Economics 457 - Macro Anlys Labor Market

The macro-labor field focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of variation in employment and income across individuals and over time.  Understanding labor market behavior is crucial for some of the most pressing policy questions facing the aggregate economy, including redistribution, social insurance, the minimum wage, and stabilization policy.  This course will cover topics of recent interest in macro-labor.  Our goal throughout will be to use economic theory to interpret both long-term trends and recent events in the economy, and to draw conclusions for policy.  Specific topics may include the unemployment experience of the Great Recession, causes and consequences of rising wage inequality, worker reallocation, and the effects of technological change on the labor market.  Readings will consist of academic articles, survey publications, popular press articles, and lecture notes provided by the instructor.  Students will be asked to write a paper analyzing a labor market-related policy question of their choice.

Requisite: ECON 300/301.  Limited to 35 students.  Fall semester.  Professor Rabinovich.