Labor Economics
Autumn 2013
Syllabus
Dr. Elaina Rose
Associate Professor
erose@u.washington.edu
Savery 342
Class Meetings
Econ443: T Th 1:30-3:30, SAV 131
Office Hours
T Th 4:00, SAV 131, and by appointment
Course Description
In this class we will use economic theory and current and historical labor market
data to understand labor market outcomes such as labor supply, labor demand,
earnings, occupational choice, human capital investment and unemployment.
Implications of policies measures such as workplace regulation, unemployment
compensation and the minimum wage will be discussed.
Prerequisites
ECON 300 (Intermediate Microeconomics) or the equivalent.
Required Text
Labor Economics , Sixth Edition by George Borjas
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Other Required Readings
Recent news articles and policy papers.
Recommended Text
Microeconomics: Theory and Applications (Fifth Edition) by Jeffrey M. Perloff, to
review material from Intermediate Microeconomics.
Class materials
Class materials are posted on Catalyst
Announcements
Announcements will be sent to your University of Washington email account.
Grading
Your class score will be calculated as:
Midterm 1
Midterm 2
Final Exam
Homework
Project
20 %
22 %
23 %
10%
25 %
A score of 90% is generally the cutoff for an A-, 80% for a B-, etc. Grades are
assigned according to the University of Washington grading system. See
http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/front/Grading_Sys.html.
Exams
Exams will consist of problems, short essays, and multiple choice questions. The
only electronic device you may access during the exam is a 4-function calculator.
Makeup exams will be given only under extraordinary and documentable
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circumstances, e.g., death in family, military service, jury duty. Exams will not be
rescheduled exams to accommodate end of quarter or holiday travel.
Homework
Homework assignments are due by the end of class unless otherwise specified.
Homework assignments are independent efforts. You may not collaborate with
others on the assignments. The only materials you can access to help you solve
the problems are class notes, class materials posted on Catalyst, and the
textbook. I will be happy to meet with you if you feel you need more guidance.
Solutions to the homework problems will be posted after everyone has handed
them in. I will review problems as requested.
Academic Conduct
Academic integrity is the cornerstone of the Department’s rules for student
conduct and evaluation of student learning. Students accused of academic
misconduct will be referred directly to the Office of Community Standards and
Student Conduct for disciplinary action pursuant to the Student Conduct Code
and, if found guilty, will be subject to sanctions. Sanctions range from a
disciplinary warning, to academic probation, to immediate dismissal from the
Department and the University, depending on the seriousness of the misconduct.
Dismissal can be, and has been, applied even for first offenses. Moreover, a grade
of zero can be assigned by the instructor for the course.
Contact
Please include Econ443 in the subject of any email to me about the class, and
check your University of Washington email account regularly for announcements.
Please include your student number as well as your name in emails to me. Keep
copies of class emails which may include instructions and class material.
I will notify you by 10 PM the day before class if there is a document you need to
print out and bring to class.
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Schedule
Exams will be held on the dates specified below
Other assignment dates and topics may change
Class
Date
Topic
Readings and Assignments
1
9/26
Intro
Review Theory of the
Consumer
Borjas 2.0-2.2
(Perloff Chapter 4, 5)
2
10/1
Labor Supply I
Borjas 2.3-2.5, 2.7
Baseline Labor Supply Model (p. 1-10)
*HW 1 (Review)
3
10/3
Labor Supply II
Borjas, 2.6-2.8, 2.11 – 2.1
Borjas, Appendix to Ch. 1
Baseline Labor Supply Model (p. 1113)
Labor Supply Applications (p. 1-6)
*Questionnaire
4
10/8
Labor Supply III
Project Meetings
Borjas 2.10-2-11
Labor Supply Applications (p. 7-9)
Home Production
5
10/10 Labor Supply IV
Borjas 2.9, 2.12
4
6
10/15 Research Tools
West Point
West Point Paper
7
10/17 Labor Demand I
HW 2 (Labor Supply)
Borjas 3.0-3.3
Labor Demand, p. 1-6
8
10/22 MIDTERM 1
9
10/24 Labor Demand II
(Perloff Ch. 6, 7)
Borjas 3.4 – 3.5, 3.7-3.8, 3-11
Labor Demand, p. 10-12
10
10/29 Equilibrium I
Borjas, 3.9, 3.10, 4.0-4.5
HW 3 (Labor Demand)
Equilibrium, Sections 1-9
11
10/31 Equilibrium II
Borjas 4.9, 4.10
Equilibrium, Sections 10-11
12
11/5
Wage Determination
Compensating
Differentials
Borjas, 5.0-5.4, 5.6
Massey Mines
13
11/7
Human Capital I
Borjas, 6.0-6.5
HW 4 (Equilibrium)
14
11/12 MIDTERM 2
5
15
11/14 Human Capital II
Race/Gender I
Borjas, 6.7-6.13, Ch.9
16
11/19 Race/Gender II
Borjas, Ch. 9 (cont’d)
HW 5 (Compensating Differentials)
17
11/21 Wage structure
Unemployment
Chapter 7
Chapter 12
18
11/26 Presentation
19
12/3
Presentations
20
12/5
Presentations
No
Class
12/6
HW 6 (HK, Disc, Earnings)
HW 7 (Income distribution)
HW 8 (Unemployment)
12/13 FINAL EXAM 2:30-4:20
SAV 131
Key
Required Reading
(Review)
Bring to Class
Assignment Due
* Not for submission
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