IRHR 516 LABOR MARKET ANALYSIS, Spring 2007
Dept. of
Labor Studies and IR
Penn State
University
Robert Drago
drago@psu.edu
Mon. 4-7PM,
216 Willard
REVISED 3/8/07. I RECOMMEND NOT
PRINTING THIS SYLLABUS BECAUSE IT IS REVISED FREQUENTLY. IT IS SAFER TO
BOOKMARK THIS PAGE ON YOUR BROWSER.
This course is designed to familiarize students
with a variety of theories about how labor markets work, including
neoclassical, institutionalist, and political economy models. Topics include: an overview and history of
the field, working time, wages and benefits.
The mathematical content of the course is not high, but students are
expected to read around 200 pages per week. The course objective is to provide
students with the ability to read most of the literature in the field with a
critical eye.
Requirements:
1)
Preparation - Do
each week’s reading before attending class and be prepared to discuss (20%)
2)
Presentations
(10%)
3)
Mid-term exam
(15%)
4)
Final paper (30%)
5) Final Exam
(25%)
Related Information:
1) Students will
receive preparation grades each day at the end of class after the first day of
class (3 pts. for being present, 6 pts. for meaningful contributions). Preparation means understanding the readings and contributing to the
discussions, particularly when other students are presenting. Students can
miss up to one class period without penalty.
2)
Presentations
involve covering two assigned readings in different class periods over the
course of the semester. For multiple chapters
of books, each chapter counts as a presentation. Students are
expected to provide notes along with three discussion questions in powerpoint or
Word a week in advance of each presentation (please make 12 copies for the class), and can
sign up for presentations on the first day of class. Presentations will
start with readings for February 5, and exclude anything written by Drago.
[names for presentations will be in square brackets below]
3)
The mid-term and
final exams are in-class and will last one hour. Each exam will allow students the choice of
answering four out of six questions provided.
4)
A co-authored
15-page,
double-spaced and typed final research paper with full references is due at the
beginning of the final examination period (May 7, 4p). Each student should
team up with another and meet with me during the first two weeks of class to decide on a topic for the
course paper.
Access to Readings:
Copies of the 1st or 2nd edition of Unlevel Playing Fields, and of The Invisible Heart should be available
from amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. Except where noted, all
other articles are available on-line from the PSU library at
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/
"TBD" is for papers that are not available on-line; a single copy will be
distributed the first day of class for students to copy.
Jan 22/29 - Neoclassical and Political Economy Models of Labor Markets, Notes3&4, Notes6, Notes7
Albelda,
RP, R Drago & S Shulman, Unlevel Playing Fields, (Economic Policy
Bureaul, 2004), Ch.s 3, 4, 6, 7.
*Ehrenberg, RG & RS Smith, Modern Labor Economics, 4th ed; (HarperCollins, 1991), Ch.s 1 & 2.
Feb 5
Neal, D. "How Vouchers Could Change the Market for Education," Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 2002.
Persky, J. "Retrospectives: Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Classical Creed," Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 2001.
Fehr, E. and G. Simon. "Fairness and Retaliation: The Economics of Reciprocity," Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer 2000.
Feb 12/19 - Full & Part-time Work, Flexibility
The Fair Labor Standards Act, Read Sections 6 and 7 (Minimum Wages and Maximum Hours) only. 2/12
Drago, R. "Trends in Working Time in the U.S.: A Policy Perspective," Labor Law Journal, Winter 2000. TBD.2/12
Williams, DR. "Women's Part-time Employment: A Gross Flows Analysis," Monthly Labor Review, April 1995. 2/12
Stack, S. "Part-time Faculty Status and Student Evaluation of Teaching: An Analysis of Criminal Justice Classes," Journal of Criminal Justice Education, Fall 2000, 251-265. 2/12
Edwards, C.Y. & O. Robinson, ""Better" Part-time Jobs? A Study of Part-time Working in Nursing and the Police," Employee Relations, 2001, V. 23, 438-453. 2/12
Rogers, JK. "The Politics of Time Transfer in the Teaching Profession," Work and Occupations, February 2001. [Samantha] 2/19
Martens, MFJ, et al, “Flexible Work Schedules and Mental and Physical Health,” Journal of Organizational Behavior, 1999, 20, 35-46. [Tim] 2/19
Lonnie Golden, "Flexible Work Schedules -- What Are We Trading Off to Get Them?" Monthly Labor Review, March 2001, 50-67. [Olivia] 2/19
Wiens-Tuers, B.A. & E.T. Hill, "How Did We Get Here from There? Movement into Temporary Employment," Journal of Economic Issues, June 2002, 303-311. [Dovizia] 2/19
Wages
Feb 26 – Minimum Wage/Living Wage
Economic Policy Institute, "FAQ About the Living Wage" and "FAQ About the Minimum Wage," on-line http://www.epinet.org/ (click on "Living Wage" or "Minimum Wage" under "Issue Guides" and then on "Frequently Asked Questions...") [Uma]
Levin-Waldman, O.M. "The Minimum Wage and Regional Wage Structure: Implications for Income," Journal of Economic Issues, September 2002, 635-657. [Aaron]
Saget, C. "Poverty Reduction and Decent Work in Developing Countries: Do Minimum Wages Help?" International Labour Review, 2001, V. 140, 237-269. [Haoyang]
Bhatia, R. & M. Katz, "Estimation of Health Benefits from a Local Living Wage Ordinance," American Journal of Public Health, September 2001, 1398-1402. [Kelly]
Mar 19/26 – Models of wage
determination
Kaufman, B. The Economics of Labor Markets and Labor Relations (1985), Ch. 7 [TBD] [Drago] TBD.3/19
Weiss, A. “Human Capital vs. Signalling Explanations of Wages,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 1995, 133-154 [Lili] 3/19
Drago, R. “Efficiency Wages,” The Encyclopedia of Political Economy (Routledge, 1999), 256-258. TBD.3/19
Gottschalk,
. “Inequality, Income Growth, and Mobility: The Basic Facts,” Journal of
Economic Perspectives, Spring 1997, 21-40. [Haoyang]
Fortin, NM & T Lemieux, “Institutional Changes and Rising Wage Inequality: Is There a Linkage?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1997, 75-96. [Anjali] 3/26
Discrimination Apr 2/9
Albelda, RP, R
Drago & S Shulman, Unlevel Playing Fields, Ch. 5 (Discrim. in the
Neocl. View), notes, and Ch. 8 (Discrim. in the Neocl. View), notes
Darity, WA & PL Mason, “Evidence on Discrimination in Employment,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1998, 63-90. [Anna] 4/2
Kaufman, R.L. "Assessing Alternative Perspectives on Race and Sex Employment Segregation," American Sociological Review, August 2002, 547-572. [Tamaira] 4/9
Kanazawa, M.T. & J.P. Funk, "Racial Discrimination in Professional Basketball: Evidence from Nielsen Ratings," Economic Inquiry, October 2001, 599-608. [Samantha] 4/9
Waldfogel, J. “Understanding the ‘Family Gap’ in Pay for Women with Children,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1998, 137-156. [Lauren] 4/9
Berg, N. & D Lien, "Measure the Effect of Sexual Orientation on Income: Evidence of Discrimination?" Contemporary Economic Policy, October 2002, 394-414. [Lili] 4/9
Adams, S.J. "Passed Over for Promotion Because of Age: An Empirical Analysis of the Consequences," Journal of Labor Research, Summer 2002, 446-461 [Anna] 4/16 (NOTE: flows into next period)
Compensation & Motivation Apr 16
Baron, J. & D. Kreps, Strategic Human Resources, 1999, Ch. 11 [TBD] [Dovizia]
Kahn,
LM, "The Sports Business as a Labor Market Laboratory," Journal of
Economic Perspectives, Summer 2000 [Tim]
Gunderson, M., D. Hyatt and J.E. Pesando, “Wage-Pension Trade-offs in Collective Agreements,” Industrial and Labor Relations Review, October 1992, 146-160. [Anjali]
Mini-symposium on Pensions, Industrial Relations, January 1999, 1-45 (articles by E.C. Blank [Uma], T. Ghilarducci and K. Terry [Aaron], and R.L. Clark and M.M. Pitts)
Neoclassical and Political Economy Merged: The Case of Care Apr 30
Folbre, N. The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values, 2001. (Ch.s 1-2 [Tamaira], Ch.s 3-4 [Lauren], Ch.s 5-6 [Kelly], Ch.s 7-8 [Olivia], Ch. 9 [Drago])
May 7 -- Final Examination and Final paper due, usual class time and place.