Labor Economics
ECON 351
Tippit
SYLLABUS
(DRAFT)
Semester:
Days, Time:
Hall, Room:
Spring 2011
MW 3:30 – 4:45
TBA
Instructor:
Ross A. Tippit
Prof.Tippit@gmail.com
Grader:
TBA
Office Hours:
Room 603, 19 W. 4th St.
Mondays, 12:30-1:30; Tuesdays, 3:00-4:00
Course Website:
NYU Blackboard
Spring 2011
NYU
Course Description
This course is an introduction to the analysis of labor markets in advanced capitalist economies
with primary reference to the United States economy. The course can be roughly divided into
three parts.
We begin with an examination of the dominant, neo-classical explanation of labor supply and
labor demand, and the qualities of labor markets as predicted by the model.
The second section examines two different approaches to the exchange of labor, one old and
one new. The new approach is based on contract, bargaining, and game theory. The other is
based on the analysis of labor markets by institutional and classical economists.
The third section addresses (from the perspective of the standard, neo-classical model) several
possible reasons why labor markets do not exhibit the qualities of perfectly competitive
markets. These explanations include models of human capital investment decisions, labor
mobility and migration, and labor market discrimination. During this part of the course we will
also discuss topics of importance to the general welfare of society that are typically studied
under the subject of labor economics—income inequality and unemployment.
In the end, you should come away with some general, empirical knowledge of labor markets in
the United States and, more importantly, an idea of how economists attempt to explain the
various phenomenon observed in these markets.
Texts
Most textbooks of labor economics have the same approach: they cover the standard, neoclassical model of labor markets that economists have used since the early 20th Century and
Labor Economics
ECON 351
Tippit
SYLLABUS
(DRAFT)
Spring 2011
NYU
then review empirical evidence for supporting or rejecting the model. In most cases, where
evidence is unsupportive, they present explanations that deviate slightly from the standard
model. Textbooks barely differ, therefore, in their depth of coverage of issues and are more or
less the same in the selection of issues and empirical highlights. Two popular textbooks are:
1. The Economics of Labor Markets, 7th ed., by Bruce Kaufman & Julie Hotchkiss (Thomson,
2006. ISBN: 978-0-324-335-75-X).
2. Modern Labor Economics (any edition) by Ronald Ehrenberg and Robert Smith (AddisonWesley Longman).
The lectures, assignments, and exams will be based mostly on the following text, which has been
ordered at the NYU Bookstore:
3. Labor Markets and Employment Relationships, by Joyce Jacobsen & Gilbert Skillman
(Blackwell, 2004. ISBN: 978-0-631-208-365).
Additional required readings will either be posted on Blackboard or put on reserve in the library.
These will likely come from the following sources:
4. Various works by Samuel Bowles: Chapters 12 - 16 of Understanding Capitalism, 3rd ed. (coauthored by Richard Edwards and Frank Roosevelt. Oxford, 2005. ISBN: 978-0-195-138-658);
Chapter 8 of Microeconomcis: Behavior, Institutions, and Evolution (Cambridge, 2004. ISBN:
978-0-691-091-631); “The Production Process in a Competitive Economy: Walrasian, NeoHobbesian, and Marxian Models,” The American Economic Review, 75(1): 16-36.
The lectures will also draw on two other texts that are not required reading:
5. The Economics of Imperfect Labor Markets by Tito Boeri & Jan van Ours (Princeton, 2008.
ISBN: 978-0-691-137-353).
6. The Economics of Women, Men, and Work, 6th ed., by Francine Blau, Marianne Ferber, &
Anne Winkler (Prentice Hall, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-136-084-259).
Lectures will often be given with the help of Powerpoint slides, which will usually be posted on
Blackboard in a draft version before each lecture. (Final versions will not be posted, as your note
taking during lectures should accommodate the differences between versions.)
Labor Economics
ECON 351
Tippit
SYLLABUS
(DRAFT)
Spring 2011
NYU
Grading
Grades are earned the following ways:
1.
Exams
Two exams (a Mid-Term Exam and a Final Exam), each worth 20% of your grade, will be
given in the format of short-answer and multiple-choice questions. Make-up tests will
not be given without there being medical documentation to excuse the absence; makeup tests cannot be scheduled after the rest of the class has had their exams graded and
returned. Make-up tests taken before the scheduled test date will be given full-credit.
2.
Problem Sets
Four problem sets will be assigned for a total of 60% of your grade. Instructions for
submitting your answers to problem sets will be given at the time of their posting on
Blackboard, but answers submitted to me via email or to my department mailbox will
not be accepted unless instructions are explicitly given to do so. Late submissions will
be given partial credit according to the discretion of the instructor. Answers will not be
accepted after the rest of the class has had their answers graded and returned.
3.
Extra-Credit through Attendance and Quizzes
Attendance will be taken at the beginning of most classes and be worth up to three
extra-credit percentage points. Lateness, premature departure, or failure to respond to
your name being called while present will only count as half of a day.
Quizzes will also be given without advance notice for (a total of) up to five extra-credit
percentage points.
Grades to tests and assignments will be posted on Blackboard. Questions about grading should
be taken up with the course grader (their contact information will be provided on Blackboard).
Extra-credit assignments will not be offered. The instructor reserves the right to curve final
grades according to the department’s recommended distribution. All grades are final and nonnegotiable since great effort will be made to grade fairly and uniformly by the instructor and
course grader.
Honor Code
Students are on their honor to neither give nor receive unauthorized aid in the completion of
assignments or examinations. Plagiarism and the use of material published for instructors are
also transgressions of academic integrity. Evidence of such conduct will automatically be
reported to the department and college administration and is grounds for a penalty, including
the possibility of expulsion from the course and/or an automatic final grade of F.
Labor Economics
ECON 351
Tippit
SYLLABUS
(DRAFT)
Course Schedule
Week
Topic
1
Introduction
2
Labor Force & Unemployment
3
Labor Supply Decision
4
Labor Supply of Women and
Effects of Income Assistance Programs on Labor Supply
DUE: Problem Set 1
5
Labor Demand:
Short-Run & Long-Run
6
Factor Substitution and Demand, Competitive Labor Markets
7
8
Minimum Wage,
Affirmative Action, Immigration, and Non-Competitive Markets
DUE: Problem Set 2
MID-TERM EXAM
Strategic Labor Exchange
9
Bargaining, Imperfect Contracting
10
Labor Market Institutions
11
Incentive Pay
Spring 2011
NYU
Labor Economics
ECON 351
Tippit
12
SYLLABUS
(DRAFT)
DUE: Problem Set 3
Wage Structures & Inequality
13
Human Capital
14
Labor Migration
15
Discrimination
16
Discrimination and Human Capital
DUE: Problem Set 4
FINAL EXAM
Spring 2011
NYU