Course Outline

  1. Overview of the Labour MarketLabour economics: some basic concepts, the labour market: definitions, facts and trends, how the labour market works, the demand for labour, the supply of labour, the determination of the wage, international differences in unemployment
  2. The Demand for LabourProfit maximization, the short-run demand for labour when both product and labour markets are competitive, the labour demand for labour in competitive markets when other inputs can be varied, labour demand in the long run, labour demand when the product market is not competitive, monophony in the labour market
  3. Labor Demand ElasticitiesThe own wage elasticity of demand, the cross wage elasticity of demand, estimates relating to cross elasticities, applying concepts of labour demand elasticities to the issue of technological change
  4. The Supply of Labour: The Decision to WorkA theory of the decision to work, some basic concepts, analysis of the labour/leisure choice, empirical findings on the income and substitution effects, human capital, productivity and wages.
  5. The Labour Supply, Household Production, the Family and the Life-Cycle
    The theory of household production, the tripartite choice: market work, household work, and leisure, joint labour supply decisions within the household, life-cycle aspects of labour supply, policy application: child care and labour supply
  6. Child Labor
    Definition and extent of child labor child labor; moral aspects of child labor an international issue: extent of child labor in developing countries, Child labor in Pakistan, policies to combat child labor child labor and international trade issue.

Reference Books

  1. Bazen, Stephen. (2011). Econometrics Methods for Labour Economics. Oxford University Press.
  2. Borjas, George. (2012). Labor Economics. McGraw-Hill.
  3. Kaufman, Bruce and Julie L. Hotchkiss (2005). Economics of Labour Markets. South-Western College.
  4. Orley, Ashenfelter and P. G. Layard (ed). Handbook of Labour Economics. Elsevier.
  5. Ronald, G. Ehrenberg and R. S. Smith. (2011). Modern Labour Economics: Theory and Public Policy. Addison-Wesley.
  6. Stephen, Comith. (2003). Labour Economics. Routledge Publishers.
  7. Taylor, Mark P. (2014). The Applied Economics of Labour. Routledge Publishers.