The Economics of Imperfect Labor Markets: Second Edition - Hardcover

Boeri, Tito; Ours, Jan Van

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691158932 ISBN 13: 9780691158938

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2013

Synopsis

Most labor economics textbooks pay little attention to actual labor markets, taking as reference a perfectly competitive market in which losing a job is not a big deal. The Economics of Imperfect Labor Markets is the only textbook to focus on imperfect labor markets and to provide a systematic framework for analyzing how labor market institutions operate. This expanded, updated, and thoroughly revised second edition includes a new chapter on labor-market discrimination; quantitative examples; data and programming files enabling users to replicate key results of the literature; exercises at the end of each chapter; and expanded technical appendixes.

The Economics of Imperfect Labor Markets examines the many institutions that affect the behavior of workers and employers in imperfect labor markets. These include minimum wages, employment protection legislation, unemployment benefits, active labor market policies, working-time regulations, family policies, equal opportunity legislation, collective bargaining, early retirement programs, education and migration policies, payroll taxes, and employment-conditional incentives. Written for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students, the book carefully defines and measures these institutions to accurately characterize their effects, and discusses how these institutions are today being changed by political and economic forces.

• Expanded, thoroughly revised second edition
  


• New chapter on labor-market discrimination
  


• New quantitative examples
  


• New data sets enabling users to replicate key results of the literature
  


• New end-of-chapter exercises
  


• Expanded technical appendixes
  


• Unique focus on institutions in imperfect labor markets
  


• Integrated framework and systematic coverage
  


• Self-contained chapters on each of the most important labor-market institutions
  

About this title

From the Back Cover

Praise for the first edition: "Understanding the role of labor market institutions is a difficult but central task. Good institutions can alleviate the adverse effects of the many imperfections that characterize labor markets. But, unfortunately, bad institutions can, and often do, make things worse. By relying on simple theory and an accumulating body of careful evidence, this book helps us think straight. An essential read for anybody interested in going beyond clichés, and understanding what institutions do and should do."--Olivier Blanchard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Praise for the first edition: "An invaluable survey of how policy affects the labor market, using the best of theory and empirical evidence."--Richard Layard, London School of Economics and Political Science

Praise for the first edition: "With a focus on state-of-the-art theoretical models and empirical evidence, Tito Boeri and Jan van Ours deftly explain how and when the invisible hand becomes all thumbs in the labor market. Their view of institutions as a response to imperfect markets, rather than a cause of them, is novel and overdue in labor economics textbooks."--Alan B. Krueger, Princeton University

Praise for the first edition: "By focusing on frontline policy debates, this book should hold the interest of students who often find traditional labor economics courses a bit dry."--Alan Manning, London School of Economics and Political Science

Praise for the first edition: "There is no real equivalent to this book. And, although it is an undergraduate-level textbook, it may also interest economists working at government institutions and international organizations who want an accessible review of the academic literature."--Fabien Postel-Vinay, University of Bristol

About the Author

Tito Boeri is professor of labor economics at Bocconi University in Milan and scientific director of the Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti. Jan van Ours is professor of labor economics at Tilburg University in the Netherlands and professorial fellow in economics at the University of Melbourne.

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0691158932
• ISBN 13: 9780691158938
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 464