Labor Economics

Study Board of Market and Management Anthropology, Economics, Mathematics-Economics, Environmental and Resource Management

Teaching language: English
EKA: B560024112, B560024122
Censorship: Second examiner: None
Grading: 7-point grading scale
Offered in: Odense
Offered in: Autumn
Level: Master

Course ID: B560024101
ECTS value: 10

Date of Approval: 19-02-2018


Duration: 1 semester

Course ID

B560024101

Course Title

Labor Economics

Teaching language

English

ECTS value

10

Responsible study board

Study Board of Market and Management Anthropology, Economics, Mathematics-Economics, Environmental and Resource Management

Date of Approval

19-02-2018

Course Responsible

Name Email Department
Mircea Trandafir mircea.trandafir@sam.sdu.dk

Offered in

Odense

Level

Master

Offered in

Autumn

Duration

1 semester

Mandatory prerequisites

-

Recommended prerequisites

Students taking the course should have knowledge of econometrics at the level of Regression Analysis (8120401) and of microeconomics at the level of Mikroøkonomi (9115501). In addition, they should be familiar with statistical/econometrics software such as Stata or R.

Aim and purpose

The general definition of Labor Economics is “the study of the market for labor.” Specifically, labor economics investigates the factors that determine the behavior of employers, employees and governments in response to incentives such as wages, profits, or non-monetary aspects of employment relationships (e.g., working conditions). In this course, students will be exposed to the main theories in labor economics as well as recent developments and findings. The course will place particular emphasis on empirical applications through which students test the theories learned to the data. A number of lectures is also devoted to introducing students to the register data available in Denmark. At the end of the course, students would have a better understanding of the functioning of labor market and should have acquired skills that are valued by various government institutions, private companies, and non-governmental organizations.

Content

The topics covered in the course include, time permitting: 
•Labor demand
•Labor supply
•Investments in education
•Wage determination
•Discrimination in wages and employment
•Unemployment
•Labor unions
•Register data useful for the study of labor markets in Denmark

Learning goals

To fulfil the purposes of the course the student must be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge about the course’s focus areas enabling the student to: 
•Describe theories of labor supply and demand.
•Describe labor equilibrium under perfect competition and non-competitive market forms.
•Describe how taxes and subsidies may influence the labor market equilibrium and welfare.
•Describe factors behind wage differentials.
•Describe human capital, the schooling decision and lifetime earnings.
•Describe the various forms of discrimination.
•Describe the forms of incentive pay and their influence on labor market equilibrium.

Demonstrate skills, such that the student is able to analyze the above-mentioned topics:
•By use of figures and formulas. 
•By use of (register) data.

Demonstrate competences, such that the student is able to:
•Put the above-mentioned topics into perspective and relate them to present labor market developments.
•Critically read studies of the Danish or international labor market. 

Literature

Examples

The suggested textbook is 
by Ehrenberg, Ronald G. and‎ Robert S. Smith (2017), "Modern Labor Economics: Theory and Public Policy", Routledge, 13th Edition.
(Supplementary) Borjas, George J. (2015), “Labor Economics”, McGraw-Hill, 7th Edition..
The course may use additional material if necessary.

Teaching Method

Scheduled classes:
4 (2x2) lectures weekly for 15 weeks


Workload

These teaching activities result in an estimated distribution of the work effort of an average student as follows: 
Lectures - 52 hours
Preparation (lectures, take-home assignment, exam) - 155 hours
Take-home assignment - 30 hours
Exam - 3 hours
Total: 270 hours.

Examination regulations

Individual take-home assignment - part one

Name

Individual take-home assignment - part one

Timing

Exam: November/December
Reexam: February

Tests

Individual take-home assignment - part one

Name

Individual take-home assignment - part one

Form of examination

Take-home assignment

Censorship

Second examiner: None

Grading

7-point grading scale

Identification

Student Identification Card - Exam number

Language

English

Duration

Two weeks (including weekend). Date for submission will appear in the examination plan.

Length

Page limitations will be clear in the description provided at the time of the assessment.

Examination aids

All exam aids allowed.

Assignment handover

Course page in Blackboard.

Assignment handin

Via SDUassignment in the course page in Blackboard.

ECTS value

3

Additional information

The examination consists of 2 parts; the final grade is computed as follows:

1. Individual take-home assignment (weight 40%)

2. Individual written exam (weight 60%).


Calculation of grade: 

From the grades of parts 1 and 2 a final course grade is computed as follows: If one or both grades of part 1 and part 2 are -3, the final course grade is -3. When both grades of part 1 and part 2 are different from -3, the final course grade is computed as a weighted average with a weight of 40% on the grade of part 1 and a weight of 60% on the grade of part 2. The average is rounded to the nearest grade with the exception that the grade 02 cannot be given by rounding up the average.
When a student has obtained a grade of 02 or higher for one part of the evaluation, this part cannot be reevaluated. The final course grade is based on the most recently obtained grades for the two parts. When a student has obtained a final course grade of 02 or higher, none of the two parts can be reevaluated.

EKA

B560024112

Individual written exam - part two

Name

Individual written exam - part two

Timing

Exam: January
Reexam: February

Tests

Individual written exam

Name

Individual written exam

Form of examination

Written examination on premises

Censorship

Second examiner: None

Grading

7-point grading scale

Identification

Student Identification Card - Exam number

Language

English

Duration

3 hours

Length

No limitations.

Examination aids

All exam aids are allowed. However, it is not allowed to communicate with anybody.

Assignment handover

In the examination room.

Assignment handin

Via SDUassignment in the course page in Blackboard.

ECTS value

7

Additional information

The examination consists of 2 parts; the final grade is computed as follows:
1. Individual take-home assignment (weight 40%)
2. Individual written exam (weight 60%).

From the grades of parts 1 and 2 a final course grade is computed as follows: If one or both grades of part 1 and part 2 are -3, the final course grade is -3. When both grades of part 1 and part 2 are different from -3, the final course grade is computed as a weighted average with a weight of 40% on the grade of part 1 and a weight of 60% on the grade of part 2. The average is rounded to the nearest grade with the exception that the grade 02 cannot be given by rounding up the average.
When a student has obtained a grade of 02 or higher for one part of the evaluation, this part cannot be reevaluated. The final course grade is based on the most recently obtained grades for the two parts. When a student has obtained a final course grade of 02 or higher, none of the two parts can be reevaluated.

EKA

B560024122

External comment

Courses that are identical with former courses that are passed according to applied rules cannot be retaken.

The student is automatically registered for the first examination attempt when the student is registered for a course or course element with which one or more examinations are associated. Withdrawal of registration is not possible, and students who fail to participate in an examination have used one examination attempt, unless the University has made an exemption due to special circumstances. 

The student is responsible for registering for 2nd and 3rd examination attempt. 

Evaluation at the re-exam may be changed. 

Courses offered

Offer period Offer type Profile Education Semester
Fall 2018 Optional Cand.scient.oecon (Statistik) MSc in Mathematics-Economics | Master of Science (MSc) in Mathematics-Economics | Odense
Fall 2018 Optional Cand.scient.oecon (Finansiering) MSc in Mathematics-Economics | Master of Science (MSc) in Mathematics-Economics | Odense
Fall 2018 Optional Cand.scient.oecon (Operationsanalyse) MSc in Mathematics-Economics | Master of Science (MSc) in Mathematics-Economics | Odense
Fall 2018 Optional Master of Science in Economics (with profile in Economics) MSc in Economics | Master of Science (MSc) in Economics | Odense
Fall 2018 Optional Master of Science in Economics (with profile in Finance) MSc in Economics | Master of Science (MSc) in Economics | Odense

Teachers

Name Email Department City
Mircea Trandafir mircea.trandafir@sam.sdu.dk Odense

URL for Skemaplan