Classify the following people as either F (frictionally unemployed), S (structurally unemployed), C (cyclically unemployed), or O (out of the labor force).

A person moves to a new town and has spent two weeks searching for a new job.

Environmental regulations have resulted in a coal miner losing his job. He has not been able to find a job that he can perform with his current skills.

A mother is re-entering the labor force after having a baby but has not yet found work.

An auto worker is laid off because of a sharp decline in GDP during the last six months.

A 40-year-old man quits his current job to return to college and get his degree. He does not currently have a job.   

An airline pilot is laid off after an economic slowdown caused by a sharp reduction in the demand for air transportation.

After unsuccessfully searching for a job for eight weeks, an engineer became discouraged. Two months ago she decided to stop looking for work.     

A person retires after working for his employer for 20 years.

A highway in a rural town has a dangerous curve. Improving the highway will cost $10 million today, at time t = 0. The discount rate is r = .05 and a planning horizon of 10 years has been adopted. It is known that the new bridge will create benefits (due to a decline in deaths) of $1.5 million per year for each of the 10 years from t = 1 to t = 10.

a. Compute the present value (today, at t = 0) of the benefit over 10 years from t = 1 to t = 10. Should the highway be improved?

b. Finally, let’s say the new highway, being safer than the old one, will also save one statistical life per decade. What should the value of the statistical life be in order to change the decision in part a.?

c. Now suppose a member of the city council argues successfully that the planning for this project should use a discount rate of r 0 = .03 rather than the original value of r = .05. Discuss how this change will affect the decision. How would you advise the council, as a staff economist, to select the “best” discount rate for the project?

The U.S. has been traditionally known as a relatively low saving country, compared to countries like Japan. The U.S. personal saving rate had seldom gone into the double digits since the early 1990s (Source: the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis).
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, people inevitably try to save more. We observe that the U.S. savings are rising in an unprecedented manner: the U.S. personal savings rate (personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income) hit a historic 33% in April 2020.
What are the impacts of a rising savings on the U.S. pandemic-hit economy?

The game of basketball was introduced to the women of Smith College in 1892. Since then the game has undergone numerous changes, expanding horizons for female athletes. Although there has been great progress for women in basketball, the game is not yet secure in its position in the United States. The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) is the most successful women’s league in the United States; however, the WNBA has lost money every year since its founding in the 1990s. In your view, what would it take for women’s basketball to receive great acceptance? How important is it to women’s sport overall for women to succeed in the WNBA?

Suppose you have the opportunity to purchase either of two drugstores. One is the only drugstore in a small town and the building inspector there has guaranteed that no additional drugstores will be permitted. The second is a drugstore in a large city where there are hundreds of competitors. Which would you buy? Why?

Membership selection. A town council has 13 ​members, 7 Democrats and 6 Republicans.

Membership selection. A town council has 11 ​members, 6 Democrats and 5 Republicans.

Lowincomesville is a poor town. The mayor has decided to impose a law to cut all rental rates on apartments in half and to fix them at this level.

What did the mayor implement? Will this help the poor? Why or why not? Be sure to distinguish between the short run and the long run

Benton County includes an independent school district and two individually chartered towns within the County. Benton County’s Treasurer assesses and collects property taxes on behalf of itself, the school district, and the towns. The County uses a tax collection custodial fund to record tax collections for the school district and towns. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the following transactions took place:

1. The County levied taxes as follows:

2. The property taxes levied in part (a) were collected.
3. The amounts collected were paid to the school district and towns.

Required:
a. Prepare journal entries for Benton County and the Benton County Independent School District—identify the funds.

Record the transactions in the books of the Benton County Tax Agency Fund. (If no entry is required for a transaction/event, select "No Journal Entry Required" in the first account field.)

Record the transactions in the books of the Benton County General Fund. (If no entry is required for a transaction/event, select "No Journal Entry Required" in the first account field.)

Record the transactions in the books of the Benton County Independent School District General Fund. (If no entry is required for a transaction/event, select "No Journal Entry Required" in the first account field.)

Robert "Bubba" Breaux, 32, owns and operates a po boy shop in New Orleans, called Ya Mama's Po Boys. It is a family business that sells authentic New Orleans fare, just like "ya mama would serve" assuming she was from New Orleans. Bubba wants to establish a retirement plan so he can save for his retirement and the retirement of his employees on a tax-deferred basis. He has recruited you to assist in making a plan selection

Bubba only wants to contribute in years that he makes a profit and does not want to incur much if anything on administrative expenses. Since the employees of Ya Mama's are all family members, Bubba is happy to contribute on behalf of the employees when the restaurant is doing well

A. Based on Bubba's objectives, what type of retirement plan is most suited for his needs?

B. Why might you recommend that Bubba utilize a qualified profit sharing plan with a CODA in lieu of the suggestion in question 1? (if you suggested a profit sharing plan with a CODA for question 1, reconsider)

C. Bubba employs the following individuals. Which employee may he exclude if the plan was SIMPLE, SEP or 401(k) profit sharing plan?

Thank You!