Topics in Labor Economics

About

The course provides an overview of core topics and concepts to understand modern labor markets. It uses theoretical models to inform empirical analysis and policy; and stresses the links between theoretical and careful empirical research. We will also discuss empirical studies on labor market topics that use state-of-the-art methods to identify causal effects. A key goal is to discuss the current research frontier and enable students to develop research ideas and implement their own research projects

Course leader

Prof. M. Christina Gathmann, Director of Labor Market Department at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER), Luxembourg

Target group

Master's students, doctoral candidates, researchers, and university professors, as well as other executives in the public and private sectors

Course aim

Neoclassical Labor Demand
- We start from the application of producer theory to labor markets and in particular relative factor demands. We will also look at some applications of the organizing framework in areas like migration or the impact of technological change.
Monopsony and Minimum Wages
- The impact of imperfect competition on employment and wages, and how to estimate those empirically. We then analyze the impact of minimum wages in markets with and without perfect competition.
Labor Supply
- Core models of labor supply, the impact of income and the role of opportunity costs for female labor supply.
Human Capital and Skill Investment
- An overview of how technological change affects the demand for skills, wages and wage differentials. Canonical framework inspired by Tinbergen. To what extent can supply shifts explain changes in wage differentials? What role does skill demand play?
Technological Change and Tasks
- Task-based framework and some of its predictions and applications.
Wage Inequality
- Stylized facts about wage and earnings inequality and the factors increasing or decreasing wage inequality.
Inequality and Intergenerational Mobility
- Inequality in incomes and in particular top incomes. Measurement and data on top incomes. What are important influences on the top income share? Intergenerational inequality, the Becker-Tomes model and empirical studies on intergenerational mobility
Local Labor Markets
- Rosen-Roback model of local labor markets. Empirical predictions and applications of the basic model on sorting and spillovers across local labor markets.
Trade and Local Labor Markets
- Trade and labor markets; how does trade (and comparative advantage) affect production, employment and wages in local labor markets. Empirical applications: China Syndrome, European evidence
Gender Differences
- Gender gaps and their underlying sources. Importance of labor supply, career choices, norms and bargaining.
Careers within the Firm (Personnel Economics)
Peer Effects in the Workplace
- Externalities in production and social environments; human capital spillovers and evidence.
Workshop on How to Write Referee Reports and Research Papers

Fee info

Tuition fees include all materials needed for the course and the provision of information about accommodation and restaurants near ISEG