Question

Suppose Friendly Airlines is considering signing a long-term contract with the union representing its pilots. Friendly Airlines and the union both agree that real wages should increase by 3%. Inflation is expected to be 6%, so they agree on a 9% nominal wage increase. Now, suppose inflation turns out to be higher than expected, coming in at 7%. This would ____ the union and ____ Friendly Airlines because the real wage increase would now be _____.

Answer 1

Answer:

This would harm the union and favor Friendly Airlines because the real wage increase would now be low.

Explanation:

With an increase in inflation more than was expected, it will be bad for the union but will be good for Friendly Airline because the higher the rate of inflation, the lower the real wages. The implication of this is that Friendly Airline can afford to increase its fare because of the high inflation rates, and due to inflation the union will not have any increase in wages.