Faculty Information Professor Gilbert Skillman Office: 325 PAC E-mail: gskillman@wesleyan.edu Phone: (860) 685-2359 Office hours: Tue, Wed, and Thu (13:00 - 14:00), and by appointment Assistant: Benjamin ClarkGeneral Course Information (also available in PDF format)
This course considers how methods of theoretical and empirical economic analysis are applied in understanding the nature and operation of markets for labor. A central theme of the course is that the unique features of labor market exchanges can be understood in terms of the special features of labor as an economic good. Students should have had a thorough introduction to graphical microeconomic analysis and be familiar at least with basic algebraic operations.
The textbook for the course is Skillman and Jacobsen, Labor Markets and Employment Relationships (LMER), available in draft form. Students will be advised periodically on how to gain access to successive portions of the text. Photocopies of any additional readings will be made available in the Olin reserve room and in a folder outside of the Economics department office.
Grading will be based on midterm and final exams, class participation, and a series of problem sets and/or short essays. Class attendance is strongly encouraged but not required. All students must take the final exam at the indicated time; those who foresee a difficulty with this should drop the course now.
Course Outline (also available in PDF format)
The Elements of Labor Exchange (2 weeks) 1-3 The Labor Exchange (2 weeks) 4-7 The Employment Relationship (2 weeks) 8-11 The Labor Market (2 weeks) 12-15 Labor Market Divisions (2 weeks) 16-19 Labor in the Market System (2 weeks) 20-22 & Conlusion