Download Northeastern University - Bogazici University, Department of

Boğaziçi University
Economics Department
EC 407 Labor Economics
Summer 2017
Instructor: Aysun Hızıroğlu Aygün
[email protected], [email protected]
Office hours: Wednesday 9AM-11AM
Office: NB 217
Objective:
To introduce you to the concepts, issues and policies related to the labor market, a market that most of you will
spend a significant portion of your life participating in. This will be accomplished by examining and analyzing the
operations of the labor market and its results from a theoretical and an empirical perspective.
Course goals:
Students will become proficient in evaluating economic, political-economic and socio-economic aspects
of labor as a resource. More specifically;
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Evolution of labor as a resource in production
Workers’ labor force participation decisions
Development of human capital
Labor demand
Unemployment and income assistance programs
Determination of wages.
Economics of labor unions
Government Involvement in labor markets
Impact of immigration on labor market
Discrimination in the labor market
Methodology:
Utilizing tools for active self-learning and peer teaching through the instructor’s guidance by:
 Lectures
 In-class discussions
 Relevant Literature
 Organizing thoughts through exams
Material:
 Contemporary Labor Economics by McConnell, Brue and MacPherson. 11th edition. McGraw Hill.
 Articles in the reading list from online sources.
Reading List:
 The primary purpose of this reading list is to provide you with the required references for the topics that
we will discuss during class. However, it is also intended to give you supplemental readings for those
topics and serve as a point of reference for future research ideas that you might wish to pursue in these
areas. It is subject to revision prior to the start of each main topic, but with sufficient notice for you to
adjust.
Grading basis1:
Two Exams
Participation2
Total
80 points (30 points for midterm, 50 points for the final)
20 points
100 points
Only under extenuating circumstances will there be a make-up immediately following the class exam for only
verified excuses. You must however inform me about the nature of the circumstance of (the excuse) prior to the
class exam. Exams are essay. Your attendance in all sessions is expected and the participation constitutes 20% of
the grade. Any attempts of cheating or plagiarism will automatically result in a Grade of F; and the relevant
officials of the university will be notified.
Exams:
Exams are essay. They are consisting of three types of questions: descriptive explanations of terminology and
concepts, analytic explanations of concepts and presenting an understanding of the papers assigned for the
course in the relevant literature. No use of cellphones, computers and other types of electronic devices is
allowed during the exam. All devices must be stored out of reach.
Tentative Schedule and the Reading Assignments:
The reading list is subject to change.
A “*” denotes the required reading to be read for class.
Class 1 ‘Introduction and Basics: Micro and Macro Principles’- Chapter 1
Class 2 ‘Individual and Market Labor Supply- Chapter 2
*Imbens, Guido, Donald Rubin, and Bruce Sacerdote. 2001. “Estimating the Effect of Unearned Income on
Labor Earnings, Savings, and Consumption: Evidence from a Survey of Lottery Players.” American
Economic Review, 91(4): 778-794.
Biddle, Jeff and Daniel Hamermesh. 1990. “Sleep and the Allocation of Time.” Journal of Political
Economy, 98(5): 922-943.
Class 3 ‘Labor Force Characteristics’- Chapter 3
Udry, Christopher. “Gender, Agricultural Production, and the Theory of the Household.” Journal of
Political Economy, 104 (October 1996): 1010–46
1
Please make note that there are no extra credit assignments since they are misleading: They take precious time away from
your other responsibilities. And it is unfair to those who attempt to fulfill requirements on time.
2
The participation grade is based on your contributions to ongoing class discussions about the reading assignments.
Class 4 ‘Development of Human Capital’- Chapter 4
*Ashenfelter, Orley and Alan Krueger. 1994. “Estimates of the Economic Return to Schooling from a New
Sample of Twins.” American Economic Review, 84(5): 1157-1173.
Card, David. 1995. “Using Geographic Variation in College Proximity to Estimate the Return to Schooling.”
Aspects of Labour Economics: Essays in Honour of John Vanderkamp, Eds. Louis Christofides, E. Kenneth
Grant, and Robert Swindinsky. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press.
Class 5 ‘Demand for Labor’-Chapter 5
*Autor, David, Lawrence F. Katz, and Alan B. Krueger. "Computing Inequality: Have Computers Changed
the Labor Market?” revised." (1997). No. w5956. National Bureau of Economic Research
Borjas, George J. 2003. “The Labor Demand Curve Is Downward Sloping: Reexamining the Impact of
Immigration on the Labor Market.” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(4): 1335-1374.
Class 6 ‘Determination of Wages and the Allocation of Labor’- Chapter 6
Katz, Larry and Kevin Murphy. 1992. “Changes in Relative Wages, 1963-1987: Supply and Demand
Factors.” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107(1): 35-78.
Class 7 ‘Allocation of Labor and Labor Efficiency (Productivity Issues)’- Chapter 7
Akerlof, George A. "Labor contracts as partial gift exchange." The Quarterly Journal of Economics (1982):
543-569.
Class 8 MIDTERM EXAM
Class 9 ‘Pay Systems and Efficiency and Wage Structure’- Chapter 8
DeLeire, Thomas and Helen Levy. 2004. “Worker Sorting and the Risk of Death on the Job.” Journal of
Labor Economics, 22(4): 925-953.
Class 10 ‘Mobility, Immigration and Efficiency’ Chapter 9
*Friedberg, Rachel. 2001. “The Impact of Mass Migration on the Israeli Labor Market.” Quarterly Journal
of Economics, 116(4): 1373-1408.
Card, David. 1990. “The Impact of the Mariel Boatlift on the Miami Labor Market.” Industrial and Labor
Relations Review, 43(2): 245-257.
Class 11‘Unions’ - Chapters 10 and 11
Reading TBA
Class 12 ‘Government and Labor Markets-Regulations’ - Chapter 13
Card, David and Alan Krueger. 1994. “Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food
Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.” American Economic Review, 84(4): 772-793.
Class 13 ‘Discrimination and Labor Markets’ -Chapter 13 and 14
*Bertrand, Marianne and Sendhil Mullainathan. 2004. “Are Emily and Greg More Employable than
Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination.” American Economic Review,
94(4): 991-1013.
Hellerstein, Judith, David Neumark, and Kenneth Troske. 1999. “Wages, Productivity, and Worker
Characteristics: Evidence from Plant-Level Production Functions and Wage Equations.” Journal of Labor
Economics, 17(3): 409-446.