Answer to Question #117000 in Macroeconomics for Anna

Question

In 2010 Wisconsin went from a closed shop state to a right to work state. Teachers' unions disliked the change and protested violently. Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize winner, Princeton economic professor, wrote an article against the change and in support of the unions. He looked at a study from the federal department of education that showed that k-12 average test scores in Wisconsin were higher than in Texas, a right to work state with non-unionized teachers. Two economists from the University of Chicago which has on the top economic departments in the country, broke the same data down by race and found that Asians in Texas had higher avg test scores than in Wisconsin, Caucasians in Texas had higher average test scores than in Wisconsin, African-Americans in Texas had higher average test scores than in Wisconsin and Hispanics in Texas has higher average test scores than in Wisconsin. Both sides made correct statements. How can they be reconciled and what does it say about Krugman's argument?

Answer 1

About a quarter of the American population is made up of Anglo-Saxons who emigrated here from England, Scotland and Ireland. It is people from great Britain who occupy leading positions in the economic and political life of the state. The list of other nationalities that inhabit the United States today is as follows: Germans; people From African countries; Mexicans; Italians; Poles; French; Native Americans; Dutch; Norwegians; Chinese.

Thus, Chinese, Caucasians, and Africans are minorities. This means that both statements do not contradict each other. Since Chinese, Caucasians, and Africans may have higher results, however, the overall result may be different (due to the result of the dominant nationality in terms of number).