First, review the Week 9 material and complete Qs. 1-7 and then work on the macroeconomics readings and videos, after which you would complete Qs. 8-9.
1) What is the difference between income and wealth—and give examples of each?
2) Consider the Distribution of Wealth for 2012 (from the Goodwin, et al, Ch. 10), the top 1 percent of households own what share of all wealth (or total net worth)? the top 10 percent own what share? And the bottom 90 percent of households own what share?
3) Now let’s examine the Distribution of Household Income for 2016 (from the text):
a) What share of households are in the poorest fifth? The second fifth?
b) If a household had an income of $35,000 in 2016, what group of households (or quintile) would they fall under? What share of income (the total annual income “pie”) did this group receive in 2016?
c) What share of all households in the United States had incomes of $45,600 or less in 2016?
d) What share of income (or the total annual income pie) did the top 20 percent of households get? How did this compare to the bottom 20 percent of households?
4) Think about what is the minimum amount needed to live in NYC for a single individual and, then, for a household of three. Consider all the things that you think should be include for a basic livable income (no frills, but able to eat an occasional meal out, etc.)
a) Start with the single individual: Come up with an estimate of the minimum amount needed. Show all the categories you included and the amount you estimated for each category on a monthly basis. What is the total monthly income needed? And the annual income needed? Then do the same for a household of three (either one adult and two children or two adults and one child).
b) Now, think about how this compares to another city in the United States. Choose one other city and come up with an estimate for the single person and for the three-person household. Again, show all the categories you included and the amount you estimated for each category on a monthly basis.
c) What accounts for the difference between the two cities?
d) Consider your estimates for NYC households. Open the spreadsheet that shows the Distribution of Household Income for 2020. (This spreadsheet is in the Additional Materials folder for Module 5. Look at the first tab.) Given your estimate of the minimum annual income needed for the three-person household, where would this household fall in table for 2020? In the bottom fifth? the second fifth? etc. What about your other city?
Again, using the 2020 distribution of income table, what share of households (approximately) had incomes that fell below what you estimated as the minimum needed for your three-person household in NYC? (Explain how you arrived at this.
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5) Based on the reading, has income inequality been rising in the United States since the 1970s? Is there evidence to support this?
6) In the Week 9 reading by James Parrott and Lina Moe from the Center for New York City Affairs, the authors divide industries into three categories essential industries, face-to-face industries and remote industries. Explain each of the categories and give examples of each. How were/are each of the three categories of industries (and the people who worked in them) impacted differently by the pandemic in 2020? Were there particular industries within each category where people were particularly vulnerable economically?
7) Much discussion has centered around whether people will return to working on-site in their offices as the pandemic subsides or not and the potential impact of a portion of the workforce permanently working remotely.
Suppose that 10 percent of the New York City workforce continues to work remotely at least part of the week. Briefly discuss two different possible impacts of this for New York City. Find an article that discusses this and draw on it for your answer – two full paragraphs.
On Macroeconomics
8) What is the difference between fiscal policy and monetary policy and give an example of each? What would be an example of a fiscal policy appropriate for combatting a recession? Would a Classical economist agree with such a policy?
Youtube Videos: On the issue of real vs. nominal GDP; and real vs. nominal wages:
- Watch the following two short YouTube videos.
- For the first one, type “Melanie Hildebrandt real vs nominal wages” (without quotation marks) into your Google search bar. The first video returned should be the right one (black writing on a white board and 4.53 minutes long).
- For the second one, type “Ch. 5 Measuring a Nation’s Income, Nominal Vs Real GDP” (without quotation marks) into the search bar. The first item returned should be the right one here too (16 min. A woman’s voice; uses pizza & latte example)
Overview of Macroeconomic Theory
- Watch the following three YouTube videos.
- First, go to YouTube and ,into the search bar type “Roger Strickland Macroeconomics – AD and AS.mp4” (without quotation marks). The first video should be the right one. It is 7.54 minutes long and, in small print, says Wyvern66.
- Again, in the YouTube search bar, type “Roger Strickland Macro September 25 2017”. The first item should be it (1:07 minutes). BUT only watch the first 30 minutes on inflation.
- Last, type “Roger Strickland Macro October 2, 2017”. Again, it should be the first item (1:04 min.)
(Clearly, this lecture occurred just after the Las Vegas shooting. So, it starts very slowly with a discussion of the Las Vegas events, gun control and other topics. To go directly to the beginning of the lecture, advance the video to the point that is about 24 minutes in and listen from there to the end.)