Ph.D. in Economics: Labor Economics Field
The labor economics field studies applied microeconomic topics, a portion of which are traditionally found in labor economics such as work and hiring decisions, wages and compensation, unemployment, labor-management relations, and discrimination, as well as many related topics in demographic economics and health economics.
In addition, the field builds on faculty strengths in industrial relations, unions and collective bargaining, and employee benefits, which derive from the existing concentration of the M.A. in Economics program in employment relations.
Required Courses
ECON 7510. Advanced Labor Economics I. Three credits. Prerequisites: students must have passed Ph.D. qualifying exams in microeconomics and macroeconomics. The course serves as the first half to an introduction of the leading theories in labor economics including labor supply, education and human capital, job search, labor demand, compensating wage differentials and discrimination, contracts, risk-sharing, incentives, and collective bargaining. Frequent use of multivariate regression analysis and other modern econometric techniques allow students to enhance skills necessary to conduct independent research in the field.
ECON 7520. Advanced Labor Economics II. Three credits. Prerequisites: students must have passed Ph.D. qualifying exams in microeconomics and macroeconomics. The course serves as the second half to an introduction of the leading theories in labor economics including unemployment and inflation, employment allocation and job loss, technological progress, globalization, inequalities, labor market policies, institutions, and labor market performance. Frequent use of multivariate regression analysis and other modern econometric techniques allow students to enhance skills necessary to conduct independent research in the field.