Delivered at:: Department of Applied Economics

Course type:: Elective course

When:: 2 year, 3 module

Instructor

Solntsev, Sergey

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Abstract

The course covers main concepts and discusses recent advances in Labour and Personnel Economics, with an emphasis on the interaction between theory and empirics. We will discuss theoretical and empirical methods applied in this field of economics. The course is appropriate for graduate students with basic knowledge of microeconomic theory and econometrics. The course starts by discussing principles of the labour market analyses and the labour market flows. It proceeds to cover theories of labour supply and demand, and economic research analyzing human capital accumulation and wage differences. The second part of the course - Personnel Economics - covers various aspects of the relationship between employer and employees. The topics discussed include employee motivation, incentive contracts, career incentives, problems of searching, hiring and firing the employees, structure of compensation, human resource management practices. The aim of this course is not only to provide a comprehensive discussion of the current state of research in the fields of Labour and Personnel Economics, but also to show students how to apply the skills acquired in microeconomic theory and econometrics courses to real-world topics. Labour and Personnel Economics is a dynamic area of modern economics. It combines ideas and methods from a number of fields, including microeconomics, contract theory, micro-econometrics, behavioral and experimental economics. We will be using a couple of textbooks but the course material is primarily based on recent research papers published in leading economics journals.

Learning Objectives

The aim of this course is not only to provide a comprehensive discussion of the status of research in the field of Labour and Personnel Economics, but also to endow students to apply the skills acquired in microeconomics theory and econometrics courses to real-world topics.

Expected Learning Outcomes

analyze labor market flow using labour statistics
identify data for research in labour economics
use various labour supply models for labour market empirical analyses
use labour demand model for labour market empirical analyses
analyze human resource management practices in firms
analyze incentives of employees and employers for human capital investments
use screening, signaling and self-selection models
analyze trade-off between risk and incentives in contracts
estimate unemployment rate and duration
analyze active labour market programs

Course Contents

Introduction to Labour Economics. Labour Structure
Labor Supply
Labor Demand
Unemployment and Job Search
Employee productivity and incentive contracts
Employee search, hiring and firing
Human capital and employee training
Human resource management practices in firms

Assessment Elements

Exam
Seminar Activity including Paper Review
Project Proposal

Interim Assessment

2024/2025 3rd module
0.2 * Exam + 0.5 * Project Proposal + 0.3 * Seminar Activity including Paper Review

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Acemoglu, D., & Pischke, J.-S. (1998). Why Do Firms Train? Theory and Evidence. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.6FBBFC4
Anderson, P. M., & Brgess, S. M. (2000). Empirical Matching Functions: Estimation and Interpretation Using State-Level Data. Review of Economics & Statistics, 82(1), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.1162/003465300558669
Baker, G., Gibbs, M., & Holmstrom, B. (1994). The Internal Economics of the Firm: Evidence from Personnel Data. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.ADAEB47D
Becker, G. S. (1965). A Theory of the Allocation of Time. Economic Journal, 75(299), 493–517. https://doi.org/10.2307/2228949
Camerer, C., Babcock, L., Loewenstein, G., & Thaler, R. (1997). Labor Supply of New York City Cabdrivers: One Day at a Time. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(2), 407–441. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355397555244
Canice Prendergast. (1999). The provision of incentives in firms. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.9B3A09C0
Card, D., & Ashenfelter, O. (2010). Handbook of Labor Economics. Amsterdam: North Holland. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=355581
Card, D., & Krueger, A. B. (1994). Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. American Economic Review, 84(4), 772–793. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=bsu&AN=9410250161
Casey Ichniowski, & Kathryn Shaw. (2003). Beyond Incentive Pay: Insiders’ Estimates of the Value of Complementary Human Resource Management Practices. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1, 155. https://doi.org/10.1257/089533003321164994
Crépon, B., Duflo, E., Gurgand, M., Rathelot, R., & Zamora, P. (2013). Do Labor Market Policies have Displacement Effects? Evidence from a Clustered Randomized Experiment*. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 128(2), 531–580. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjt001
Dube, A., Lester, T. W., & Reich, M. (2010). Minimum Wage Effects across State Borders: Estimates Using Contiguous Counties. Review of Economics & Statistics, 92(4), 945–964. https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00039
Edward P. Lazear, & Paul Oyer. (2003). Internal and External Labor Markets: A Personnel Economics Approach. NBER Working Papers.
Gronau, R. (1977). Leisure, Home Production, and Work——the Theory of the Allocation of Time Revisited. Journal of Political Economy, 85(6), 1099. https://doi.org/10.1086/260629
Ichniowski, C., Shaw, K., & Prennushi, G. (1997). The Effects of Human Resource Management Practices on Productivity: A Study of Steel Finishing Lines. American Economic Review, (3), 291. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.aea.aecrev.v87y1997i3p291.313
Jacob Mincer. (1962). On-the-Job Training: Costs, Returns, and Some Implications. NBER Chapters, 50.
Konings, J., & Lehmann, H. (2002). Marshall and Labor Demand in Russia: Going Back to Basics. Journal of Comparative Economics, (1), 134. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.eee.jcecon.v30y2002i1p134.159
Labor economics, Borjas, G. J., 2015
Labor economics, Cahuc, P., 2004
Lazear, E. P. (1990). Job Security Provisions and Employment. https://doi.org/10.2307/2937895
Mostly harmless econometrics : an empiricist's companion, Angrist, J. D., 2009
Neumark, D., & Wascher, W. (2000). Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: Comment. American Economic Review, 90(5), 1362–1396. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.90.5.1362
Nicholas Bloom, & John Van Reenen. (2010). Why Do Management Practices Differ across Firms and Countries? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1, 203. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.24.1.203
Nickell, S. (1997). Unemployment and Labor Market Rigidities: Europe versus North America. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11(3), 55–74. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.11.3.55
Oyer, P., & Schaefer, S. (2011). Personnel Economics: Hiring and Incentives. Handbook of Labor Economics, 1769. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.h.eee.labchp.5.20
Unemployment dynamics and duration dependence. (1996). Journal of Labor Economics, 14, 100–125. https://doi.org/10.1086/209805

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Blau, F. D., & Kahn, L. M. (2007). Changes in the Labor Supply Behavior of Married Women: 1980——2000. Journal of Labor Economics, 25(3), 393–438. https://doi.org/10.1086/513416

Authors

LAZAREVA OLGA VLADIMIROVNA
SOLNTSEV SERGEY ANDREEVICH
Шевелев Максим Борисович

Master’s Programme 'Economics and Economic Policy'

Labor and Personnel Economics