040298 UK Labor Economics (BA) (2020S)

UPDATE: Due to the cancellation of in-class sessions for the entire spring semester 2020, all affected lectures are replaced by lecture live streams. These live streams will take place during the scheduled time slots and can be accessed via the Moodle group of the course. Students can also ask questions by email or video chat. The scheduled sit-in midterm and final exams will be replaced by take-home exams. All relevant instructions will be communicated via moodle. (Last updated: June 2020)

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Content

This course aims at introducing students to the theory and empirics of labor economics. We will discuss the prevalent economic theories and examine recent empirical evidence, with an emphasis on the application of appropriate empirical methods. Covered topics include labour supply, the role of education and skills, unemployment, discrimination, earnings inequality and labour market policies.

Typical research questions in labour economics are: What are the returns to schooling? What is the impact of technical change on jobs and wages? Why are women paid less? How does unemployment insurance affect labour supply?

Course goals

At the end of the course, students should have a comprehensive understanding of the labour market and be able to analyse related policy questions. Based on their knowledge of analytical tools and methods, they should be able to critically judge research conducted in labour economics.

Prerequisites

Knowledge of econometrics and microeconomics (as taught in core courses).