Learning objectives
Knowledge and understanding:
the student learns how labor markets work, how they interact and how they evolve across time.
The aim of the laboratory is to provide the tools required to analyze and understand:
- The determinants of growth and decline of the main variables operating in labor markets.
- The way how these variables interact both at the international and at the national and territorial levels.
- The way in which policy-makers can affect the labor market variables in the aim of increasing economic welfare.
Applying knowledge and understandig:
- Obtaining the tools required to describe the equilibrium of simple micro and macroeconomic models of labor markets.
- Obtaining the tools required to understand and elaborate the main market labor statistics both at a world-wide and at a national and territorial levels.
- Obtaining the tools required to assess the impact of labor and employment policies in the short, in the medium and in the long run,
Making judgements:
- Developing the necessary skills to assess the results of micro and macroeconomic studies of the labor markets as well as of employment policies.
Communication skills
- Developing the necessary skills to explain critically the results of labor-market studies and the scenarios described by labor-market statistics both to expert and to non-expert people in the field of economics..
Learning ability:
- Developing the necessary skills to explain briefly complex issues by means of economic data, charts and analytical formulae.
Prerequisites
A basic level of knowledge in the field of micro and macroeconomics.
Course unit content
The course provides a rigorous and critical description of how labor markets work and focuses on the topics listed below:
1 – The labor market: how it works and its characteristics.
2 – Labor demand, under conditions of perfect and imperfect competition.
3 – Labor supply.
4 – The theory of investment in human capital.
5 – Cost of labor, gross and net earnings.
6 – “Natural” rate of unemployment, productivity and macroeconomic equilibrium under conditions of closed and of open economy.
7 – Unemployment and employment policy.
8 – Inflation: causes and remedies.
9 – Labor market structure in Italy and in Emilia-Romagna.
10 – The labor market at the time of globalization.
Full programme
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Bibliography
- Lecture notes that will be available at the web address of the teacher.
- Documents and data that will be indicated by the teacher and will be made available either via web or through the library.
Teaching methods
During the laboratory the basic notions about the working of labor markets in a world-wide environment are provided and the main theories describing the functions of economic systems are discussed by means of lectures. Lectures are flanked by tutorials where statistics and numerical examples are proposed to the students with the aim of giving them the opportunity to solve some of the typical problems in labor economics, such as the determination of the equilibrium and the definition of the effects of economic policies in such an environment
Assessment methods and criteria
Knowledge, Judgement and Learning ability will be tested through the discussion of a paper written by any student on the subject indicated before and prepared under the supervision of the teacher and through the participation of all students to the discussion of other students’ papers.
Other information
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