a refusal by labor to accept a reduction of money-wages is not clearly supported by the facts. It is not very plausible to assert that unemployment in the United States in 1932 was due either to labor obstinately refusing to accept a reduction of money-wages or to its obstinately demanding a real wage beyond what the productivity of the economic machine was capable of furnishing. Wide variations are experienced in the volume of employment without any apparent change either in the minimum real demands of labor or in its productivity, labor is not more truculent in the depression than in the boom-fax from it. Nor is its physical productivity less. These facts from experience are a prima facie ground for questioning the adequacy of the classical analysis.

"Labor is not prepared to work for a lower money-wage". The sentence means ______.

A．a fall in the value of the existing money-wage would lead to a withdrawal of labor

B．a rise in the price of wage-goods would lead to a withdrawal of labor

C．the demand of labor is for a rise of existing money-wage

D．the demand of labor is for reduction in the value of real wages

Let us assume, for the moment, that labor is not prepared to work for a lower money-wage and that a reduction in the existing level of money-wages would lead, through strikes or otherwise, to a withdrawal from the labor market of labor which is now employed. Does it follow from this that the existing level of real wages accurately measures the marginal disutility of labor? Not necessarily. For, although a reduction in the existing money-wage would lead to a withdrawal of labor, it does not follow that a fall in the value of the existing money-wage in terms of wage-goods would do so, if it were due to a rise in the price of the latter. In other words, it may be the case that within a certain range the demand of labor is for a minimum money-wage and not for a minimum real wage. The classical school has tacitly assumed that this would involve no significant change in their theory. But this is not so. For if the supply of labor is not a function of real wages as its sole variable, their argument breaks down entirely and leaves the question of what the actual employment will be quite indeterminate. They do not seem to have realized that. Unless the supply of labor is a function of real wages alone, their supply curve for labor will shift bodily with every movement of prices. Thus their method is tied up with their very special assumptions, and cannot be accepted to deal with the more general case.

Now ordinary experience tells us, beyond doubt, that a situation where labor stipulates (within limits) for a money-wage rather than a real wage, so far from being a mere possibility, is the normal case. Whilst workers will usually resist a reduction of money-wages, it is not their practice to withdraw their labor whenever there is a rise in the price of wage-goods. It is sometimes said that it would be illogical for labor to resist a reduction of money-wages but not to resist a reduction of real wages. For reasons given below, this might not be so illogical as it appears at first; and, as we shall see later, fortunately so. But, whether logical or illogical, experience shows that this is how labor in fact behaves.

Moreover, the contention that the unemployment which characterizes a depression is due to a refusal by labor to accept a reduction of money-wages is not clearly supported by the facts. It is not very plausible to assert that unemployment in the United States in 1932 was due either to labor obstinately refusing to accept a reduction of money-wages or to its obstinately demanding a real wage beyond what the productivity of the economic machine was capable of furnishing. Wide variations are experienced in the volume of employment without any apparent change either in the minimum real demands of labor or in its productivity. Labor is not more truculent in the depression than in the boom.... far from it. Nor is its physical productivity less. These facts from experience are a prima facie ground for questioning the adequacy of the classical analysis.

"Labor is not prepared m work for a lower money-wage". The sentence means ______.

A．a fall in the value of the existing money-wage would lead to a withdrawal of labor

B．a rise in the price of wage-goods would lead to a withdrawal of labor

C．the demand of labor is for a rise of existing money-wage

D．the demand of labor is for reduction in the value of real wages

Improvements in labor productivity 【C1】______ increase wages and salaries. Wages and salaries 【C2】______ about 75 percent of all income in the United States. 【C3】______, labor productivity is the major 【C4】______ of this (and all other) nations' living standards. If labor productivity improves because of an advance in technology, the 【C5】______ of output increases 【C6】______ the need for additional labor. The dollar value of all goods increases 【C7】______, which implies that consumers ultimately receive more income.

Entrepreneurs have a profit 【C8】______ to increase labor productivity. They do so by providing their workers with better equipment and creating more efficient ways for their workers to use that equipment. Entrepreneurs also have an incentive to discover new products that are more highly valued 【C9】______ to their cost of production.

Some of the largest increases in productivity occur 【C10】______ major technological advancements. The steam engine and the internal combustion engine are two examples. The advances in the computer industry have been 【C11】______ phenomenal. Advances in technology depend 【C12】______ on businesses making 【C13】______ investment in new technology and new products. A major issue in today's economy is 【C14】______ businesses are doing this and what incentives are being provided by the government to companies to encourage investment. Another issue is whether labor productivity in the United States has 【C15】______ other countries.

There have also been 【C16】______ increases in productivity in our agricultural 【C17】______. Because of the increased use of chemicals, the 【C18】______ per acre are many times greater than they were 100 years ago, and consequently, 【C19】______ Americans now 【C20】______ farming, yet agricultural output is the highest it has, ever been.

【C1】______

A．unavoidably

B．highly

C．ultimately

D．actually

Why does the author mention labor and wages in Paragraph 5?

A．To suggest that commercial entities are different from most secondary groups.

B．To explain the reason why most secondary groups exist.

C．To contrast these resources with tangible items found in secondary groups.

D．To characterize the nature of exchanges within secondary groups.

In any country the wages commanded by laborers who have comparable skills but who work in various industries are determined by the productivity of the least productive unit of labor, i.e., that unit of labor which works in the industry which has the greatest economic disadvantage. We will represent the various opportunities of employment in a country like the United States by symbols: A, standing for a group of industries in which we have exceptional, economic advantages over foreign countries; B, for a group in which our advantages are less; C, one in which they are still less; D, the group of industries in which they are least of all.

When our population is so small that all our labor can be engaged in the group represented by A, productivity of labor (and therefore wages) will be at their maximum. When our population increases so that some of the labor will have to be set to work in group B, the wages of all labor must decline to the level of the productivity in that group. But no employer, without government aid, will yet be able to afford to hire labor to exploit the opportunities represented by C and D, unless there is a further increase in population.

But suppose that the political party in power holds the belief that we should produce every thing that we consume, that the opportunities represented by C and D should be exploited. The commodities that the industries composing C and D will produce have been hitherto obtained from abroad in exchange for commodities produced by A and B. The government now renders this difficulty by placing high duties upon the former class of commodities. This meads that workers in A and B must pay higher prices for what they buy, but do not receive higher prices for what they sell.

After the duty has gone into effect and the prices of commodities that can be produced by C and D have risen sufficiently, enterprisers will be able to hire labor at the wages prevailing in A and B, and establish industries in C and D. So far as the remaining laborers in A and B buy the products of C and D, the difference between the price which they pay for those products and the price that they would pay if they were permitted to import those products duty-free is a tax paid not to the government, but to the producers in C and D, to enable the latter to remain in business. It is an uncompensated deduction from the natural earnings of the laborers in A and B. Nor are the workers in C and D paid as much, estimated in purchasing power, as they would have received if they had been allowed to remain in A and B under the earlier conditions.

When C and D are established, workers in these industries______.

A．receive higher wages than do the workers in A and B

B．receive lower wages than do the workers in A and B

C．are not affected so adversely by the levying of duties as are workers in A and B

D．receive wages equal to those workers in A and B