"Labour economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the markets for wage labour."
This subfield analyzes labor market policies and regulations, such as minimum wage laws, unemployment insurance, health and safety regulations, and labor laws.
Labor Market: Understanding the supply and demand for labor, the role of labor market institutions, and types of labor markets (e.g. bilateral, monopsonistic).
Wages and Compensation: Types of compensation (e.g. wages, salaries, fringe benefits), determinants of wages, wage differentials, minimum wage laws, and wage-setting mechanisms.
Employment and Unemployment: The concept of employment, types of unemployment (e.g. frictional, structural, cyclical), factors affecting employment and unemployment, unemployment compensation, and job search.
Labor Market Discrimination: Types and sources of discrimination, measurement of discrimination, and policies for combating discrimination.
Labor Standards: Safety and health regulations, child labor laws, working hours and time-off policies, and anti-discrimination laws.
Collective Bargaining: The role of unions, collective bargaining agreements, strikes and lockouts, arbitration, and labor-management relations.
Labor Law: The legal framework governing labor relations, including employment contracts, wrongful dismissal, and labor disputes resolution.
International Labor Standards: International frameworks for regulating labor and employment, International Labor Organization standards and conventions, and labor market policies in developing countries.
Workforce Training and Development: Job training and workforce development programs, worker retraining initiatives, and education and human capital investment.
Labor Mobility and Social Insurance: Unemployment insurance, job training assistance, and social safety net programs, and policies for promoting labor mobility (e.g., immigration, geographic differences in labor demand).
Minimum Wage: A policy that sets a minimum wage that employers must pay their employees for their work.
Overtime: A regulation that mandates that employers must pay their employees at a higher rate for hours worked beyond the standard workweek of 40 hours.
Child Labor: Regulations that prevent children from working in certain types of jobs, ensuring they receive an education and do not engage in hazardous work.
Workplace Safety: Regulations that ensure employers provide a safe workplace, train employees on safety practices, and establish protocols for handling workplace accidents and injuries.
Employee Benefits: Policies that mandate that employers provide employee benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, etc.
Anti-Discrimination: Regulations that prevent employers from discriminating against employees or potential employees based on factors such as race, gender, age, religion, national origin, or disability.
Unionization: Policies that allow workers to join together to form a union and collectively negotiate with their employer for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.
Family and Medical Leave: Federal regulations that mandate employers to allow their employees to take unpaid leave for family or medical emergencies without the risk of losing their job.
Immigration: Regulations that control the movement of foreign workers into the country and enable employers to utilize the skills of workers from around the world.
Labor Standards: Regulations that set broad standards for employers and employees, such as work schedules, break periods, and wage rate increases.
"Labour economics looks at the suppliers of labour services (workers) and the demanders of labour services (employers)."
"Labour economics must also account for social, cultural and political variables."
"These patterns exist because each individual in the market is presumed to make rational choices based on the information that they know regarding wage, desire to provide labour, and desire for leisure."
"The rise of the internet has brought about a 'planetary labour market' in some sectors."
"Labour is conventionally contrasted with other factors of production, such as land and capital."
"Some theories focus on human capital or entrepreneurship, which refers to the skills that workers possess."
"Labour is a special type of good that cannot be separated from the owner (i.e. the work cannot be separated from the person who does it)."
"A labour market is also different from other markets in that workers are the suppliers and firms are the demanders."
"Labour is a commodity that is supplied by labourers, usually in exchange for a wage paid by demanding firms."
"Labour markets are normally geographically bounded."
"Labour economics must also account for social, cultural, and political variables."
"Each individual in the market is presumed to make rational choices based on the information that they know regarding wage, desire to provide labour, and desire for leisure."
"Labour economics seeks to understand the resulting pattern of wages, employment, and income."
"Some theories focus on human capital or entrepreneurship, (which refers to the skills that workers possess)."
"Labour is unique to study because it is a special type of good that cannot be separated from the owner."
"The rise of the internet has brought about a 'planetary labour market' in some sectors."
"Labour is supplied by labourers, usually in exchange for a wage paid by demanding firms."
"Labour economics looks at the suppliers of labour services (workers) and the demanders of labour services (employers)."
"Labour markets function through the interaction of workers and employers."