Labour Economics pt2

Labour economics looks quite interesting because it is relative to most people and looks at important decisions that everyone will have to make in their life at one point, like shall I get a job? How long will I work for? And what wage will I work for? Its good that it can be analysed using regression analysis because I have studied econometrics last year so I have an idea of how it works. I learnt about the differences between positive and normative economics and this I found useful because it helps me organise my economic thoughts better. It was new for me to find out that economics cannot answer the big questions because I thought that economics could answer the big questions, which it can but just not many of them. Its important to use positive economics to analyse the labour market because it helps to make the best policy decisions. There was a funny quote by Ronald Regan, the former US president, which said “I have never heard anybody say that hard work killed a man, but when I think about it, why risk it?” I reckon the author of the textbook used this quote to illuminate the view that not everyone will decide to work and they would prefer to live off unemployment benefits, the state, all their lives, which is easily doable in Germany. The labour supply and demand curves are interesting because they slope up but this does not represent the most common form of employment where people are not paid by the hour because when they reach a limit of hours they only get paid for. I can give example of the types of positive economic questions posed for the labour market:
If unemployment decreases by 2% how much production is changed by?
When wages rises by 2% how many people stop working?
When the hours of work are reduced how much money is saved?

I can give examples of normative economics at work too such as these questions:
Should unemployed people get benefits?
Should we take money from the highest earners and give it to the poorest?
Should men and women be paid the same wages?
Should black and white people be paid the same wages?
Should older people be paid more than younger people?