Lecturer:	Prof. Dr. John T. Addison (University of South Carolina)
Courses of Studies:	Master Economics, Exchange Students (Undergraduates & Graduates)
Number of Credits:	5 ECTS
Lecture Dates:	Monday, 03.12.12, 11:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. in TW7/310 Tuesday, 04.12.12, 3:30 - 6:45 p.m. in TW7/310 Wednesday, 05.12.12, 1:45 - 5:00 p.m. in TW7/310 Monday, 10.12.12, 11:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. in TW7/310 Tuesday, 11.12.12, 3:30 - 6:45 p.m. in TW7/310 Wednesday, 12.12.12, 1:45 - 5:00 p.m. in TW7/310
	For more information please check the announcement.

Description

The course aims to provide the student with a solid introduction to contemporary labor economics. The objectives are to obtain an appreciation of the theory and reach of labor economics; to understand how labor markets can be analyzed from different economic perspectives; to obtain an understanding of how the experimental method of inquiry can be applied to analyze issues in labor and employment relations; to get some acquaintance with the key institutions of the labor market as well as some appreciation of the diversity of employment relations. The course will comprise 9 chapters in the required text (Ronald G. Ehrenberg and Robert S. Smith, Modern Labor Economics, 11th ed., Boston and New York: Pearson/Addison-Wesley, 2011). The course material covers labor demand and supply, monopsony, minimum wages, labor as a quasi-fixed factor, hiring and training investments by the firm, internal labor markets, compensating wage differentials, investments in human capital, signaling, payment systems, contract theory, efficiency wages, the wage-tenure profile, the economic impact of unions, and unemployment plus an additional topic not contained in that text. The additional topic is German codetermination, drawing upon John T. Addison (2009), The Economics of Codetermination: Some Lessons of the German Experience, New York: Palgrave Macmillan; and Uwe Jirjahn (2010), Ökonomische Wirkungen der Mitbestimmung: Ein Update, Arbeitspapier 186, Hans Böckler Stiftung.

 
Copies of the lecture notes will be made available to the students at the start of the course.

Topics

The topics of the lectures and the relevant chapter(s) from the set text are given below. One piece further reading will be provided for topic 8.

1. The demand for labor (3)
2. Demand elasticities (4)
3. Labor market frictions (5)
4. The simple theory of labor supply (6)
5. Compensating wage differentials (8)
6. Human capital investments (9)
7. Pay and productivity (11)
8. Unions (13)
9. Unemployment (14)
10. Codetermination: the German Model

Assessment

The grade for the course will be determined on the basis of a final exam (65%), class participation (10%), and a term paper (25%). The final exam will be held on February 13, 2013. The room will be announced later.

Literature

• Ronald G. Ehrenberg and Robert S. Smith, Modern Labor Economics, 11th ed., Boston and New York: Pearson/Addison-Wesley, 2011. (available in the course reserve at the university library)
• Uwe Jirjahn (2010), Ökonomische Wirkungen der Mitbestimmung: Ein Update, Arbeitspapier 186, Hans Böckler Stiftung. (Download)

Lecture Notes

• Lecture 1
• Lecture 2
• Lecture 3
• Lecture 4
• Lecture 5
• Lecture 6
• Lecture 7
• Lecture 8
• Lecture 9
• Lecture 10