Advanced Labor Economics

Catalog description

This course provides an up-to-date overview of the labor market. While the benchmark competitive market model is discussed, the main focus is on the mechanisms that prevent the labor market from being competitive. At the micro level, the course addresses wage formation through bargaining and contract analysis. At the macro-level the course addresses wage dispersion and unemployment. The course will incorporate the latest theoretical models on each of the topics covered and discuss their empirical validity. This course will include a term paper which will provide an opportunity to explore some area of the syllabus in more depth. Prerequisite(s): A ECO 300, A ECO 301 and an introductory statistics class (A ECO 320 or equivalent). A prior course in labor economics will be helpful but not required. May not be offered in 2024-2025.