The Economics of Labor (Critical Concepts in Economics) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415577268 ISBN 13: 9780415577267

Publisher: Routledge, 2014

Synopsis

The branch of economics concerned with the allocation of resources in the labor market addresses some of the most difficult issues facing governments and policy-makers at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The range of dizzying questions it seeks to answer include:

• what is the impact of immigration on the wage and employment opportunities of native-born workers?
• are government subsidies of investments in human capital an effective way to improve the economic well-being of disadvantaged workers?
• what factors determine the distribution of wages?
• what is the economic impact of trade unions?
• why did the labor-force participation of women rise steadily throughout the past century in many industrialized countries?

In addition to its policy relevance, labor economics has played an important role in the development of modern economics as a whole. Because of the widespread availability of data on labor-market outcomes, labor economists have developed a number of econometric methods that have profoundly influenced the profession. The diffusion of these methods to other fields within economics (and to other social sciences) has radically changed how social scientists analyse and interpret data.

This new title from Routledge meets the need for an authoritative reference work to make sense of the subject’s vast literature and the continuing explosion in research. Edited by George J. Borjas, the pre-eminent scholar in the field, The Economics of Labor is a four-volume collection of classic and contemporary contributions.

The first volume is dedicated to the basic models of labor supply and labor demand. Volume II, meanwhile, focuses on studies of labor-market equilibrium, including the theory of compensating differentials. The third and fourth volumes bring together a number of related topics, including labor-market discrimination, labor-market unions, migration, theories of incentives and compensation, and unemployment. Together, the four volumes provide a one-stop resource for all interested researchers, teachers, and students to gain a thorough understanding of the roots of labor economics and its future direction.

With a comprehensive introduction, newly written by the editor, which places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, The Economics of Labor is destined to be valued by all economists, as well as by other social scientists working in related areas, as an essential work of reference.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Theory greatly simplified in this edition: Overall level of sophistication has been reduced in this edition. The exposition of most of the theoretical models has been significantly simplified. Users of the previous edition will find that the models have been condensed down to their bare essentials, minimizing the need for introducing additional jargon or concepts, and yet maintaining the essence of what the models teach about the way the labor market works. This simplification should considerably broaden the appeal of the book. Chapter 4 (on labor demand), Chapter 6 (on compensating differentials), and Chapter 10 (on discrimination) provide good examples of this simplification. The presentation of these models in the Second Edition is less technical and shorter than in the First Edition'yet the discussion still covers the key points. The algebra is now kept to a minimum'at about the same level as competing textbooks.
Motivating examples The text includes a number of new policy-relevant examples, including a discussion of the link between labor supply and the Earned Income Tax Credit (Chapter 2), a discussion of how taxes and subsidies affect labor demand (Chapter 5); and a discussion the intergenerational correlation in earnings (Chapter 8). Students are now better able to understand the links between theory and reality.
A completely new chapter on 'The Wage Structure' (Chapter 8). This chapter summarizes the recent empirical literature that attempts to understand why the wage distribution changed so much in the past decade in many industrialized countries, particularly in the United States. The chapter provides a thorough summary of the evidence, as well as discusses the factors that led to the widening of the wage distribution.
Complete updating includes the latest research in labor economics. For instance, the text makes extensive use of the 'difference-in-differences' empirical methodology when presenting results from the literature. This methodology estimates the impact of particular economic shocks by doing a before-and-after comparison of outcomes in the 'treatment group' with outcomes in the 'control group.' As an example, consider the influential research that estimates the impact of immigration on native employment opportunities by doing a comparison of labor market conditions in Miami before-and-after the Mariel immigrant flow in 1980 to labor market conditions in comparable cities that did not receive the immigrant flow (see Chapter 5). This methodology has become very influential in labor economics, and the text discusses both the advantages and limits of the methodology.
New Two Color Design enhances student learning.
End-of -Chapter Review Questions are improved based on author's class experience and reviewer comments. The text also includes a number of new work problems.
Website provides easy links to valuable labor economics information as well as review material for the student formerly found in the Study Guide.
Approach: Labor economics is surveyed with an emphasis on both theory and facts. This approach relies more on "the economic way of thinking" than other texts.
Special pedagogical features include 'Theory of Work' boxes and extended policy applications throughout the text. E.g. Winning Lotto will Change Your Life; The Notch Babies, "Key Concepts" appear in boldface type in the text and are listed at chapter end as do Chapter summaries, Review Questions and Problems.
The book is much shorter than competing textbooks: Borjas contains an introductory chapter, plus 12 substantive chapters. If the instructor wished to cover all of the material, each chapter could serve as the basis for about a week's worth of lectures in a typical undergraduate course. Despite the book's brevity, the instructor will find that all of the key topics in labor economics are covered. The discussion, however, is kept to essentials. The author has not deviated into tangential material. Borjas is geared towards those who prefer their labor economics 'short and sweet.'

About the Author:

Edited and with a new introduction by George J. Borjas, Harvard University

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0415577268
• ISBN 13: 9780415577267
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 2200
• Editor: Borjas George J.