Economics·What determines earnings & wage differences · NSSCO 4.2
Earnings: what sets your pay & why it differs
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Why does a doctor earn far more than a cleaner, and why has a computer expert's pay risen so fast? This lesson answers it. We study the factors that decide how much a job pays — above all the demand for and supply of that labour — then explain the differences between groups: skilled versus unskilled, male versus female, public versus private, and farming versus manufacturing versus services. We watch how earnings change over time as a country develops, and we meet two ideas that sound hard but are simple once shown: transfer earnings and economic rent.
What you'll learn in this lesson
By the end you should be able to (NSSCO Economics 4.2):
- Identify and analyse the factors determining earnings
- Describe and explain the differences in earnings between different occupational groups and different economic sectors (male/female; skilled/unskilled; private/public; agricultural/manufacturing/services)
- Analyse and discuss changes in earnings over time between occupations and between economic sectors
- Explain economic rent and transfer earnings
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