Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
5 credits
30.0 h
Q1
Teacher(s)
Declercq Koen (compensates Dejemeppe Muriel); Dejemeppe Muriel; Van der Linden Bruno;
Language
English
Main themes
It is widely accepted that the labour market does not function as a standard purely competitive market. The course discusses why actual labour markets are far more complex than this convenient reference model. It ad-vances four main channels through which the relationship between wages, employment and unemployment is affected (1) employees bargaining power (due to unionisation, turnover costs or investment); (2) risk aversion; (3) imperfect information; (4) monopsony power; (5) "social norms". The courses therefore cover a wide spec-trum of theories. Within the time available, it is only possible to provide an introduction to these theories.
Aims
At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to : | |
| 1 | The objective of the course is to develop graduate students' abilities in acquiring a better understanding of the functioning of labour markets on the basis of the recent literature of the profession. This literature is usually formulated in terms of formal mathematical models. The lectures aim at helping the student to use and under-stand the intuition of these formal models as tools for the analysis of the labour market. Moreover, they endeav-our to foster the students' understanding of the methodological issues involved when going from the theoretical analysis to the empirical testing of hypotheses formulated by theory. |
The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
A selection of the following topics will be covered during the course:
Job search
Equilibrium unemployment
Collective Bargaining
Contracts, risk-sharing and incentives
Insurance policies
Education and training policies
Job search
Equilibrium unemployment
Collective Bargaining
Contracts, risk-sharing and incentives
Insurance policies
Education and training policies
Teaching methods
The course consists of lectures. The topics will be introduced during the lectures.
Reading assignments are also possible. Then, students are expected to come to class having read the assigned documents and ready to participate in discussion.
Reading assignments are also possible. Then, students are expected to come to class having read the assigned documents and ready to participate in discussion.
Evaluation methods
Continuous Evaluation.
1. The course material of the lectures will be evaluated on the basis of a written final exam.
2. Approximately each week, there will be one homework assignment. Typically, you will have to solve (an) exercise(s). You could also have to read a paper.
Grading is based on the following weights:
Homework assignments: 20%
Final exam (during the regular examination period): 80%
You are allowed to present the final exam twice during a single academic year. If you fail at the first occasion the weight attached to the second final exam will be 100% if this improves your final result.
You are allowed to present the final exam twice during a single academic year. If you fail at the first occasion the weight attached to the second final exam will be 100% if this improves your final result.
1. The course material of the lectures will be evaluated on the basis of a written final exam.
2. Approximately each week, there will be one homework assignment. Typically, you will have to solve (an) exercise(s). You could also have to read a paper.
Grading is based on the following weights:
Homework assignments: 20%
Final exam (during the regular examination period): 80%
You are allowed to present the final exam twice during a single academic year. If you fail at the first occasion the weight attached to the second final exam will be 100% if this improves your final result.
You are allowed to present the final exam twice during a single academic year. If you fail at the first occasion the weight attached to the second final exam will be 100% if this improves your final result.
Other information
Prerequisites:
Economics: A course in microeconomics
Math: A course in algebra and some familiarity with calculus and, especially, with the concept of derivatives.
Econometrics: It is assumed that students have at least a basic knowledge in econometrics.
Although it is not a prerequisite, some students have already followed an introduction to labor economics at the undergraduate level or in a professional master ("LECON2051 Travail, chômage et politiques d'emploi" is an example at the ESL). If not, the student should be aware that some basic topics in labor economics are not covered by LECON2608: labor supply, labor demand and human capital theory in particular. Often, they have to some extent been introduced in a course in microeconomics or in macroeconomics. It is assumed that students have at least a basic knowledge about static labor demand and supply, perfect competition theory. Having heard about compensating wage differentials and human capital theory is an advantage but not a prerequisite.
Economics: A course in microeconomics
Math: A course in algebra and some familiarity with calculus and, especially, with the concept of derivatives.
Econometrics: It is assumed that students have at least a basic knowledge in econometrics.
Although it is not a prerequisite, some students have already followed an introduction to labor economics at the undergraduate level or in a professional master ("LECON2051 Travail, chômage et politiques d'emploi" is an example at the ESL). If not, the student should be aware that some basic topics in labor economics are not covered by LECON2608: labor supply, labor demand and human capital theory in particular. Often, they have to some extent been introduced in a course in microeconomics or in macroeconomics. It is assumed that students have at least a basic knowledge about static labor demand and supply, perfect competition theory. Having heard about compensating wage differentials and human capital theory is an advantage but not a prerequisite.
Online resources
Slides, exercises, compulsory readings will be available on the course webpage on Moodle UCL (http://moodleucl.uclouvain.be/).
Bibliography
Cahuc, Pierre, Carcillo Stéphane and André Zylberberg (2014), Labor Economics, 2nd edition, The MIT Press.
Garibaldi, Pietro (2006), Personnel Economics in Imperfect Labour Markets, Oxford University Press.
Boeri, Tito, and Jan van Ours (2013), The Economics of Imperfect Labor Markets, 2nd edition, Princeton University Press.
In addition various scientific papers are used. Their list is provided in the slides.
Garibaldi, Pietro (2006), Personnel Economics in Imperfect Labour Markets, Oxford University Press.
Boeri, Tito, and Jan van Ours (2013), The Economics of Imperfect Labor Markets, 2nd edition, Princeton University Press.
In addition various scientific papers are used. Their list is provided in the slides.
Faculty or entity
ECON
