Labor Economics

This landmark graduate-level text combines depth and breadth of coverage with recent, cutting-edge work in all the major areas of modern labor economics. Labor Economics is the only textbook available for advanced graduate students in the field, and it will be widely used; because of its command of the literature and the freshness of the material included, it will also prove to be a valuable resource for practicing labor economists. The book moves back and forth between factual data and theoretical reasoning. The space devoted to theory reflects the profound theoretical restructuring in the field that has taken place in the last thirty years; the authors present these developments within a unified pedagogic framework. The teaching methods are based on mathematical models, with the mathematical analyses laid out clearly, and the derivation of most results given in five mathematical appendixes that provide a toolkit for understanding the models. The book is divided into four parts: "Supply and Demand Behaviors" examines the determinants of labor supply and demand; "Wage Formation" discusses wage determinants, including the influences of the wage policies of firms and collective bargaining; "Unemployment and Inequality" considers these problems in a macroeconomic setting; and "Institutions and Economic Policy" treats labor market policies and the impact of institutions on labor market performance.