Question

Vinny and Sandra have just had their first baby, and need to make a decision about how to handle work and child‑care responsibilities. Vinny earns $1000 per week working full time, and Sandra's full‑time salary is $1200 per week. They each can work part time and earn half their full‑time wage. Calculate the change in GDP for each situation, relative to when they both worked full time and had no child‑care responsibilities. If GDP falls, include a negative sign in your answer. a. Both Vinny and Sandra return to work full time and pay a child‑care provider $600 per week to care for their child. $ b. Both Vinny and Sandra will return to work full time, while Sandra’s mother takes care of their child without financial compensation. $ c. Both Vinny and Sandra will return to work full time, while Vinny's brother takes care of their baby. They'll pay him $600 a week to care for their child, but neither they nor Vinny’s brother will report those payments to the IRS, or on any government surveys. $ d. Vinny and Sandra will each return to work part time, and split child‑care responsibilities. $ e. Vinny will stay home to care for the baby, while Sandra returns to work full time. $

Answer 1

Answer:

A. 600

B. 0

C. 0

D. -1100

E. -1000

Explanation:

For part A you are asked to find the change in GDP with the addition of paying a babysitter $600. The GDP beforehand was the total income from both Vinny and Sandra which is $1200 + $1000 = $2200. For these questions, you are being asked to find a change in GDP which would simply be the addition of $600. Similiary, for part B there is no change in GDP because they do not pay Sandra's mother, so the change in GDP is 0. For part C, since the payments are not reported, there is no change in GDP. Part C can be thought of as a reference to the shadow market and GDP from the shadow market is not recorded. Part D has a negative 1100 because they each go back to work part-time, Vinnie earning $500 per week and Sandra earning $600. The change in GDP would be negative because they are losing 1100 in order to care for a new child. For part E, Vinnie gives up all his income which would normally amount to $1000 per week. The change in GDP is therefore negative.