Economics 415 002 Economics of Employment Relations Spring 2014 Mondays 5 30 8 10 PM Bolton B56 Professor Office E mail Office hours Scott Drewianka Bolton 886 sdrewian uwm edu Mondays and Wednesdays 3 30 5 00 PM The scheduled office hours are times during which I will be available to meet with students on a walk in basis Students who wish to meet with me at other times are invited to contact me to set up a special appointment attendance mandatory Course Web Site http pantherfile uwm edu sdrewian www CourseMaterials htm Goals of This Course This course will introduce students to the main topics ideas issues and methodologies of labor economics The goals are as follows 1 to become familiar with basic economic theories about labor markets and labor market institutions 2 to learn some empirical facts related to those theories and 3 to develop an ability to think analytically and quantitatively about issues related to labor economics See the handout entitled The Economic Perspective for an extended description of the economic approach Prerequisites Economics 103 Principles of Microeconomics Textbook available at the University bookstore The course will emphasize the material covered during lectures but a textbook is also available as a study guide Campbell R McConnell Stanley L Brue and David A Macpherson 2014 Contemporary Labor Economics 10th edition Boston MA Irwin McGraw Hill NOTE All editions after the 5th are very similar so please feel free to use them instead For what it may be worth older editions are often much less expensive Four other texts you might consider reading for a different presentation from what McConnell et al offer They should be on physical reserve in the UWM library 1 Lloyd G Reynolds Stanley H Masters and Colletta H Moser 1998 Labor Economics and Labor Relations 11th ed Upper Saddle River NJ Prentice Hall 2 Bruce E Kaufman and Julie L Hotchkiss 2006 The Economics of Labor Markets 7th ed Fort Worth TX Dryden Press 3 Ehrenberg Ronald G and Robert S Smith 2014 Modern Labor Economics Theory and Public Policy 12th ed Boston MA Prentice Hall A bit more advanced 4 Francine D Blau Marianne A Ferber and Anne E Winkler 2013 The Economics of Men Women and Work 7th ed Upper Saddle River NJ Prentice Hall Labor econ from a feminist perspective Grading Undergraduate students Grades will be based on homework 15 percent class participation 5 percent two midterm exams 50 percent and the final exam 30 percent However your grade may be reduced for poor attendance and or tardiness See below for a description of each component Graduate students Grades will be based on homework 10 percent class participation 5 percent two midterm exams 50 percent a final exam 25 percent and a paper 10 percent See below for a description of each component 1 Homework There will be 8 homework assignments during the semester They can be downloaded from the course webpage www uwm edu sdrewian CourseMaterials htm The purpose of homework is not to test your understanding that is what exams are for but rather to develop it This idea guides the homework policies in this class a The goal in grading homework is to reward the effort to understand rather than immediate understanding itself It is okay to make mistakes sometimes you can learn a lot from them provided you put in some thought and effort In keeping with this you will receive full credit for any homework assignment on which you display a reasonable effort to answer the questions b Because discussion promotes learning students are encouraged to work together and discuss homework assignments However each student must submit assignments individually in his or her own words and properly acknowledge all sources and assistance received c Homework must be turned in on time Late work will not be accepted 2 Class Participation Obviously you will learn more and probably a lot more if you are actively involved in the class Beyond that your active participation will help your classmates learn more as well For instance when you ask a question in class you identify a concern that is likely shared by many of your fellow students and bringing up a new example in discussion helps others see how the material can be applied in practice Accordingly part of your grade will reward class participation Everyone will start with a B on this factor but that mark will be raised or lowered throughout the semester depending on how much you participate The average mark on this part has historically been in the A B range Since everyone will be better off if the class stays together you may also receive participation credit for attending the professor s office hours with questions about substantive material from the course 3 Exams There will be two midterm exams and a cumulative final exam Each exam will test students understanding of course material and their ability to apply these theories to specific real world problems Most questions will be of the short answer variety where the desired answer is 1 2 sentences on the topic though some may be a bit more involved There will be no multiple choice questions Sample exams are available on the course webpage www uwm edu sdrewian CourseMaterials htm Midterm exam dates March 3 April 14 Final exam date May 12 5 30 7 30 PM The first exam will cover the broad model of labor supply and demand the determinants of labor supply human capital and possibly migration The second exam will cover labor demand personnel economics and the wage structure The final exam is comprehensive but it will primarily emphasize material not addressed on the first two exams specifically labor unions discrimination and the distribution of income 4 Paper Graduate students only The graduate students in the class will be assigned a short paper about 5 pages on the economics of compensation The specific topic to be addressed will be announced in midsemester and the paper will be due on April 21 Course and Departmental Policies 1 Attendance and Promptness Policy Attendance and promptness are mandatory Both absences and entering exiting the class during lectures are unfair to other students absences make it difficult to keep everyone on the same page and late arrivals early exits create a distraction These considerations will be factored into undergraduate students grades If a student misses more than two class periods his or her grade shall be reduced by two percentage points for each additional absence For example a student who misses four classes will incur a