The focus of this course is the theoretical and empirical analysis of labor markets. We examine the role of public policy and how it affects wage and employment outcomes in Europe and in the Austrian labor market.

Most of us allocate a substantial fraction of our time to the labor market. Our action on the labor market influences many aspects of our life: our wealth, the goods we consume, whom we associate with, where we vacation, etc. In this course, we explore how economists think how labor markets work. This will aid our understanding of topics such as education and training, discrimination and the impact of antidiscrimination programs, changes in wage inequality over time, immigration, unions, unemployment, and poverty.

Attendance is compulsory and I expect active participation (=discussion, presentations, questions, remarks) in class.

Course Grades

The final grade is composed of

Two homeworks 10%

Presentation and presentation slides 45%

Final Exam 45%

The final exam is a closed book exam. It covers the material presented in the lectures and also in the students' presentations.

Positive grades on the courses in micro and macro economics of the Master’s program are prerequisite for participating in Labor Economics;

During there registration period, students will be placed on a first-come, first-served basis. Once registration closes, more seats will be made available. Students from the waiting list will then be placed based. Students from an older cohort will be placed before students from younger cohorts. If you are registered, but do not intend to take the class, we ask you to deregister during the registration period. There is no guarantee for a seat in this lecture!

Email: Rene.Boeheim@wu.ac.at

Office hours: by appointment