BPE_LABE Labour Economics

Faculty of Economics and Administration
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Luca Fumarco, PhD (lecturer)
doc. Ing. Štěpán Mikula, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Luca Fumarco, PhD
Department of Economics – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Contact Person: Mgr. Jarmila Šveňhová
Supplier department: Department of Economics – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Prerequisites
The course requires a good knowledge of elementary microeconomics.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course is designed to provide an introduction to the theory and practice of contemporary labor economics. The course develops an understanding of the determinants of wage rates and employment levels in labor markets. The tools of of neoclassical economics will be used to examine such contemporary policy issues as: minimum wage laws, labor market discrimination, employment training programs, and the economic impact of unions. The first part of the course describes labor supply decisions made by rational households, labor demand decisions made by profit-maximizing firms and compensating wage differentials under the assumption of competitive markets. The second part of course is empirical and includes the analysis of wage differentials and human capital investments. Attention is given to the wage incentive schemes, discrimination, wage bargaining and unemployment.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course students should be able to: - explain motivations and behaviour of individual agents in the labor market, - evaluate the impact of government policy and labor market regulations on the functioning of labor markets, - describe economic consequences of labor unions, - explain factors behind the wage differentials, - explain push and pull factors of labor migration, - explain the determinants of unemployment, - explain factors influencing decisions about human capital investments.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to Labor Economics • 2. Labor Supply • 3. Labor Demand • 4. Labor Market Equilibrium • 5. Compensating Wage Differentials • 6. Human Capital • 7. Wage Structure • 8. Labor Mobility • 9. Labor Market Discrimination • 10. Labor Unions • 11. Incentive Pay • 12. Unemployment
Literature
    required literature
  • BORJAS, George J. Labor economics. Eight edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2020, xvi, 478. ISBN 9781260565522. info
Teaching methods
The course is taught through a two-hour lecture every week. Lectures introduce and highlight the central economic arguments behind the theoretical models. To obtain a good result in the final exam students are advised to attend all lectures and to complete the problem sets available in the textbook.
Assessment methods
The final evaluation is composed of: • Assignments: 0-20 points • Midterm exam: 0-40 points • Final Exam: 0-40 points Details are given in the syllabus. Exact exam dates will be announced in due course. Both midterm and final exams will be closed book, closed notes exams. Exams will include the material covered by the textbook. The policy of zero tolerance to academic dishonesty will be strictly applied. Evaluation scale: • A: (88; 100] • B: (81; 88] • C: 5(74; 81] • D: (67; 74] • E: (60; 67] • F: [0, 60]
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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