Please note the prerequisites for this course, you are expected to have knowledge of certain courses.

Labour Economics examines a large number of economic topics, ranging from macroeconomic issues like unemployment and inequality, to microeconomic issues such as labour supply and demand, discrimination and job search. Examples of questions that are addressed in this course are: What are the labour market effects of education policies? Are native workers affected by immigration? How are workers and economies affected by labour market institutions, such as minimum wages, unemployment benefits and unions? Which policy measures have countries implemented to tackle youth unemployment? In addition to theories from modern labour economics, the course provides an overview of the recent empirical evidence on these topics.
 
For the Labour Economics project, students apply insights from the labour economics literature within a real world context. The starting point is the EU 2020 strategy, the new European strategy to become a ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive economy’. The central question is how European member states are trying to improve their labour market performance and whether their policy strategies are effective. The project therefore focuses on a recent European policy reform (chosen by the students); for instance a change in employment protection legislation, an increase in the mandatory retirement age, a cut in the unemployment benefits or the introduction of active labour market policies.
 
Because the fortunes of individuals are to a large extent determined by their labour market experiences, labour economics is related to many policy issues. The course focuses on the labour market behaviour of individuals (employees) and firms (employers) and  is therefore closely related to other social sciences. Moreover, as we will evaluate the effects of institutions, the field is related to legal issues. Clearly, topics such as discrimination, working conditions, wage formation are relevant for the legal discipline. Hence, 'Labour Economics' fits perfectly into a multi-disciplinary approach.

Learning objectives
At the end of the course the student is able to:

• Translate labour market issues into economic terms and analytically assess these issues;
• Understand labour market effects of institutions and evaluate labour market consequences of policy reforms;
• Gather information at a theoretical and empirical level and arrange this information into academic research.

Academic skills
This course focuses on the following academic skills:

• Analytical skills
  • Being able to solve problems (identifying the problem, devising a path towards the solution, follow this path, verify the outcome), independently and for complex problems.
  • Being able to identify, interpret and critically evaluate the main line of reasoning, independently and for complex problems.
  • Being able to evaluate evidence in text and presentations independently and for complex problems.
• Communication skills
  • Being able to write a comprehensive  paper on an academic level, in a correct and clear manner, both individual and in groups.
  • Being able to accept and process feedback from others on a comprehensive research project (both students and lecturers).
• Information processing
  • Knowledge of potential sources for literature and data and the skills to explore these independently for a comprehensive research project.
  • Being able to detect plagiarism and being able to avoid any kind of plagiarism.
  • Providing correct references in text in a comprehensive research project (APA style).
  • Providing a correct reference list for a comprehensive research project (APA style).
  • Being able to present self-constructed data in a correct and useful manner in a comprehensive research project.
• Academic reasoning
• For independent large economic and multidisciplinary problems/questions:
  • Thinking conceptually, thinking in terms of theory.
  • Asking critical questions, having a curiosity-driven and critical attitude.
  • Analysing questions from different perspectives.
  • Identifying links between problems.

Format
Lectures, tutorials, paper sessions and a seminar.

Assessment method

• Written exam assessing the knowledge and comprehension of the literature (70% of the final grade, open-ended questions, academic skill problem solving);
• Written paper (30% of the final grade, academic skill academic research).

Effort requirements
Active participation in the tutorials/paper sessions is required, unless the coordinator has given prior consent to miss one.

Language of instruction
English.

Students are expected to have knowledge of

• Intermediate Microeconomics, Games and Behaviour (ECB2VMIE).