ECO321 Labor Economics
Summer 2008
PROFESSOR:
PHONE:
EMAIL:
OFFICE HOURS:
Dr. Tom Tacker
386-673-3714
tacker@erau.edu
Before and after class and by appointment
TEXT: Labor Economics by Walter Block
(This text assumes student have solid knowledge of economic fundamentals. If you’re a
little rusty on some of that a useful site for review is:
http://economics.about.com/od/microeconomics/a/micro_text.htm )
Course Overview:
Most of Labor Economics is essentially a branch of Microeconomics. In this
course, we will employ mainly microeconomic techniques to analyze the behavior of
individuals in their roles as suppliers of labor services and demanders of labor services.
Students should gain an understanding of the factors that determine wages and
employment in the free market as well as an understanding of the impact of government
labor regulation in relation to unions, discrimination, work-place safety, and other issues.
We will also cover the macroeconomic issues of unemployment, income distribution,
and growth. Course topics will be relevant to students future decisions involving _their,
own labor services, labor services demanded by the firms that, they manage, and many
policy issues that confront everyone in the labor force and all citizen-voters.
GRADING:
Your exam grades will be "curved" and your final grade will be determined
according to the following approximate weights:
15%
25%
30%
30%
Attendance/Participation
Midterm exam (June 28)
Paper/Presentation (Aug 2)
Cumulative Final Exam (Aug 9)
____
Paper
Requirements Body of the paper must be 7-10 pages, typed, double-spaced and be sure to
include bibliography and properly document your sources. Style is as important as content—be
sure spelling, grammar, etc is correct. Papers are due at the last class meeting.
Topic selection
Please see me to get your topic approved before you begin. Most anything related to labor
economics will work. Here are a few examples of previous paper topics: proposals for
reforming the minimum wage, privatizing social security or education, or reducing taxes and
simplifying the system. Of course, there are many other topics you might choose—feel free to
run any ideas by me. You could also browse through these websites: heritage.org, cato.org, or
brook.edu, among many others. In general, don’t rely on television or newspaper sites—
most journalists know a lot less economics than you do.
COURSE OUTLINE:
May 31
Review of Economic Principles
(For a supporting text see
http://economics.about.com/od/microeconomics/a/micro_text.htm )
On the nature of economics and knowledge
Supply, Demand and the functions of price
Public choice principles
Government versus markets
Supply/Demand and some basic population issues
June 7
Fundamental Economics of the Labor Market [Chapters 2-3, 11]
Demand for Labor
Competition
Monopsony
Elasticity
Non-wage labor turnover costs: recruiting, hiring and training costs
Labor Supply
Concept of supply
Utility maximization and individual choice
Labor force participation
Market supply of labor
June 14
III. Issues in Labor Economics
Minimum wage and Discrimination [Chps 6-9 ]
Interpreting the statistics profits vs. discrimination
Possible sources of discrimination
A closer look at individual choice and historical background
June 21
Survey of Regulations in Labor Markets [Chp 23]
Safety
June 28 Midterm exam, review and feedback
July 12
Occupational licensing
Legislating fringe benefits
Other regulations
July 19
Labor Supply Monopoly-- Unions [Chps 6-10]
Industrial unions: practical sources of monopoly power
Union impact on wages, employment and economic welfare
IV. Labor and Macroeconomics chps 22, 24
Unemployment
Optimal search
Employer search
Efficient unemployment wasteful unemployment
July 26
Growth and Productivity
Coordination in the Mixed Economy
Issues in Income Distribution
Aug 2
Student presentations of term papers
Review for final
Aug 9 Cumulative Final Exam, Course wrap-up
*Although I don’t expect any wholesale changes I do reserve the right to alter any of the
above.
Academic Honor Code
Membership in the student body of Rollins College carries with it an obligation, and requires a
commitment, to act with honor in all things. Because academic integrity is fundamental to the
pursuit of knowledge and truth and is the heart of the academic life of Rollins College, it is the
responsibility of all members of the College community to practice it and to report apparent
violations.
The following pledge is a binding commitment by the students of Rollins College:
The development of the virtues of Honor and Integrity are integral to a Rollins College
education and to membership in the Rollins College community. Therefore, I, a student
of Rollins College, pledge to show my commitment to these virtues by abstaining from
any lying, cheating, or plagiarism in my academic endeavors and by behaving
responsibly, respectfully and honorably in my social life and in my relationships with
others.
This pledge is reinforced every time a student submits work for academic credit as his/her own.
Students shall add to all papers, quizzes, tests, lab reports, etc., the following handwritten
abbreviated pledge followed by their signature:
“On my honor, I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on
this work.”
Material submitted electronically should contain the pledge; submission implies signing the
pledge.