10 fundamental problems of labour economics
- An abattoir situated in the district of Gütersloh (365.000 inhabitants) shelters its workforce comprised of 3300 migrant workers in groups in dedicated housing. During a state of pandemic, the general population will receive tests if they show relevant symptoms. Due to a public health interest, all of the migrant butchers undergo tests for infection. 1500 butchers receive positive tests, while at the same time 19 people belonging to the general population are being confirmed.
- Calculate the relative risk of infection for migrant workers and the general population.
- Calculate the relative quarantine efficacy of an idealised migrant worker shelter.
- The official exchange rate of the Lebanese Lira (LL) is 1500 LL per US$. However, it is rapidly losing value on the currency market, being traded at 5200 LL per US$ as of June 22nd 2020. Therefore, the more stable US$ is a commonly used currency in everyday life. A Lebanese waste management company employs 400 migrant workers, each receiving 200.000 Lebanese lira (LL) of monthly wage, 475.000 LL less than the national minimum wage. The company decides to pay its workers in LL rather than in US$, in clear violation of their work contracts.
- The Lebanese government imposed a national lockdown due to the pandemic on March 15th, further escalating the financial crisis: The inflation rate was 10.04 % in January, 11.36 % in February, 17.46 % in March, and 46.55 % in April. Project the inflation rate in a non-lockdown scenario and calculate the opportunity in wage savings for the waste management company rising from the financial effect of the lockdown, both for the rest of the year.
- Considering the inflation rate as of April 2020 (assume it is stable from then on), calculate the time the company should wait until it can pay its workers in the most stable currency – cigarettes –, at a wage of one package per month. In Lebanon, a package is worth 2.50 US$.
- A governmental aid programme charters flights for 20.000 migrant workers to help as harvest hands on asparagus fields. On the public market, the price for a round-trip ticket is 100 €. The harvest season is 2.5 months long. Per month employed, a migrant worker can harvest 4600 kg asparagus worth 11 € per kg (final price, taxes included) and will receive a salary of 920 €. The value added tax for asparagus is 19%, the income tax for the given salary is 0%.
- Calculate the proportional harvest labour cost of the final price for asparagus.
- Calculate the proportional cost of the governmental aid programme in relation to the fiscal revenue generated by it.
- An automatic asparagus harvester eliminates the need for field labour and can be operated by the farmer alone. It can harvest 3 km of asparagus rows per hour at an efficacy of 70%. One meter yields 2.5 kg of produce and a farm has rows of a total length of 10 km. The machine’s purchase price is 85.000 €. How many eight hour working days does it take for the field to be harvested and how many seasons does it take before the investment will be redeemed?
- The nation of Qatar has a population of 230.000, while 1.600.000 migrant workers constantly live in the country. Its total workforce consists of 95 % of migrant workers. Assume that not just the majority but all of them live in migrant shelters such as detailed in problem 01.
- In the summer of 2003, 44 migrant workers died in industrial accidents per month. Assuming that the likelihood for such events is constant, calculate the cumulative risk for a single migrant worker over the time of one season (six months).
- In Qatar, the likelihood to die is 0.1 % if a patient is tested positive. For a single migrant worker, calculate the likelihood to get infected with (considering the results from problem 01) and die from from Covid-19.
- The cost for one SARS-Cov2 test is 100 €. The minimum wage is 180 €. Qatar’s gross domestic product is 170.000.000.000 €. Calculate and compare the setback in total economic output [1] if all migrant workers would receive tests paid by their employers in contrast to [2] if no tests are being undertaken and workers are left facing the health risk.