ECONOMICS 370: LABOR ECONOMICS
Spring 2015
TR 11am – 12:15pm
205 Bryan Building
INSTRUCTOR: Professor Dora Gicheva
Office: 459 Bryan Building
Phone: 334-4865
E-mail: d_gichev@uncg.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course examines the economics of labor markets, including the
factors affecting labor supply and demand, wage determination and unemployment. Other
related topics that will be covered include education and training, non-monetary employee
incentives, discrimination, inequality, job search and worker mobility.
TEXTBOOK: Ehrenberg, Ronald G. & Smith, Robert S., Modern Labor Economics: Theory
and Public Policy, 12th Ed.
Supplemental materials will be posted on the UNCG Canvas website. You must have an
active UNCG email account in order to access UNCG Canvas. For some of the assignments
required for this course you will need to read a daily or weekly news source such as The New
York Times.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: At the end of this course you should be able to use the tools of
economic analysis to analyze current events in labor economics. In addition, you should be
able to demonstrate knowledge of:
 Historical and current labor market statistics.
 Determinants of the demand for labor.
 The impact of fixed and quasi-fixed costs on the demand for labor.
 Determinants of the supply of labor.
 The household and life cycle models of labor supply.
 Compensating wage differentials - why some jobs pay more than others.
 The impact of human capital, training and experience on wages.
 Alternative methods of compensation.
 Gender and ethnicity issues.
 The impact of unions.
 The international market for labor - job mobility and immigration.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES : Over the course of the semester I expect you to:
 Attend class regularly and arrive on time. Not all of the material I teach is covered in the
textbook, so it is very important that you do not miss class if you want to do well. You
will receive a score of 0 for all assignments that you miss due to being late or absent.
 Come to class prepared. I will post brief lecture notes on the UNCG Canvas website prior
to lecture. You should print them and go over them before class. Bringing them to class
will make it easier for you to take notes. Reading the textbook will be extremely helpful.


I will assign specific readings in addition to the relevant textbook chapters. You are
responsible for all of these readings.
Not use laptops or cell phones during class. You may use tablet devices for downloading
the lecture notes and some group work.
Approach me with any concerns you have about the class. If you are struggling with any
part of the material, it is most likely that you are not alone. It is best if I know sooner
rather than later.
GRADES: Your grade will be based on the following components:
Homework
Quizzes and participation
3 Response papers and class discussion
Exam I (October 5)
Exam II (November 9)
Exam III (December 7)
15%
10%
15%
20%
20%
20%
Homework: There will be six problem sets. You can work on the homework assignments in
groups but you have to write up your own solutions. Identical assignments will all receive a
score of zero. All homework is due at the beginning of class; no late homework will be
accepted. If you have a valid excuse to miss class you can make arrangements with me to
turn in your homework early.
Quizzes: Over the course of the semester there will be several unannounced quizzes at the
beginning of lecture. Their purpose is to make sure that you are keeping up with the material.
There are 3 possible grades that you can receive: 0 (Did not take the quiz or left mostly
blank); 1 (Several mistakes); and 2 (Correct or almost correct). If you have a valid excuse for
missing a quiz (e.g. a doctor’s note), I will not count that quiz towards your average. Your
lowest quiz score will be dropped at the end of the semester.
Participation: I expect you to come to class prepared and to participate in discussions.
Occasionally I will split the class into small groups to work on different tasks; you should
strive to be an active and productive member of your group. You class participation grade
will be reduced if you do not complete reading assignments and if you use a laptop or cell
phone during class.
Response papers: You are expected to turn in 3 short papers (between 1 and 2 pages) in
which you discuss how a current news article relates to the material that we have covered in
class. Good sources for the news articles are: The New York Times, The Economist, The Wall
Street Journal, Newsweek, Time; discussions related to local labor markets (for example from
the News & Record) are also welcome. You should talk to me if you are not sure whether an
article that you found is appropriate. In addition, you can see me if you need a suggestion for
an article (but first try to find one on your own). You can turn these papers in at any point
before the day of the final exam. The only restriction is that you cannot submit more than one
response per week, so do not put this off until the end of the semester. In order to receive full
credit for a response paper, you have to relate the article to a model from class; simply
summarizing the contents of the story is not sufficient.
Class discussion: You have to choose one of your three response papers to present to the rest
of the class and to lead a short discussion. You should start by summarizing the article that
you read and telling us how it fits into the course material. Notify me by 8am on the day
when you would like to do this. On days when your classmates present an article, I expect
you to participate in the discussion by asking questions or offering insightful comments.
Exams: There will be no make-ups for the exams. If you present an approved excuse (e.g. a
doctor’s note), you will have to take the exam you miss at a different time, and it will be
worth 5% or your semester grade. I will redistribute the rest of the weight so that each of the
other two exams is worth 27.5%. You must let me know prior to the exam if you will have to
miss it. Otherwise you will receive a score of 0.
No extra credit assignments will be available at the end of the semester. All grade disputes
must be addressed in writing.
I utilize the following scale to convert number into letter grades:
A+
98% to 100%
A
93% to 97.9%
A90% to 92.9%
B+
86% to 89.9%
B
83% to 85.9%
B80% to 82.9%
C+
76% to 79.9%
C
73% to 75.9%
C70% to 72.9%
D+
66% to 69.9%
D
63% to 65.9%
D60% to 62.9%
F
below 60%
I do not round the numbers. For example, a final score of 85.9% corresponds to a B, but a
score of 86.0% will guarantee a B+.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY: Students are expected to know and abide by UNCG’s
Academic Integrity Policy in all matters pertaining to this course. Violations will be pursued
in accordance with the Policy. The link to UNCG’s academic integrity policy is:
http://sa.uncg.edu/handbook/academic-integrity-policy/
FACULTY AND STUDENT GUIDELINES can be found at http://bae.uncg.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2012/08/faculty_student_guidelines.pdf. Please read them carefully.
COURSE OUTLINE
(Subject to change)
Week 1 – January 13
Week 2 – January 20
Week 3 – January 27
Week 4 – February 3
Week 5 – February 10
Week 6 – February 17
Week 7 – February 24
Introduction and course overview; themes in labor economics
Review of supply and demand analysis in the context of labor economics
Problem Set 1 assigned Thursday 1/15; due Thursday 1/29
Overview of the labor market: definitions, statistics and historical trends
(Chapters 1 and 2; Appendix 1A optional)
Policy application: Minimum wage laws (pages 109-118)
Labor demand (Chapter 3; Appendix 3A optional)
Labor demand elasticities (Chapter 4)
Fixed costs and labor demand (Chapter 5, pages 146-164)
Problem Set 2 assigned Thursday 1/29; due Thursday 2/12
Labor Supply (Chapter 6)
Household production and life cycle labor supply (Chapter 7)
2/12: Exam I
Problem Set 3 assigned Tuesday 2/17; due Tuesday 3/3
Household production and life cycle labor supply (Chapter 7)
Compensating wage differentials (Chapter 8 including Appendix 8A)
Compensating wage differentials (Chapter 8 including Appendix 8A)
Week 8 – March 3
Problem Set 4 assigned Tuesday 3/3; due Tuesday 3/24
Human capital, training and experience (Chapter 9)
SPRING BREAK: March 7 – March 15
Week 9 – March 17
Wage determination and non-monetary incentives (Chapter 11)
Week 10 – March 24
3/24: Exam II
Problem Set 5 assigned Thursday 3/26; due Thursday 4/9
Discrimination in the labor market (Chapter 12)
3/31: Guest speaker (details TBA)
Discrimination in the labor market (Chapter 12)
Week 11 – March 31
Week 12 – April 7
Worker mobility and immigration (Chapter 10)
Problem Set 6 assigned Thursday 4/9; due Thursday 4/23
Week 13 – April 14
Unions and the labor market (Chapter 13)
Unemployment (Chapter 14)
Week 14 – April 21
Earnings inequality (Chapter 15)
4/23: Exam III