MPV_PTPZ Labour Market and Employment Policy

Faculty of Economics and Administration
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Taught in person.
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Martin Guzi, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Dr. Magdalena Adamus (lecturer)
Luca Fumarco, PhD (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Martin Guzi, Ph.D.
Department of Public Economics – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Contact Person: Jana Biskupová
Supplier department: Department of Public Economics – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Timetable of Seminar Groups
MPV_PTPZ/01: Tue 10:00–11:50 P304, except Tue 2. 4., M. Adamus, M. Guzi
Prerequisites
The course has no formal prerequisites but it does require a willingness to engage with numbers and data, as well as some basic microeconomics.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Classes have a seminar format with a strong focus on class discussion and cooperative learning. Students taking this course will learn from real-life examples to understand the key employment policy challenges and the role of labour market institutions.
The following topics will be discussed: employment and wage determination, income inequality, labour market flexibility, labour mobility and migration, work careers of university graduates, work-life balance, cultural and social factors contributing to gender gaps in the labour market, precarious work, incentive pay, labour market discrimination, unemployment, undeclared work, and platform work.
Learning outcomes
Students will learn to discuss, understand and tackle contemporary labour market problems and policy challenges. The course will put an emphasis on empirical research and encourage students to elaborate selective case studies into class presentations.
Knowledge, skills and competence you will learn:
• understand the role of labour market institutions
• analyse current policy questions related to labour markets
• work with international open databases and interpret data
• use of the course content in your own academic work, for example in analyses that are part of the master thesis
Syllabus
  • 1. Labour market characteristics
  • • The purpose and motivation to work, labour market during the economic crisis, demographic development and its impact on the labour market, minimum wage vs reservation wage, job vacancy, Mincer equation and interpretation of coefficients, unobserved factors influencing the wage, Czech labour market characteristics (gender gaps, part-time contract, unemployment rate).
  • 2. Cultural and social factors contributing to gender gaps in the labour market?
  • • the price of motherhood, gender wage gap, gender employment gap, statistical discrimination, gender differences in education and field of study, consequences of high gender pay gap (poverty trap for women), explained and unexplained part of wage gap, Mathilda effect, sticky floor, glass ceiling, division of labour in the family, (unpaid) household work.
  • 3. Labour market discrimination
  • • hiring discrimination, correspondence study, anonymous job applications, discrimination in online markets
  • 4. Work careers of university graduates
  • • Earnings advantages from education; Why starting your career during a strong economy is better?
  • 5. Wages around the globe
  • • McWage Index, minimum wage vs collectively agreed wages, reservation wage, Mincer equation and interpretation of coefficients, cross-country comparison of wage rates.
  • 6. Labor mobility and migration
  • • theory of migration, Roy selection, international labour migration.
  • 7. Income inequality
  • • Gini coefficient, 20:20 ratio, reforms reducing income inequality and poverty
  • 8. Undeclared work
  • 9. Work-life balance
  • 10. Platform work
  • 11. Future of the labour market
  • • Robotization and automatization, platform work, life-long education, adult skills.
  • Please consult the ‘Interactive syllabus’ for the latest information.
Literature
    required literature
  • IZA World of Labor is an online platform that provides policy analysts, journalists, academics and society generally with relevant and concise information on labor market issues.
    recommended literature
  • Our World in Data
  • HOFFMAN, Saul D. and Susan L. AVERETT. Women and the economy : family, work and pay. Online. Fourth edition. London: Macmillan international, higher education, 2021. xviii, 395. ISBN 9781352012002. [citováno 2024-04-23] info
  • BORJAS, George J. Labor economics. Online. Eight edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2020. xvi, 478. ISBN 9781260565522. [citováno 2024-04-23] info
Teaching methods
Classes have a seminar format with a strong focus on class discussion and cooperative learning. We expect students to come to the classes.They are expected to participate in the class discussions and introduce the papers that they have read and also, their thoughts about them. If students miss classes not only will they not know the material, but they also deprive their classmates and lecturer of learning from them, and we lose the benefit of their contribution.
Assessment methods
You can earn 100 points and your grade will depend on the overall score. Grading is based on attendance (20 points), critical summary writing (20 points), policy project (20), online midterm exam (15 points) and final exam (25 points). The basic condition for getting a grade (A-E) from the course is to gain at least 60 points overall and at least 15 points (60%) from the final exam. Grading: A 100 - 92 points, B 91 – 84 points, C 83 – 76 points, D 75 – 68 points, E 67 – 60 points, F less than 60 points
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Credit evaluation note: k = 1.
Teacher's information
Instructor: Martin Guzi,
Office Hours: by appointment,
Email: martin.guzi@econ.muni.cz
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/econ/spring2024/MPV_PTPZ