GRA 6628 Labor Economics
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APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/2016 |
GRA 6628 Labor Economics
Responsible for the course
Plamen Nenov, Christian Brinch
Department
Department of Economics
Term
According to study plan
ECTS Credits
6
Language of instruction
English
Introduction
The labor market is probably the most important market in the economy, and a thorough understanding of the labor market is key for understanding the workings of the economy in general and the effects of public policy targeted to the labor market in particular, such as education policies, income taxation and benefits for the sick and the elderly. This course teaches the main themes of labor economics. The course also teaches modern design based approaches to empirical analysis that are prevalent in labor economics and supplements theoretical analysis of the labor market with empirical studies.
Learning outcome
After taking this course, student should :
know the core theoretical analysis of key questions in labor economics
know how to assess such questions using design based econometric approaches
know the core empirical results from applied labor economics.
Prerequisites
GRA 6626 Topics in Microeconomics or equivalent
All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have spesific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.
Compulsory reading
Books:
Angrist, Joshua D. and Jörn-Steffen Pischke. 2015. Mastering metrics : the path from cause to effect. Princeton University Press. Selected parts
Borjas, George J.. 2013. Labor economics. 6th ed, international ed. Mc Graw Hill. Selected parts
Lazear, Edward P. 1995. Personnel Economics. MIT Press. Selected parts
Other:
During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course and the examination. In partivular, the course will cover a number of journal articles that will be studied as cases of empirical analysis during the course.
Recommended reading
Course outline
- Empirical strategies in labor economics
- Labor supply
- Economics of education and training
- Discrimination in the labor market
- Incentives and personnel economics
Computer-based tools
Learning process and workload
A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours.
Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/It's learning or text book.
Examination
The course grade will be based on the following activities and weights:
20% group project/presentation with 4-6 students in each group.
80% 3 hour written final exam.
| Form of assessment | Weight | Group size |
| Presentation | 20% | |
| Written examination 3 hours | 80% | Individual |
Specific information regarding student assessment will be provided in class. This information may be relevant to requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several components of the overall assessment. All parts of the assessment must be passed in order to get a grade in the course.
Examination code(s)
GRA 66284 (presentation) accounts for 20% of GRA 6628.
GRA 66285 (three hour written exam) accounts for 80% of the grade in GRA 6628.
Both parts of the evaluation need to be passed in order to get a grade in the course.
Examination support materials
BI approved exam calculator
Bilingual dictionary
Peter Berck og Knut Sydsæter. 1993. Economists' Mathematical Manual. 2nd ed. Berlin: Springer Verlag
Permitted examination support materials for written examinations are detailed under examination information in the student portal @bi. The section on support materials and the use of calculators and dictionaries should be paid special attention to.
Re-sit examination
It is only possible to retake an examination when the course is next taught. The assessment in some courses is based on more than one exam code. Where this is the case, you may retake only the assessed components of one of these exam codes. All retaken examinations will incur an additional fee. Please note that you need to retake the latest version of the course with updated course literature and assessment. Please make sure that you have familiarised yourself with the latest course description.
Additional information
Honor Code
Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and represent values that are encouraged and promoted by the honor code system. This is a most significant university tradition. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the ideals of the honor code system, to which the faculty are also deeply committed.
Any violation of the honor code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for cheating. These issues are a serious matter to everyone associated with the programs at BI and are at the heart of the honor code and academic integrity. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honor code, please ask.