Firefighters Are Highly Skilled Workers Who Are Typically Employed by City

question 56

Multiple Choice

Firefighters are highly skilled workers who are typically employed by city governments. If a city reduces the wage rate paid to firefighters to be less than the equilibrium wage rate, what happens to the economic rents earned by the firefighters?

• A) Increase
• B) Decrease
• C) Remain unchanged
• D) Public employees like firefighters cannot earn economic rents.

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Definitions:

Marginal Cost

The expenditure resulting from the creation of an additional unit of a product or service.

Short-run Total Cost

The total of all costs, both fixed and variable, that a firm incurs in producing goods or services in the short run.

Average Total Cost

The cost per unit of output, determined by dividing the overall production cost by the quantity produced.

Fixed Cost

A cost that does not change with an increase or decrease in the amount of goods or services produced.