American University in Kosovo
Labor Economics
Course Syllabus
1.0
Instructor Information:
Faculty:
E-mail:
Office:
Office hours:
Besnik Bislimi
bbislimi@aukonline.org
+381 38 608 608 / ext. 501
T/Th 11:00 – 12:30
2.0
Course Number:
ECON 441
3.0
Course Title:
Labor Economics
4.0
Course Structure:
Structure:
Credits:
Prerequisites:
Times & location:
Combination of lectures, tutorials and discussions
4
Principles of Microeconomics
Section:
ECON 441 - 50
Days:
Monday / Wednesday
Time:
14:15 – 15:45
Location:
204
Additional information
Students are expected to attend all scheduled lessons. Regardless of the reason, students
may have no more than 3 un-excused absences before their grade is affected. Each unexcused absence after 3 will lower the student’s course grade by one letter grade. This is
mandatory policy--there will be no exceptions to this rule and attendance will be taken
on a daily basis. Additionally, students are expected to come to class prepared to
participate in the lesson and take notes. At a minimum, students should bring to every
class a notebook and a pen or pencil. Cell (mobile) phones and similar electronic devices
such as MP3 players, laptops, and so on should be switched off and put away at the
beginning of class. Students whose phones or similar devices disrupt class due to ringing
or similar behavior will be asked to leave the class and their grade will be lowered by
one letter. Any student email that aims at negotiating the final grade will be
sanctioned.
Finally students who have special needs related to poor eyesight, learning disabilities, or
any similar issue should contact the instructor at the beginning of the term so that
arrangements can be made to provide the necessary assistance.
1
5.0
Course Description:
This course familiarizes AUK students with some important terms and concepts of Labor
Economics (demand for labor; supply of labor, elasticity of the labor demand;
monopsony; minimum wages; labor unions, collective bargaining; unemployment,
wage discriminations, wage inequalities etc). The objective for the student is to
have a basic understanding of how a labor market functions at the microeconomic
level They will learn the ways many relevant business and household decisions are
made, while determining the demand and supply for labor. In addition the role of
institutions, norms, traditions and legislation in determining the level of
employment and wages will be enlightened
6.0
Content:
Note. The instructor reserves the right to make alterations to this schedule at his discretion.
Chapter 1 & 2: The Study of Labor Economics; The Demand for Labor
Chapter 3: Topics in Labor Demand
Chapter 4: The Supply of Labor: Labor Force Participation
Chapter 5: The Supply of Labor: Hours of Work
Chapter 7: Labor Market Equilibrium
Chapter 8: Information and Job Search
Chapter 9: Monopsony and Minimum Wages
Chapter 10: Internal Labor Market
Chapter 12: Unions and Collective Bargaining
Chapter 14: Unemployment
7.0
Instructional Strategies:
Lectures, discussion topics during tutorials, debates, presentations
8.0
Text and Materials:
Fundamentals of Labor Economics, 1st Edition
Thomas Hyclak - Lehigh University
Geraint Johnes - Lancaster University Management School
Robert Thornton - Lehigh University
ISBN-10: 039592362X ISBN-13: 9780395923627
2
9.0
Evaluation and Grading:
Activity and assignment point values
Grading will be based on:

Class attendance and participation
10% of the Grade

First Test
25% of the Grade

Activity
10% of the Grade

Presentation
20% of the Grade

Final Test
35% of the Grade
The maximum number of points is 100. The Final grade will be calculated as follows:
Grade
Percentage
Grade Points
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD
F
93-100%
90-92%
87-89%
83-86%
80-82%
77-79%
73-76%
70-72%
60-69%
Below 60%
4
3.7
3.3
3
2.7
2.3
2
1.7
1
0
10. Cheating
All work and materials that you submit to the instructor for a grade must be your own
work. Copying the work of others, using unapproved materials during exams and quizzes,
or taking credit for work that you did not actually do is considered cheating and will not
be tolerated.
Lecturer
Student signature
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