High School

Softsell combines unskilled workers, skilled workers, and capital to produce software applications for handheld devices and personal computers. Unskilled and skilled workers are substitutes in production, but more capital increases the marginal product of skilled workers.

In the long run, a fall in the unskilled wage:

a) Decreases Softsell's demand for skilled workers.
b) Increases Softsell's demand for capital.
c) Increases Softsell's demand for unskilled workers.
d) Reduces Softsell's supply of skilled workers.

Answer :

Increasing human capital for unskilled workers leads to higher wages due to improved productivity and reduced supply in the low-skilled labor market. Technology can either replace or require workers, increasing demand for skilled labor. In Softsell's case, a lower unskilled wage would lead to more demand for unskilled workers and capital, while demand for skilled workers diminishes.

When efforts are made to increase the human capital of unskilled workers, their wages tend to increase. This occurs because as the workers gain more skills, their productivity improves, making them more valuable to employers. This increased productivity can command higher wages in the market. Furthermore, when unskilled workers are upskilled, there will be fewer workers remaining in the low-skilled category, thus decreasing the supply of unskilled labor and driving up the wages for those workers due to increased competition for their services.

In terms of technology's role, it can act as either a substitute or a complement to labor. Technology that substitutes labor can decrease the demand for certain types of workers (e.g., typists due to word processing software). On the other hand, technology that complements labor increases the demand for workers, as seen with information technology professionals who support software and hardware within a firm. The introduction of new technologies generally increases the demand for skilled workers who can use the tools to enhance productivity, while those unable to adapt may see a decrease in demand for their skills.

In the context of Softsell's scenario, a fall in the unskilled wage would result in an increase in demand for unskilled workers due to the substitution effect, and possibly an increase in demand for capital to complement the now cheaper unskilled labor. Additionally, since more capital increases the marginal product of skilled workers and unskilled and skilled workers are substitutes, Softsell may reduce its demand for skilled workers as it becomes more cost-effective to employ unskilled labor with the appropriate capital.