Question

A labor contract provides for a first-year wage of $10 per hour, and specifies that the real wage will rise by 3 percent in the second year of the contract. The CPI is 1.00 in the first year and 1.07 in the second year. What dollar wage must be paid in the second year?

Answer 1

The wage per hour must be paid in the second year is $11.021 per hour.

Step-by-step explanation:

Please find the below for detailed explanations and calculations:

We have the real wage stipulated in the contract must be grown at 3% in second year in comparison to first year.

Thus, the nominal pay rise must grow at the higher rate than 3%, in the way that it may cover the effect from inflation to ensure real rise is 3% as agreed in the labor contract.

As a result: Nominal increase (%) = (1+ real increase rate) x CPI of second year in comparison to first year - 1 = (1+3%) x 1.07 -1 = 10.21%.

=> Wage per hour must be paid in the second year = Wage per hour in first year x ( 1 + Nominal increase) = 10 x (1 + 0.1021) = $11.021.