Chapter 30 - Assignment 1: The Market Price of an Economist

1. The section of this document entitled "Earnings" lists average salaries for economists by type of occupation and by level of educational attainment. Do you think that these salary differentials are a form of compensating wage differential? Explain.
2. Contrast the earnings prospects and job duties of individuals in this occupation with the earnings prospects and job duties of one of the "related occupations" listed in the bottom of the document. Using the discussion of alternative reasons for salary differentials that appears in your text, formulate an explanation for the differences in average starting salaries between these markets.