Syllabus
Labor Economics (Fall 2010)
National Cheng Kung University
Instructor: 田維華 (Wei-Hua Tian)
Office: 社科大樓北棟 8 樓
Office Hour: by appointment
Telephone: 06-2757575 ext. 56323
Email: whtian@mail.ncku.edu.tw
Class Information: Time: Wednesday 9:10 am to 12:00 pm
Room: 社科大樓一樓階梯教室
Website: 成大數位學習平台
Course Synopsis: Labor Economics focuses on the behavior of workers and firms in the labor market. We will cover some of the fundamental concepts in labor economics such as labor demand, labor supply, and human capital theory. This course will also provide an introduction of various labor topics such as labor mobility, labor market discrimination and unions.
Required Text: Modern Labor Economics (10 th
edition), Ehrenberg and Smith
(華泰代理)。
Optional Texts: Labor Economics (5 th edition), Borjas (滄海代理)。
勞動經濟學 (初版), 彭百崇 (華泰出版) 。
Course Requirements:
A. Problem Sets: The problem sets will be given through out the semester to help you learn and understand the course material. They also provide good practice and review for the quizzes. You may work with others, but it is recommended that you do the exercises and turn in the problem sets on your own. The problem sets are due at the beginning of the class and will be worth 25% of your final grade.
B. Quizzes: There will be three exams given during the semester.
Note1: Anyone cheated in Exams will get zero points on that test.
Note2: Exams will be worth 3*15%=45% of your final grade.
C. Term Paper Requirement: There will be a final term paper requirement.
Students should discuss the ideas of the term paper with me before the end of November.
Students will take turns to present their ideas and progresses in class by schedule. Final Term paper will be worth 30% of your final grade.
D. Make-up Policy: No student will be allowed to make up quizzes or problem sets. However, student with an excused absence will be given special considerations. Examples of an excuse
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absence are major illness; death of a member of the student’s immediate family, and University sponsored trips. In each case, written verification is required.
E. Grade Disputes: Students who have questions regarding the grades of their quiz/problem set should resubmit the exam/problem set to me within one week of the date of its return. Re-graded quiz/problem set may receive more or less points.
Course Outline:
I.
Introduction to Labor Economics (Chapter 1 and 2)
II.
Labor Demand (Chapter 3, 4 and 5) a.
Labor Demand in Competitive Markets b.
Labor Demand under Imperfect Competition c.
Labor Market Regulations d.
Demand Elasticities e.
Quasi-Fixed Labor Costs and Dynamics
III.
Labor Supply (Chapter 6 ) a.
Labor Supply of Individuals b.
Labor Force Participation: A Theory of the Decision to Work
IV.
Compensating Wage Differentials (Chapter 8) a.
Compensating Wage Differentials b.
Hedonic Wage Theory
V.
Human Capital (Chapter 9) a.
The Basic Model b.
Issues in estimation of returns to schooling c.
Signaling d.
Effects of school quality on achievement
VI.
Worker Mobility (Chapter 10) a.
Migration b.
Immigration c.
Turnover
VII.
Labor Market Discrimination (Chapter 12) a.
Sources of Earnings Differences b.
Theories of Market Discrimination
VIII.
Unions and the Labor Market (Chapter 13) a.
Collective Bargaining b.
Effects of Unions
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