Department of Economics Queen’s University 94 University Avenue Kingston, Ontario, Canada ECON 360 - LABOUR ECONOMICS
WINTER TERM 2015
Instructor: Jan Zabojnik
E-mail:
zabojnik@econ.queensu.ca
Office:
Dunning Hall 319
Office Hours:
As posted on Moodle
TA:
As posted on Moodle
Lecture Room:
Lecture times:
Watson 217
W 1:00
F 11:30
Contact information
The primary way to contact me is by e-mail at zabojnik@econ.queensu.ca. Please, do not
e-mail me via Moodle; I will not reply to such emails as I find the system cumbersome.
Also, do not leave messages on my answering machine; I do not check it regularly.
Moodle
All handouts will be distributed through Moodle at https://moodle.queensu.ca. You should
check the site regularly for new material and announcements. Also, it would be great if
you could post your picture on the course’s site – it would help me remember your names.
Course overview
This course is an introduction to the study of labour markets. In the first part of the course,
we will examine how workers, firms, and the government interact in the labour market.
The focus here will be on the theories of wage determination, compensating differentials,
investment in human capital, labour market discrimination, and job search. In the second
part of the course, we will look inside the firms and cover topics such as motivation and
incentive pay, promotions, career concerns, and team work.
Prerequisites: I assume that you have completed Economics 212 and Math 126 or
equivalent and that you have a working knowledge of algebra and elementary calculus.
Readings: The main content of the course will be developed through lectures. The
recommended textbook is George J. Borjas, “Labor Economics”, 6th edition, 2012. An
additional text that will be useful for the second part of the course is Edward P. Lazear and
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Michael Gibbs, “Personnel Economics in Practice,” 2nd edition, 2009. Both texts should
be available at the university bookstore. The texts are recommended but not required.
Note: Lectures will cover material beyond that contained in the handouts. The handouts
are not intended to be a substitute for attending lectures.
Evaluation and course policies
Your grade will be computed as follows:
Homeworks (2)
Midterm (February 27)
Final Exam
20%
35%
45%
Important: The course policies explained here will not be renegotiated. I will not
respond to individual requests for re-weighting, extra credit, and other individual
exceptions from the grading scheme.
Homeworks
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There will be 2 homework assignments, due by the start of class on the due dates listed
in the schedule below.
The Assignment Drop Box is on the 2nd floor of Dunning, facing the elevator.
The Drop Box will disappear at the start of class on the due date. The scores for late
assignments and assignments dropped in the wrong box will be scaled down by 50%.
All late assignments should be slid under my office door; assignments dropped in the
wrong box may never be seen again.
You may work in groups. However, each student must submit their own assignment,
which cannot be a copy of someone else's homework. Assignments that look like
Xerox copies of each other will all receive zero points.
Assignments must be submitted in legible form (Regulation 6 in the A&S 2014-2015
Academic Regulations). If the TA or I find it hard to read a student’s assignment #1, I
will ask the student to submit assignment #2 in typewritten form.
Midterm and Final Exam
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There will be one in-class midterm, on Friday, February 27. Please make sure you
don’t have any conflicts on this date.
No make-up exam will be given. If you miss the midterm, I will reallocate the
corresponding weight to the final (i.e., your final will count 80%).
Electronic organizers, cell phones, books, and notes may not be used during exams.
The only calculators that are allowed are the Casio 991 series and those with a Gold
Applied Science approval sticker or a Blue Commerce approval sticker.
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Re-grading
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If you believe a mistake was made in grading your work, please send an email to the
TA and describe the problem (even if it is just an inquiry on something unclear or you
want to point out an error in summing up the score).
Any request for re-grading or inquiry about a missing assignment must be submitted
within two weeks after the assignment/exam is available in the Distribution Center.
If after the TA’s response you are still not satisfied that your work was graded fairly,
please bring the issue to my attention and I will make a final decision.
If you only wish to discuss with me your answers without asking for re-grading, I
will be happy to do that.
Numbers In, Letters Out
All assignments and exams in this course will receive numerical marks. Your final grade
for the course will be derived by converting your numerical percentage course average to a
letter grade according to Queen’s Official Grade Conversion Scale, which can be found at:
http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/academics/undergraduate/current/new-grading-scheme
Class Etiquette and Academic Integrity
Class Etiquette
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Please turn your cell phones, beepers and pagers off before entering the class.
Please arrive on time.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is constituted by the five core fundamental values of honesty, trust,
fairness, respect and responsibility (see www.academicintegrity.org). These values are central
to the building, nurturing and sustaining of an academic community in which all members of
the community will thrive. Adherence to the values expressed through academic integrity
forms a foundation for the "freedom of inquiry and exchange of ideas" essential to the
intellectual life of the University (see the Senate Report on Principles and Priorities).
Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the regulations concerning
academic integrity and for ensuring that their assignments conform to the principles of
academic integrity. Information on academic integrity is available in the Arts and Science
Calendar (see Academic Regulation 1), on the Arts and Science website
(see http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/sites/default/files/Academic_Regulations.pdf), and from the
instructor of this course. Departures from academic integrity include plagiarism, use of
unauthorized materials, facilitation, forgery and falsification, and are antithetical to the
development of an academic community at Queen's. Given the seriousness of these matters,
actions which contravene the regulation on academic integrity carry sanctions that can range
from a warning or the loss of grades on an assignment to the failure of a course to a
requirement to withdraw from the university.
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Tentative Schedule
The schedule below is tentative; it is likely that we will deviate from it or even omit/add
some topics.
Week 1 (1/7 & 1/9)
Introduction; the work-leisure model
Labour supply
Readings: Borjas Ch. 1.1-1.3; Ch. 2.1-2.8; 2.11
Week 2 (1/14 & 1/16)
Short-run demand for labour
Long-run demand for labour
Readings: Borjas Ch. 4.1-4.10; Ch. 5.1
Labour market equilibrium
Applications
Readings:Borjas Ch. 5
Monopsony
Compensating wage differentials
Readings: Borjas Ch. 6
Week 3 (1/21 & 1/23)
Week 4 (1/28 & 1/30)
Week 5 (2/4 & 2/6)
More compensating wage differentials
Human capital
Readings:Borjas Ch. 6.5; Ch. 7.1-7.4
Week 6 (2/11 & 2/13)
More human capital
Job match and job turnover
Review
Readings:Borjas Ch. 7.9-7.13; Ch. 9.8-9.11; Lazear Ch. 6
Week 7 (2/18 & 2/20)
Mid-term reading week
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Hwk #1 due on 2/13
Labour market discrimination
MIDTERM (2/27)
Readings:Borjas Ch. 10.1-10.3
Week 8 (2/25 & 2/27)
Week 9 (3/4 & 3/6)
Midterm results
More labour market discrimination
Readings:Borjas Ch. 10.3-10.10; Lazear Ch. 2
Week 10 (3/11 & 3/13)
Hiring the right people
Agency theory
Readings:Lazear Ch. 3; Borjas Ch. 12.5
Week 11 (3/18 & 3/20)
Incentive pay, piece rates
Relative performance evaluations
Readings: Borjas Ch. 12.1; Lazear Ch.9
Week 12 (3/25 & 3/27)
Promotions and tournaments
Efficiency wages, career concerns
Readings: Borjas Ch. 12; Lazear Ch. 9
Week 13 (4/1 & 4/3)
Team work
Loose ends, Review
Readings: Lazear Ch. 12
Hwk #2 due on 4/1
Copyright notice: This material is copyrighted and is for the sole use of students registered in ECON 360.
This material shall not be distributed or disseminated to anyone other than students registered in ECON 360.
Failure to abide by these conditions is a breach of copyright, and may also constitute a breach of academic
integrity under the University Senate's Academic Integrity Policy Statement.
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