Semester: Fall 2009
Instructor: George Berger
Office: 123 Krebs
Phone: 269-2982 or 269-2990/269-2991
Office Hours: MWF 2-3, TH 2-3:30 or by appointment

I. TEXT: Ehrenberg and Smith,  Modern Labor Economics: Theory and Public Policy, 2006, 9th Edition

                George Berger, Supplementary Readings, Parts 1 and 2

II. ORGANIZATION OF COURSE

A. Introduction

1. Introduction: Chapter 1, pp. 1-12. (12)

Supplementary Readings (38)

a. Charles Baird,"The Philosophical and Analytical Framework," Opportunity or Privilege: Labor Legislation in America, Social Philosophy and Policy Center, 1984, pp. 3-17.

b. Richard Epstein, "In Defense of the Contract at Will," in Labor Law and the Employment Market: Foundations and Applications, ed. By Richard A. Epstein and Jeffrey Paul, Transactions Books: New Brunswick, 1985, pp. 9-32.

2. Overview of the Labor Market: Chapter 2, pp. 35-53 (19)

Supplementary Readings (9)

a. Douglass North and Roger Leroy Miller, "The Economics of Bringing Back the Draft," The Economics of Public Issues,5th edition, 1980, pp. 105-12.

b. Ronald Ehrenberg and Robert S. Smith, "Forced Labor in Mozambique," Modern Labor Economics, 5^th edition, p. 50.

1. The Demand for Labor: Chapter 3, pp. 61-63, 63-74, 76-78 (18)  

Supplementary Readings (12)

a. Steven Kaplan, "Are CEOS of US Public Companies Really Overpaid?" Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, Jan 9, 2007, 3 pp.

b. Dominic Basulto, "Why Do We Underpay Our Best CEOs?" The American, December 5, 2006, 9 pp.

c. EXTRA CREDIT. Douglas Irwin, "Does International Trade Kill Good American Jobs?" The American Enterprise, June 2004, pp. 31-33.

2. Labor Demand Elasticities: Chapter 4, pp. 93-103, 107-115, 115, 117-119 (24)

Supplementary Readings (45)

a. Veronique du Rugy, "Destroying Jobs In Order to Save Them," Reason, August/September 2009, pp. 18-19.

b. Employment Policies Institute, "Questions and Answers About the Minimum Wage," pp. 1-11, 17-19, 1999 Addendum.

c. Richard McKenzie, "Minimum Wages: Revisions in the Conventional Wisdom," The American Job Machine, Universe Books, 1988, pp. 198-213.

d. Donald Boudreaux, "The Minimum Wage: An Unfair Advantage for Employers," The Freeman, pp. 396-97.

e. David Forrest, "Minimum Wages, Poverty, and the Distribution of Income," Low Pay or No Pay?Institute of Economic Affairs, 1984, pp. 44-47.

f. Charles Baird, "Recycling Labor" pp. 1-7

3. Quasi-Fixed Labor Costs and Their Effects on Labor Demand: Chapter 5, pp. 145-48, 153-62 (14)

          Supplementary Readings (42)

a. Judy Ward, "Firms Forcing Employees to Repay Costs if They Quit Too Soon," Wall Street Journal, July 16, 1985, p. 29.

b. Katherine Post and Michael Lynch, "Free Markets, Free Choices: Women in the Workforce," Pacific Research Institute Briefing, December 1995, pp. 1-23.

c. Meredith Wadman, "Mothers Who Take Extended Time Off Find Their Careers Pay a Heavy Price," Wall Street Journal, July 16, 1992, p. B1.

d. Rita Simon, "What Glass Ceiling?" Women's Freedom Network Newsletter, 5:5, September/October 1998, p. 4.

EXAM 1 (Chapters 2-5, Supplementary Readings)

1. Supply of Labor to the Economy: The Decision to Work: Chapter 6, pp. 165-98 (34)

Supplementary Readings (40)

a. June O'Neill, "Transfers and Poverty: Cause and/or Effect?" The Cato Journal, 6:1, Spring/Summer 1986, pp. 62-76.

b. E.C. Pasour, "The Samaritan's Dilemma and the Welfare State." The Freeman, June 1991, pp. 208-11.

c. David Beito, "Mutual Aid for Social Welfare: The Case of American Fraternal Societies," Critical Review, Fall 1990, pp. 709-29.

d.  EXTRA CREDIT: "From Welfare to Work: The Transition of an Illiterate Population" Employment Policies Institute, February 1997, pp. 1-6

2. Investment in Human Capital: Education and Training:  Chapter 9, pp. 275- 309 (34)

            Supplementary Readings (11)

a. John Hood, "Up the Academy," Reason, May 1995, pp. 51-53.

b. Miguel Palacios, "Human Capital Contracts: "Equity-like" Instruments for Financing Higher Education" Cato Policy Analysis No. 462, December 16 2002,  pp 2-6.

c. Edwin S. Rubenstein, "The College Payoff Illusion," American Outlook, Fall 1998, pp. 14-18.

D. Topics

1. Worker Mobility: Migration, Immigration, and Turnover: Chapter 10, pp. 323-43. (21)

Supplementary Readings (34)

a. Jennifer Roback, "Exploitation in the Jim Crow South: The Market or the Law?" Regulation, September/December 1984, pp. 37-43.

b. Michael Fix and Jeffrey Passel, "Impact of Immigrants on the US Labor Market," Immigration and Immigrants: Setting the Record Straight, The Urban Institute, May 1994, pp. 47-54.

c. Douglas S Massey, "Backfire at the Border: Why Enforcement Without Legalization Cannot Stop Illegal Immigration," Cato Trade Policy Analysis No. 29, June 13, 2005, pp. 1-12.

d.  Giovanni Peri, "America's Stake in Immigration: Why Almost Everybody Wins," The Milken Institute Review, Third Quarter 2007, pp. 41-49.

e. Daniel Griswold, "As Immigrants Move In, Americans Move Up," Free Trade Bulletin No. 38, Cato Institute, July 21, 2009, pp. 1-4.

f. EXTRA CREDIT. Kerry Howley, "Guests in the Machine," Reason, January 2008, pp. 22-33. Can be found at www.reason.com/news/printer/123474.html

2. Unions and the Labor Market: Chapter 13, pp. 440-43, 450-57, 466-77. (24)

           Supplementary Readings (55)

a. Richard Freeman and James L. Medoff, "The Two Faces of Unionism," in Llyod G Reynolds, Stanley Masters, and Collette Moser, Readings in Labor Economics and Labor Relations, 3rd Edition, 1982, pp. 398-412.

b. John Burton, "Capitalism, Democracy, and the Problem of Organized Sectional Interests" in John Addison and John Burton, Trade Unions and Society: Some Lessons of the British Experience,  The Fraser Institute, 1984, pp.129-53.

c. Charles Baird, "Toward Equality and Justice in Labor Markets," The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies, Summer 1995, pp. 1-15. See http://www. sbe.csuhayward.edu/~sbesc/labour.html

d. EXTRA CREDIT: Charles Baird, "Labor Law Reform: Lessons from History," Cato Journal, 10:1, Spring/Summer 1990, pp. 175-209

EXAM 2 (Chaps.  6, 9, 10, 13 and Supplementary Readings)

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

2. Learn how to connect the basic concepts of economics to one another in chains of reasoning. (Students who master the basic concepts and learn how to connect some of these concepts together will earn a B in this course.)

3. Learn how to apply economic reasoning to real world cases. (Students who master the basic concepts, learn how to consistently connect most of these concepts together, and learn how to apply these concepts to real world cases will earn an A.)

EXPECTATIONS

2. I expect students to memorize the assigned definitions. But please note that I do not ask students just to memorize but also to understand the definitions. Like learning a foreign language, students must first memorize before they can understand.

3. I expect students to be on time for class and to be courteous in their behavior at all times in the classroom.

III. GRADES

1. The total number of points in the course will be distributed as follows:

Exam 1 100
Exam 2 100
    Total 200

2. Your grade can be calculated as follows: (1) Assume you earned a 73 on the first exam. Assume that all scores that fall into the range 70-79 are Cs and all scores that fall into the range 80-89 are Bs. (2) Assume you earned an 83 on the second exam. Assume that all scores that fall into the range 80-89 are Bs. Your total number of points earned after the second exam add to 156. What is your letter grade? Add together the minimum scores for a B which in this case is 160 points. Since your point total is less than the minimum score to earn a B, you have a C+ in the course after the second exam. (NOTE: The ranges used in this example are not necessarily the ranges that I will use during the course of the semester.)

3. Students are responsible for knowing the list of vocabulary words which will be available shortly on my website. 

4. Homework Problem Sets are currently available to students on my website. Answers to the Homework Problems will be placed on reserve in the library as soon as the material is covered in class. EXAM QUESTIONS WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM THE HOMEWORK PROBLEMS but if you have worked on the latter, you should be able to answer the former.

5. Exams are NOT cumulative but cover only the material after the previous exam.

6. All exams will be a combination of definitions and essay/problem questions. A typical test will include 10 definitions (30 points) and approximately 3 essay questions usually with two or three parts (70 points). These exams will draw on material selected from the definition sheets, assigned homework exercises, and supplementary readings. Extra credit questions will be included on all exams. This is the only place extra credit can be done.

7. Exams will be given in two stages. In the first stage, students must define the selected terms BY MEMORY (no notecards allowed). In the second stage, students may consult an unlimited number of notecards to complete the essay section of the exam. NOTE: THESE NOTECARDS MUST BE HANDWRITTEN. XEROXED OR TYPED NOTECARDS OR NOTECARDS WITH XEROXED OR TYPED MATERIAL PASTED ON THEM ARE UNACCEPTABLE. I WILL REQUIRE ALL STUDENTS TO TURN IN THEIR NOTECARDS TO ME AFTER THE EXAM. PLEASE TYPE YOUR NAME ON EACH NOTECARD YOU USE. IF I DISCOVER THAT SOMEONE HAS USED XEROXED OR TYPED NOTECARDS THAT PERSON WILL RECEIVE A ZERO ON THE EXAM.

8. Exam 1 will have very tight time constraints so you must be prepared to deal with them. This means writing short summaries of the supplementary reading articles and homework questions; these summaries should answer all of the questions asked on the appropriate question sheets and summarize key ideas in solving particular homework problems.

9. Exam dates will be:

Exam 1 - Oct 17 (approximately)
Exam 2 - Dec 15, 12:30-2:30PM (Tues)

11. Final grades will be assigned using +'s and -'s where appropriate.

12. Class attendance is required. I will keep track of attendance and allow you up to 4 absences without penalty. For each absence over 4, I will deduct three points from your overall point total.

13. We will have a number of discussion  sessions during class in which you can earn extra credit. Students can earn these points by demonstrating a knowledge of the topic under discussion (gained from reading the assigned material from the syllabus) or by asking good (thoughtful) questions about course material.

14. Anyone caught cheating on any exam will get a zero on that exam. This will make passing the course very difficult. Additionally, anyone copying another person's written work and submitting it as his own will receive a zero. (NOTE: The person from whom it was copied will also receive a zero.)

15. If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an academic accommodation for this course, you  should notify me and the Coordinator of Disability Services in the Learening Resource Center, as early as possible in the term. The LRC will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course. To schedule an appointment at the LRC, or to learn more about disability services at UPJ, please call extension 7109 or stop by the LRC in 133 Biddle Hall.