14.662 Labor Economics II, Spring 2005

Abstract

The development and evolution of labor market structures and institutions. Particular focus on competing explanations of recent developments in the distribution of wage and salary income and in key institutions and organizational structures. Special attention to theories of worker motivation and behavior, the determination of wages, technology, and social stratification. From the course home page: Course Description This class focuses on labor institutions, the transformation of those institutions in the last three decades, and the possible relationship between that transformation and the shifting distribution of wage and salary income. The emphasis is on the United States and other advanced industrial countries, with some discussion of the relevance of the theory and analysis to developing economies.