Article Summary. Seeking ways to improve education, Garrett Johnson has
organized technology competitions called hackathons where participants such as
students, teachers, and engineers build applications designed to improve
secondary and higher education systems. These applications can include ways for
teachers to improve skills, more productive study habits for students, improving
school safety, or any number of ideas related to education. Several hackathons
have been planned for around the country, including a virtual hackathon, entry is
free, and each contest will award $5,000 in prizes to the winners.
Source: Nancy Dahlberg, “Hackathon tackling education reform this week,”
Miami Herald, October 7, 2013.
The article addresses education reform by way of newly designed applications. If any of
these apps lead to a more skilled and better trained public, the economy would
experience
A) an increase in human capital.
B) an increase in the supply of labor.
C) an increase in comparable worth.
D) a decrease in compensating differentials.
Consider this quote from an article in the Wall Street Journal: “The stock of educated
workers isn’t increasing fast enough to keep up with rising demand. ……. Employers are
paying the typical four-year college graduate [without graduate school] 75% more than
they pay high-school grads. Twenty-five years ago, they were paying 40% more.
Employers insist on ever better-educated, skilled workers. “
Source: David Wessel, “Lack of Well-Educated Workers Has Lots of Roots, No
Quick Fix”, Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2007, Page A2. Which of the following
best explains the rapid increase in the wage differential between college graduates and
high school graduates?
A) The demand for college educated workers shifted to the right while the supply of
college educated workers shifted to the left.
B) The supply of high-school educated workers shifted to the right faster than the
demand for college educated workers shifted to the right.
C) The demand for college educated workers shifted to the right faster than the supply
of college educated workers shifted to the right.