Labour Economics

Overview

For most of us the labour market is arguably the most important market that we ever participate in: it’s where we spend a lot of our lifetime and is where most of the income that we spend on goods and services comes from. Labour economics helps us to understand this key market and our own place within it. Many social policy issues – poverty and inequality, unemployment, welfare benefits, education, migration – are also inextricably linked with the labour market. Labour economics helps us to gain a better understanding of these issues and the trade-offs faced by policy makers in trying to address them. The course is divided into 11 substantive topics as follows: an introduction to the labour market; labour supply; labour demand; compensating wage differentials; human capital; wage inequality; labour mobility; labour market discrimination; incentive pay; unions; unemployment.

Learning Objectives

Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this module, students will have acquired an understanding of:

• The theory and reach of labour economics;
• How to apply relevant theory to a variety of labour market and social policy issues and contexts;
• How quantitative methods can be used to analyse labour market and social policy issues;
• How to critically evaluate the application of models and methods in labour economics to labour market and social policy issues.

This module also provides opportunities for the student to acquire or enhance the following subject-specific skills:

• The ability to construct arguments and exercise problem solving skills in the context of labour economics theory and its application;
• The ability to comprehend and evaluate academic and policy literature related to labour economics and social policy;
• The ability to construct, interpret and critically evaluate models of behaviour in labour economics;
• The ability to apply economic models and concepts to real world questions;
• The ability to understand, evaluate and commentate on economic and social policy;

In addition, this module provides opportunities for the student to acquire or enhance the following cognitive and transferable skills:

• Problem solving
• Logical reasoning
• Independent enquiry
• Critical evaluation and interpretation
• Self-assessment and reflection
• Synthesising information from a variety of sources
• Written and verbal communication
• Organisation and time management

Skills

An understanding of the employment relationship and labour market economics.

Assessment

Students must achieve an overall mark of 40% in the module to pass