Questions tagged [labor-economics]
Labor economics is the branch of microeconomics that studies labor markets and its peculiarities. Labor economists usually study topics such as career choice, returns to schooling, determinants of labor productivity, wages, gender and racial gaps.
304
questions
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0answers
100 views
Why aren't there more super-stars in educational content delivery?
The super-star phenomena seems to happen in any field where the marginal cost of distribution is very low. I think teaching could be that way just as much as acting or playing basketball - at least as ...
2
votes
1answer
150 views
lowering minimum wage by half, effect on population of Puerto Rico
I am reading about a new bill to lower the minimum wage in Puerto Rico from \$7.25 to \$4.25 per hour. This comes at a time, when both the New York and California have chosen to raise their minimum ...
2
votes
2answers
141 views
Term for fraction of economic value earned?
Is there a term for the fraction of economic value earned by a person in their labor that is due to their creation?
For example, a car factory laborer who's work creates:
Economic value created = $...
3
votes
0answers
117 views
Causes of upward trend in median first marriage age in USA?
I found a chart here of median age at first marriage by year from 1890 to 2010. It looks like it dips to a low during the 60s then has an upward trend until 2010.
As an answer, I'm looking for any ...
4
votes
2answers
227 views
Which foreign workers in USA who send remittances to family are getting the best bang for their buck?
There are probably a lot of ways to measure that, but I want to measure it like this: Foreign national workers grouped by country of origin, which group sends the most money per capita in remittances?
...
3
votes
1answer
448 views
How does economic theory handle full automation of production resulting in full unemployment?
As advances in robotics and artificial intelligence continue, one possible outcome is a laborless economy, in which capital (means of production) is the dominant factor in production, by multiple ...
2
votes
0answers
29 views
How to overcome measurement error in variable for immigration year?
I'm using the Current Population Survey and studying immigration. There's a variable: Year of Entry into the United States for the Foreign Born.
The survey is administered to a representative sample ...
1
vote
0answers
911 views
What does the elasticity of substitution between capital and labour mean?
For example, if i have elasticity of substitution equal to 5 and 0.6 what does it imply about the capital to labor ratio? When it is 5 does it imply that it is easier to replace labor with capital. As ...
1
vote
1answer
160 views
Division of labor vs division of work
Some authors makes the difference between these two terms.
Could somebody explain what is the difference between division of labor and division of work?
3
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0answers
43 views
What models exist that explain which people emigrate to another country?
I'm looking for papers about this, or if there's a pretty standard model across many papers, then maybe just a rundown of the model. I'd like to use the model in an econometric analysis.
For example, ...
1
vote
2answers
12k views
Finding labor supply function from equation of labor market [closed]
The supply side of the labour market is given by the following set of
equations:
Utility of worker is given by $$U = L^{\frac{1}{2}}C^{\frac{1}{2}}.$$
Real wage $w = 5$,
T-Max = 40 hours,
Investment ...
13
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the difference between contract theory and mechanism design?
Can someone explain the difference between contract theory and mechanism design?
0
votes
0answers
57 views
Reducing the working hours to 32 hours / week - how much it would affect the prices of commodities?
If the working hours would be reduced from 40 hours / week to 32 hours / week (4 days x 8 hours instead of 5 days x 8 hours), but maintaining the wages at the same levels, then I guess that the price ...
6
votes
1answer
394 views
Why has increased productivity over the last 100 years not affected how much people work?
If we are generally richer and more productive due to better technology and other factors, why do we still work so much?
I understand that there are various incentives to work (e.g. implicit status ...
1
vote
1answer
88 views
Equilibrium value of $b$ (market tightness) in a search model
Consider the following one-shot version of a labour market matching model. Let the labour force be normalized at 1, who, because there is only one period, all start out as unemployed. There is a very ...
4
votes
1answer
125 views
Showing that the elasticity of arrival rate for workers wrt $\theta$ is between $0$ and $1$
Let $L=E+U$ where $L$ is labour force, $E$ is number of employed, and $U$ is unemployed people.
Let $u = \frac{U}{L}$ and $v = \frac{V}{L}$.
Given $m(u,v)$ as a matching function that determines ...
1
vote
1answer
27 views
Static wage posting model and indifference to wage levels
Suppose a monopsonistic firm has the following simple profit function:
$$\pi (w) = PL(w) - wL(w) $$
where $L(w)$ is the labor supply, $P$ is the constant output price, and it has a linear production ...
3
votes
1answer
76 views
Matching in Blanchard-Diamond (1994)
Setup Blanchard-Diamond (1994) have a model where each unemployed has a single ball (application) that she tosses into urns (vacancies). With probability $a$ the application lands in the urn - the ...
3
votes
0answers
146 views
Job-finding rate in an urn-ball model with types
Setup Say you have two types of workers, high and low. The share of low-types among the unemployed population is $P$. I want to find the job-finding rate for these types.
Matching Matching is ...
5
votes
4answers
314 views
Reference request on “post-scarcity” economics?
Some friends and I have been discussing, speculatively, what might happen in the future after technology/increased automation greatly reduces the need for human labor.
The Marxists / leftists among ...
2
votes
0answers
41 views
Negative Interest Rates - Supply-Side Policy
(This is 3rd Part of a series questions under "Negative Interest Rates")
Motivation:
I've happen to stumble on two articles, with some weeks, that the central bank(CB) of switzerland, due to Russia ...
18
votes
5answers
2k views
Why are real median household incomes stagnant?
This image shows US real median household income.
It seems remarkable for its lack of growth over the last 20 years. This has been the subject of much political debate (around the "1%" and "occupy ...
1
vote
1answer
79 views
RDD, wages, and day of birth
What I am doing: I use the regression discontinuity design (henceforth RDD) to study differences in wages received by people born at the end of the year and by those people born at the beginning of ...
0
votes
1answer
61 views
Microeconomics: Question on Market for Factors
I am stuck and confused by a section of what I read in my textbook, could you please help me understand the paragraph?
If you only vary one means of production and the market for it is competitive ...
2
votes
0answers
58 views
Is America economy, Connecitcut's economy, and the global in general recovering and better than the year 2008?
Please answer all three if you can. I live in Connecticut, America, and of course global trade and economies matter as we are becoming more global from technology.
December 2007 the markets ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
What changes the structural rate of output/unemployment?
To me the structural rate of unemployment was defined by $$\frac{1}{1+m} = F(u_n,z)$$ where $m$ is the markup and $z$ a catch-all variable. We could equivalenty get this in terms of $Y_n$ by letting $...
3
votes
2answers
52 views
Can the cyclicality of the real wage be used as a measure for the degree of competiveness in the labour market?
When reading the answers to this question of mine, I'm left wondering if cyclicality of real wages can be seen as an indicator for the nature and degree of competition in the labour market.
In ...
3
votes
2answers
3k views
Cyclicality of Real Wages? Counter, pro or acyclical?
Is the real wage counter or pro- cyclical? I've read in some textbooks that the real wage is mildly pro-cyclical, but I've also found some papers stating that it's acyclical.
So, which is it? Also, ...
4
votes
6answers
468 views
Have automation and technological advance been shown to have a positive impact on society and the economy or a negative one?
My friends and I, 2 of which are computer science majors think it is worse because is humans can't work and thus afford necessities, how will they survive? The definition of automation: the use of ...
2
votes
2answers
136 views
If America's economy collapsed what would happen to all of the citizens? What if the whole global economy collapsed? [closed]
My journalism professor is not an expert in finance or economics but has studied history. She is always giving us a negative lecture on the America's economy and how the rich are taking al of the ...
2
votes
2answers
151 views
Due to rising costs of college tuition, is it likely that the future will have less universities and the remaining only for those of much wealth?
I am very sorry if this is worded wrong. I've looked at the numbers myself and it astounding how much college has gone up in price even for commuters in a few decades. People didn't need these ...
4
votes
3answers
90 views
Can lower working hours beat unemployment?
The common sense reasoning is downright simple: if X hours of works are needed per month, and Y people are available to work, give each person X/Y hours of work each month.
I understand that there ...
4
votes
3answers
264 views
What keeps minimum wage rates in balance?
I would posit that the minimum wage is determined more on a political than an economic basis. The fact is that there are more wage earners than business owners and, generally speaking, the wage ...
9
votes
2answers
8k views
Bartik Instrument Intuition
I have a question regarding the Bartik Instrument.
I understand that this instrument is a particularly important tool that is used in labor economics. From my understanding, this instrument attempts ...
0
votes
1answer
752 views
Is America getting to a point where there are many more people than jobs or money to go around? Are times better or worse than 50 years ago? [closed]
Is America headed to a point of too many people, not enough work? Is life for an average American better than 50 years ago? I have asked about automation in my first question. Then I've asked a ...
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vote
3answers
162 views
Do machines reduce labor… or so they redistribute, alter, and globally increase labor?
John Stuart Mill famously remarked that labor-saving machines have not saved one minute of labor. More seriously, Marx argued, roughly, that machines can gain temporary market advantage, but cannot ...
1
vote
1answer
370 views
Tax wedge in labour market
I'm reading a book ( Macroeconomics - Institutions, Instability and the Financial System ) and on page 62, the authors define tax wedge as the "difference between the real consumption wage and the ...
2
votes
1answer
112 views
Adam Smith: If humans are self-interested individuals, why should we reinvest our wealth?
According to Adam Smith, humans are self-interested individuals. If this is true, why does he argue that people should reinvest their wealth? How does this benefit a self-interested individual? Does ...
106
votes
16answers
19k views
How will non-rich citizens make a living if jobs keep getting replaced by robots and are outsourced?
Decades ago a factory job could support a wife and kids until retirement and they offered insurance, benefits, etc. Now, no more unions, those jobs as well as tech and customer service jobs are ...
2
votes
1answer
185 views
General Equilibrium Modelling
I have a question regarding GE modelling.
The firm's problem is to:
$$
\max\pi=pf(k,l)-wl-rk
$$
If this is true, we choose $l$ and $k$ to maximize the difference
between costs and revenues. This ...
8
votes
4answers
237 views
Can absence of inflation be accounted for by a reconfigured class structure?
A previous and oft-heard question asked why no inflation results from the Fed pumping money into the economy.
Are we simply seeing a methodical wage suppression, thus no official "inflation," while ...
5
votes
0answers
185 views
Consumption-Leisure Elasticity
The macro-literature insists on a consumption-leisure elasticity of 0 to match the balanced growth fact of constant labor supply.
Is there any paper that tries to evaluate this elasticity using ...
1
vote
2answers
138 views
Finding an intercept on percentage based data and using dummy variables
How do I find an intercept on a percentage data? My data has percentage of grades ( I have converted to numbers where $A^*=8, A=7,B=6...U=0$) by ethnicity and other indicators which I want to test for ...
3
votes
2answers
87 views
Why is the Supply of Labour More Elastic in a Single Province/State then it is in the Country as a Whole?
Apparently, the federal government has a greater ability than provincial government to increase tax revenues by raising tax rates because the supply of labour is more elastic in a single province than ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
Is it possible to reconstitute a labor theory of value?
I am not an economist, so highly technical answers may escape me. I know that since Jevons, Marshall, and the "marginal revolution" the classical labor theory of value has been largely abandoned. And ...
4
votes
0answers
29 views
Estimates of the global STEM workforce?
I am looking for any recent estimates of the global STEM workforce (STEM = Science Technology Engineering Mathematics, and ideally includes software engineers).
Time series data would be even better, ...
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vote
0answers
38 views
Total costs as function of labor and quantity [closed]
If I have wage $w = 200$ and rental rate $r = 3050$ on short run, I can assume that $K=1$ and then get the total costs $TC = rK+wL = 3050 + 200L$.
Isn't it correct?
But what if I also have a cost of ...
2
votes
0answers
110 views
How does Austrian Economics define Labour Productivity?
Is there a specific Austrian definition in accordance to the concept of Labour Productivity?
If Labour Productivity is too broad of a term, then I will qualify to be speaking about it in context of ...
1
vote
2answers
79 views
Proving or disproving hypothesis?
I took statistics class years ago in my college and I don't remember much of it now. I am into public policy research now and I am bit confused about about what conclusion to make from available ...
8
votes
1answer
2k views
Why is the percentage of Australian businesses that don't have any employees so high?
I'm trying to understand this Australian Bureau of Statistics release, which says:
In June 2014, 61% of actively trading businesses in Australia had no
employees, 27% had 1-4, 10% had 5-19, 2% ...
