Econ 6442: Advanced Labor Economics II
Spring 2012
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11-12:15
Room: Monteith 311
Instructor Information:
Prof. Delia Furtado
Office: Monteith 342
E-mail: Delia.Furtado@uconn.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2-3
Course Description:
Advanced Labor Economics II is part of a two course sequence for the field of labor economics. We will
start with a theoretical and empirical examination of labor supply but topics such as economics of the
family, human capital, immigration, and peer and network effects will also be covered. Throughout,
emphasis will be placed on the empirical techniques used for identifying causal relationships.
Two main goals guide my teaching of this course. First, I aim to give students a firm grounding on some of
the most influential studies within labor economics as well as the skills necessary for critically assessing
these papers. Second, I view this class as a bridge connecting student roles as consumers of the literature to
producers of the literature. By discussing papers at the forefront of the research frontier, I push students to
consider fruitful avenues for future research.
Optional Texts and Required Readings:
There is no required text for this course. However, for your own reference, you may want to consult the
following books.
Cahuc, P. and A. Zylberberg. Labor Economics, MIT Press: 2004. This is the only existing graduate level
textbook in labor economics.
Ehrenberg, R. and R. Smith. Modern Labor Economics, Addison Wesley: many editions. This is an
undergraduate text which provides good background information.
Killingsworth, M. Labor Supply, Cambridge University Press: 1983. This is THE book for studying labor
supply, but it is a bit old.
The Handbook of Labor Economics, Volumes 1 and 2, North-Holland, 1986; Volumes 3A, 3B, and 3C,
1999; and Volumes 4A and 4B, 2011. We will go over many of the papers in these books. They are all
online.
Wooldridge, J. Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data, MIT Press: 2002. I consult this
graduate econometrics text most often.
Wooldridge, J. Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach , several editions. This is my favorite
undergraduate econometrics textbook.
Angrist, J. and J.S. Pischke. Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist’s Guide, Princeton University
Press: 2009. If you only purchase one book for this class, this should be it. I suggest reading it cover to
cover.
Most of the required readings for the course are available online at www.jstor.org. NBER working papers
are available on www.nber.org. Any supplementary course materials will be provided on the course
website on HuskyCT. Let me know if you have trouble accessing any paper.
Seminars:
Attending seminars is among the best ways to facilitate transition from course work to research.
Grading:
The course grade will be based on a take home problem set, a classroom presentation of a paper critique, a
midterm exam, and a semester paper. The problem set will guide you through a data exercise and help you
prepare for the midterm exam. The purpose of the presentation is to develop your ability to read closely and
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analyze critically recent research, and also to develop a sense of how good research builds on existing
knowledge and points to future breakthroughs. The purpose of the paper is to get you started on original
research. Towards the end of the course, students will be asked to prepare a 20 minute presentation of their
paper. In determining your final grade in the course, the problem set will count for 15 percent, the midterm
30 percent, the paper critique for 15 percent and the paper 40 percent (5% proposal, 35% paper).
Paper Critique
I expect that you will choose to present a paper from the reading list, and will avoid survey papers, but if
you have another paper you would like to write about, let me know. The presentation should be about 30
minutes in length. The first 20 minutes should summarize the paper. The remaining 10 minutes should
critique it and offer ideas for further research.
Semester Paper
There are two ways to fulfill the paper requirement. Option 1: An original paper. The paper cannot
duplicate the paper for another course, but I encourage you to write all of your graduate school papers on
similar topics. Students who took Advanced Labor Economics may revise the paper written for that course
but it needs to be clear that significant revisions have been made. Option 2: Replication of an existing
paper. Students choosing this option should include suggestions for how to extend the analysis. Note: In
replicating papers, students often come up with original ideas for extensions and end up writing original
papers.
Important Dates (tentative)
Choice of paper to critique due
Paper proposal due
Midterm exam
Final paper due
Feb 7
Feb 28
March 29
April 27
Academic Misconduct:
Academic Misconduct in any form is in violation of the University of Connecticut Student Code and will
not be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to: copying or sharing answers on tests, plagiarism, and
having someone else do your academic work. Depending on the act, a student could receive an F grade on
the test/assignment, F grade for the course, and could be suspended or expelled from the University. Please
see the Student Code at http://www.dosa.uconn.edu/code2.html for more details and a full explanation of
the Academic Misconduct policies. With respect to problem sets and reviewing for exams, working in a
small group can be very helpful in terms of the learning process. However, each person is still responsible
for handing in their own (unique) work.
Reading List: I reserve the right to amend this reading list throughout the semester in order to better
accommodate student (and professor) interest.
0. Papers to Get You Started
Angrist, Joshua, and Alan B. Krueger. 1999. "Empirical Strategies in Labor Economics," in Handbook of
Labor Economics Vol. 3A ed. by O. Ashenfelter and D. Card. Amsterdam: North Holland.
Hammermesh, Daniel. 2001. “The Craft of Labormetrics.” Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 53:3,
pp. 363-380.
Kramarz, Frances, Joshua D. Angrist, David M. Blau, Armin Falk, Jean-Marc Robin and Christopher
Taber. “How To Do Empirical Economics,” Investigaciones Económicas, 2006, 30 (2), 179-206.
I. Labor Supply
*Cahuc and Zylberberg, Ch. 1.
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Pencavel, John. 1986. “Labor Supply of Men: A Survey,” in O. Ashenfelter and R. Layard, eds., Handbook
of Labor Economics, North-Holland: Amsterdam, (1):3-102.
Killingsworth, Mark R. and James J. Heckman. 1986. “Female Labor Supply: A Survey.” in O.
Ashenfelter and R. Layard, eds., Handbook of Labor Economics, North-Holland: Amsterdam, (1):104-204.
Blundell, Richard, and Thomas Macurdy. 1999. "Labor Supply: a Review of Alternative Approaches," in
Handbook of Labor Economics Vol. 3A, edited by O. Ashenfelter and D. Card. Amsterdam: North Holland.
*Blau, Francine and Lawrence Kahn, 2007. "Changes in the Labor Supply Behavior of Married Women:
1980–2000," Journal of Labor Economics, vol. 25, pages 393-438.
*Michael Baker & Jonathan Gruber & Kevin Milligan, 2008. "Universal Child Care, Maternal Labor
Supply, and Family Well-Being," Journal of Political Economy, vol. 116(4), pages 709-745.
Cascio, Liz. “Maternal Labor Supply and the Introduction of Kindergartens into American Public Schools.”
Journal of Human Resources, 44(1), 140-170, Winter 2009.
II. Household Production and Formation
*Becker, Gary. 1965. "A Theory of the Allocation of Time." Economic Journal, 75, pp.493-517.
*Gronau, Rueben. 1986. "Home Production—A Survey," in Handbook of Labor Economics Vol. 1, edited
by O. Ashenfelter and R. Layard. Amsterdam: North Holland.
*Hamermesh, D.S. and J.E. Biddle. 1990. "Sleep and the Allocation of Time," Journal of Political
Economy, 98:5 Part 1, pp. 922-43.
Becker, G. S. 1981. A Treatise on the Family, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, chapters 3 and 4.
Becker, G. S. 1975. "A Theory of Marriage" in Economics of the Family: Marriage, Children, and Human
Capital, edited by T. Schultz. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
*Cortes, Patricia and Jose Tessada, 2011. "Low-Skilled Immigration and the Labor Supply of Highly
Skilled Women," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, vol. 3(3), pages 88-123.
Stevenson, Betsey and Justin Wolfers. “Marriage and Divorce: Changes and Their Driving
Forces.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(2), Spring 2007.
*Stevenson, Betsey and Justin Wolfers. “Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: Divorce Laws
and Family Distress.” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121 (1): 267-288, February 2006.
III. Human Capital
Cahuc and Zylberberg, chapter 2.
Becker, G. Human Capital, 3rd ed., New York: Columbia University Press, Part I.
Killingsworth. 1983. Labor Supply, New York: Cambridge University Press, chapter 5.
*Card, David. 1999. “The Causal Effect of Education on Earnings.” In O. Ashenfelter and D. Card, eds.,
Handbook of Labor Economics, North-Holland: Amsterdam, (3A):1801-1864.
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*Angrist, J. and V. Lavy. “Using Maimonides’ Rule to Estimate the Effect of Class Size on Scholastic
Achievement,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114 (May 1999): 533-75.
Altonji, J., T. Elder, and C. Taber. “Selection on Observed and Unobserved Variables: Assessing the
Effectiveness of Catholic Schools” Journal of Political Economy, 113 (February 2005).
Tyler, John, Richard Murnane, and John Willett. 2002. “Estimating the Labor Market Signaling Value of
the GED,” Quarterly Journal of Economics. 115:2, pp. 431-468.
IV. Economics of Immigration
General
Borjas, G. 2000. “The Economic Analysis of Immigration,” in Ashenfelter, O. and D. Card, eds., Handbook
of Labor Economics 3A. Amsterdam: Elsevier .
Card, David. 2005. “Is the New Immigration Really So Bad?” Economic Journal. 115:507, ppF300-F323.
Impact of Immigration on Native Wages
*Card, David. 1990. “The Impact of the Mariel Boatlift on the Miami Labor Market,” Industrial and Labor
Relations Review. 43:2, pp. 245-257.
*Card, David. “Immigrant Inflows, Native Outflows, and the Local Market Impacts of Higher
Immigration,” Journal of Labor Economics, Jan 2001, 19 (1), 22–64.
*Borjas, George, “The Labor Curve is Downward Sloping: Reexamining the Impact of Immigration on the
Labor Market,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2003, pp. 1335–1374.
Peri, Giovanni and Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano, “Immigration and National Wages: Clarifying the Theory
and the Empirics,” 2008.
*Kugler, Adriana and Mutlu Yuksel, “Effects of Low-Skilled Immigration on U.S. Natives: Evidence
from Hurricane Mitch,” IZA Discussion Paper, 2008.
Peri, Giovanni and Chad Sparber, “Task Specialization, Immigration and Wages”,” American Economic
Journal, Applied Economics, 2009.
“The Dynamic Impact of Immigration on Natives’ Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from Israel” (joint
with Sarit Cohen-Goldner). European Economic Review, 55(8), December 2011, pages 1027-1045 (lead
article).
Immigrant Assimilation
Chiswick, Barry. 1978. "The Effect of Americanization on the Earnings of Foreign Born Men", Journal of
Political Economy. 86, pp. 897-921.
Borjas, George. 1985. "Assimilation, Changes in Cohort Quality, and the Earnings of Immigrants", Journal
of Labor Economics. 3:4, pp. 463-489.
*Bleakley, Hoyt and Aimee Chin. 2004. “Language Skills and Earnings: Evidence from Childhood
Immigrants,” Review of Economics and Statistics.
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Bleakley, Hoyt and Aimee Chin. 2008. "What Holds Back the Second Generation?: The Intergenerational
Transmission of Language Human Capital Among Immigrants," Journal of Human Resources, 43:2, pp.
267-298.
V. Social Interactions
Peer Effects
*Manski, Charles F, 1993. “Identification of Endogenous Social Effects: The Reflection Problem.” Review
of Economics and Statistics, 60: 531-542.
*Hoxby, C. “The Effect of Class Size on Student Achievement: New Evidence from Natural Population
Variation.” Quarterly Journal of Economics, November 2000.
*Sacerdote, B. "Peer Effects with Random Assignment: Results for Dartmouth Roommates," Quarterly
Journal of Economics, 116 (2001).
Lavy, Victor, Daniele Paserman, and Analia Schlosser. “Inside the Black Box of Ability Peer Effects:
Evidence from Variation in High-Achievers and Low-Achievers in the Classroom.” Economic Journal,
forthcoming.
Imberman, Scott, Adriana Kugler, and Bruce Sacerdote. 2009. “Katrina’s Children: Evidence on the
Structure of Peer Effects from Hurricane Evacuees” University of Houston, mimeo.
Segregation
*Cutler, D. and E. Glaeser. “Are ghettos good or bad?” Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 112 (1997):
827-872.
Cutler, David M. & Glaeser, Edward L. & Vigdor, Jacob L., 2008. "When are ghettos bad? Lessons from
immigrant segregation in the United States," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 759774, May.
*Ananat, Elizabeth Oltmans 2011. "The Wrong Side(s) of the Tracks: The Causal Effects of Racial
Segregation on Urban Poverty and Inequality."American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 3(2): 34–
66.
Moving to Opportunity experiments: See websites for Lawrence Katz (Dept. of Economics, Harvard
University) and Jeffrey Kling (Brookings Institution).
Paserman, Daniele , Eric Gould and Victor Lavy. “Sixty Years after the Magic Carpet Ride: The Long-Run
Effect of the Early Childhood Environment on Social and Economic Outcomes” Review of Economic
Studies, 78(3), July 2011, pages 938-973.
Cascio, Liz and Ethan Lewis. 2010. “Cracks in the Melting Pot: Immigration, School Choice, and
Segregation.” forthcoming, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy.
Ethnic Networks
Munshi, Kaivan. 2003. “Networks in the Modern Economy: Mexican Migrants in the U.S. Labor Market.”
Quarterly Journal of Economics. 118:2, pp. 549-599.
*Bertrand, Marianne, Erzo F. P. Luttmer and Sendhil Mullainathan, 2000. "Network Effects And Welfare
Cultures," Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 115(3), pages 1019-1055.
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Åslund, Olof and Peter Fredriksson, 2009. "Peer Effects in Welfare Dependence: Quasi-Experimental
Evidence," Journal of Human Resources, vol. 44(3).
Culture
*Fernandez, Raquel and Alessandra Fogli, 2009. "Culture: An Empirical Investigation of Beliefs, Work,
and Fertility," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, vol. 1(1), pages 146-77.
Giuliano, Paola. 2007. “Living Arrangements in Western Europe: Does Cultural Origin Matter?” Journal
of the European Economic Association, 5:5, pp.927-952.
Furtado, Delia, Miriam Marcen, Miriam and Almudena Sevilla-Sanz, 2011. "Does Culture Affect Divorce
Decisions? Evidence from European Immigrants in the US," IZA Discussion Papers 5960, Institute for the
Study of Labor (IZA).
VI. Disability Insurance
Gruber, J. “Disability Insurance Benefits and Labor Supply.” Journal of Political Economy, December
2000.
*Autor, D. and M. Duggan. “The Rise in Disability Roles and Declines in Unemployment.” Quarterly
Journal of Economics, February 2003.
Autor, D. and M. Duggan.. “The Growth in the Social Security Disability Rolls: A Fiscal Crisis
Unfolding.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20 (2006).
*Bound, John. “The Health and Earnings of Rejected Disability Insurance Applicants,” American
Economic Review 79 (1989), 482-503.
Bound, John. “The Health and Earnings of Rejected Disability Insurance Applicants: Reply,” American
Economic Review 81 (1991), 1427-1434.
VII. Discrimination
Cahuc and Zylberberg, Ch. 5.4
Charles, K. and J. Guryan. “Prejudice and Wages: An Empirical Assessment of Becker’s The
Economics of Discrimination,” Journal of Political Economy, December 2008.
Altonji, Joseph G. & Blank, Rebecca M. 1999."Race and gender in the labor market," Handbook of Labor
Economics, O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.). 3, chapter 48, pp. 3143-3259.
Derek Neal and W. Johnson, “The Role of Premarket Factors in Black-White Wage Differences,” Journal
of Political Economy, December 96.
Goldin, Claudia and C. Rouse. 2000, “Orchestrating Impartiality: The Impact of Blind Auditions on the Sex
Composition of Orchestras.” American Economic Review. 90:4, pp.715-41.
*Bertrand, Marianne and Sendhil Mullainathan. 2004. “Are Emily and Brendan More Employable than
Latoya and Tyrone? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination,” American Economic Review.
*Fryer, Roland and Steven Levitt. 2004(August). “The Causes and Consequences of Distinctively Black
Names”, Quarterly Journal of Economics.
Brennerz, Dror and Yona Rubinstein. “Pride and Prejudice: Using Ethnic-Sounding Names and InterEthnic Marriages to Identify Labor Market Discrimination,” manuscript, February, 2011
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