Labour Economics (ECNM10021)

UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH
SCHOOL of ECONOMICS
SEMESTER 2
2015-16
Publication Date: 15th December 2015

Overview
The aim of the course is to introduce students and provide overview of the basic
theoretical and empirical literature on employment, wages, working conditions and
unemployment. In particular it will enable students to apply the tools of analysis to a
wide range of models and policy relating to the functioning of labour markets. The
recommended text for the semester is easily accessible and up-to-date: George J.
Borjas (2013): Labor Economics', Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill (International
Edition). We focus on labour supply and demand, and various applications of human
capital investment and education, compensating wage differentials, discrimination,
and labour market policies. The goal is to develop good economic intuition on any
of these topics. In addition, there might be a small variety of readings/notes assigned
as needed either in class or as the model progresses, students are advised to read
these carefully. These readings are selected primarily to aid your comprehension.
Pre-requisite course: Economics 2.
Link to course DRPS entry www.drps.ed.ac.uk/15-16/dpt/cxecnm10021.htm
Class Details
Lecture time/location: Tuesday 9.00-10.50, 7 George Sq, room S37.
Attendance: as required by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Attendance and Engagement Monitoring Policy. No additional attendance is
imposed by me. However: by far the most important resource in this course will be
your lecture notes. Consequently, attending the lectures is very important for your
understanding of the material.
Contact Information
Ludo Visschers
School of Economics, 31 Buccleuch Pl, office 2.13
Email:ludo.visschers@[the_usual_UoE_suffix]
Office hours: Monday 10-11h, and directly after class (Tu 10.50), or by
appointment.
Please let me know in advance that you are dropping by. Note: this is a very busy
semester for me, with academic travels and other engagements. When I am not
travelling, an advance warning of 60 minutes before office hours suffices to
announce your office hour visit.) Please also note that in terms of alternative
appointment times, Wednesday to Friday are much harder times to accommodate.
While I keep a close eye on emails from you on Monday during the working hours,
replies to emails sent on other days might take longer.

Course secretary: Ms Dawn Hutcheon (Economics.Honours@ed.ac.uk)

Textbook: George J. Borjas (2013) Labor Economics, Sixth International Edition,
McGraw-Hill (The 5th edition could also be used, at your own responsibility)
Website/Notes/Old assessment material can be found at:
sites.google.com/site/labouredinburgh. If you want to work ahead, this is where you
find relevant material.
Schedule (with corresponding chapters of the Borjas book between the brackets)
The schedule can adapt, depending on the speed with which we go through the
material. In the past, I have found the schedule's implied speed on the optimistic
side.
Week 1: Labour markets: introduction and labour supply (chapter 2)
Week 2: Labour demand: labour market equilibrium (chapter 3,4)
Week 3: Labour demand: labour market equilibrium (chapter 3,4)
Week 4: Search and matching models (chapter 12.4); Labour market Institutions
(various parts of Borjas, in particular the end of chapters)
Week 5: Human Capital models (chapter 6)
Week 6: Wage and income inequality (chapter 7)
Week 7: Labor Mobility (chapter 8)
Week 8: MIDTERM EXAM, on the material covered in weeks 1-6.
Week 9: Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the labour market (chapter 9) Incentive Pay
(chapter 11)
Week 10: Unfinished material, and if time allows, Behavioural Economics and
Incentives
Assessment and Feedback
Week 5:
Problem Set 1 (returned graded week 6 or before), due Tuesday 9th
Feb
The problem set needs to be submitted electronically to my email address (a scan, or
equivalent, of handwritten work is okay, it does not need to be typed), and in hard
copy, in the wooden box outside the Economics Office, 30 Buccleuch Place, both
before 3pm. Counts for 10%
Week 8:
Mid-semester in-class exam, during lecture time on Tuesday 8th
March, location to be confirmed. Counts 20%
Week 9:
Problem Set 2 (returned graded week 10 at the latest), due Tu. 15th
March.
Again, the problem set needs to be submitted electronically to my email address (a
scan or equivalent of your handwritten work is okay, it does not need to be typed),
and in hard copy, in the wooden box outside the Economics Office, 30 Buccleuch
Place, both before 3pm. Counts for 10%
The school coursework submission policy, which includes details of late submission
penalties and extensions can be found in the programme handbook. The programme
handbook will also give general guidance on word limits, referencing guidance,

plagiarism, and appeals. Please be aware that any appeal to special circumstances
requires documentation. Moreover, you should advise us about special
circumstances as soon as they occur, and definitely not only after due dates/exam
dates.
Feedback
Midterm graded and returned by the end of week 9, barring unforeseen
circumstances. Return of problem sets as mentioned above, again barring unforeseen
circumstances.
Accessibility
If you require this document or any of the internal University Of Edinburgh online
resources mentioned in this document in an alternative format, please contact the
Undergraduate Supervisor Eirlys Armstrong (Eirlys.Armstrong@ed.ac.uk) .
Under Undergraduate Supervisor.