WEW-064

Microeconomics Question from Walter E. Williams:

With the advent of the women's liberation movement, there is reason to believe that women's preferences may be changing so as to make the reservation uses of their time less attractive than before in comparison to market employment. What effect would such a taste change have upon the supply curve of female labor? Upon the relative market wages of male and female workers?

Answer

The changing tastes would mean that more women are entering the market and looking for work at a given wage. The result would be a shift in the supply of women labor to the right. The result of this shift would be an increase in the work force and a decrease in the wage. Because women’s wages will be lowered due to increased supply of labor, the relative wages between male and female workers would increase if there is a distinct market for the two different genders, or the relative wages would be equal if the market views one gender as just as good as another. In this case, the wage for all workers would decrease.

Other Questions:

Next: WEW-065
Previous: WEW-063