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Labor Economics
George Borjas’ well-received text blends coverage of traditional topics with modern theory and developments into a superb Labor economics book. His integration of theory with facts and coverage of latest research make his book one of the most popular at the middle and upper end of the market.
560 pages, Hardcover
First published August 28, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 16, 2015
'Labor Economics' is George Borjas' (Harvard University) attempt at providing a textbook for undergraduate students on the subject of labor economics. The book's main objective is 'to survey the field of labor economics with an emphasis on 'both' theory and facts' since most labor economics textbooks allegedly overemphasize the development of economic modeling skills or the knowledge of a plethora of minute statistics relative to the economic theory of labor economics. My inability to judge this claim notwithstanding, Borjas certainly does a good job at introducing and explaining the many models featuring in modern labor economics. The exposition is supported by a vast amount of figures and tables, the average chapter displaying more than a dozen of graphs and figures, and a multitude of examples from all walks of economics.
Generally, a chapter begins with a short introduction to a set of stylized facts, the exposition of the economic theory developed to explain these facts and a detailed discussion of the empirical research linking the theory with the facts. Here, three comments are in order: First, Borjas is not shy of admitting the many issues where (labor) economics has not yet reached a consensus and question marks over the causes and effects of certain economic phenomena still loom large, which I strongly welcome. Second, Borjas often offers a - to the best of my knowledge - fair account of many economic policy issues in labor economics, though he is known as a rather conservative economist; nonetheless, it is not clear to what degree he engages with the criticism of his academic opponents, e.g. Borjas has precious little to say about David Carr's argument that immigration not only affects labor supply but also labor demand (U.S. immigrants buy their burgers in America, not in their countries of origin...). In the particular case of the U.S. minimum wage debate, he has not (yet) incorporated a flurry of recent research (e.g. Dube, Lester & Reich 2010, Allegretto, Dube & Reich 2011, Hirsch, Kaufman & Zelenska 2015, Sabia, Burkhauser & Hansen 2012), which have considerably moved the debate forward. I would like to extend this section of the review once I am able to compare his account with other textbooks' narratives of the disputed phenomena. Third, despite being labelled as international edition, the book is strongly centered on the United States, with most of the book's content focusing on the explanation of stylized facts concerning the U.S. economy, though this is to some extent due to the relative wealth of economic data and studies on the U.S. economy rather than the author's predilections (this is not to say that international comparisons are utterly absent, just that they take a third-row backseat relative to the U.S.). I hope to get my hands on a German textbook on labor economics by Wolfgang Franz soon, which ought to enable comparisons between both books and whether Borjas' focus on the U.S. can be seen as a drawback for its international edition.
The book consists of twelve chapters on (1) labor economics in general, (2) labor supply, (3) labor demand, (4) labor market equilibrium, (5) compensating wage differentials, (6) human capital, (7) the wage structure, (8) labor mobility, (9) labor market discrimination, (10) labor unions, (11) incentive pay, and (12) unemployment. Two important subfields of labor economics omitted by this selection are experimental and behavioral labor economics, though they sometimes implicitly surface in the narrative. The book also does not treat labor markets in developing countries separately, though one may question to what extent economics research based on industrialized countries' experiences generalizes at the global level.
The book ends with a mathematical appendix, an index and the absence of a bibliography. The absence of a bibliography impedes the book's use as a reference, which is not improved by the embarrassing quality of many citations (I found up to at least a dozen citation mistakes in a single chapter, something which should have been corrected a long time ago). The mathematical appendix is pretty standard and does not require any mathematical skills beyond advanced high school math. The index aggregates personal names and concepts.
In sum, I really liked this book: It wet my appetite for labor economics through its clear exposition and sophisticated balance between theory and facts. Absent the omission of certain (important) subjects and the bad quality of the citations the maximum rating would have been possible. I strongly recommend the book as a textbook for any undergraduate course in labor economics, though not as a reference.
Generally, a chapter begins with a short introduction to a set of stylized facts, the exposition of the economic theory developed to explain these facts and a detailed discussion of the empirical research linking the theory with the facts. Here, three comments are in order: First, Borjas is not shy of admitting the many issues where (labor) economics has not yet reached a consensus and question marks over the causes and effects of certain economic phenomena still loom large, which I strongly welcome. Second, Borjas often offers a - to the best of my knowledge - fair account of many economic policy issues in labor economics, though he is known as a rather conservative economist; nonetheless, it is not clear to what degree he engages with the criticism of his academic opponents, e.g. Borjas has precious little to say about David Carr's argument that immigration not only affects labor supply but also labor demand (U.S. immigrants buy their burgers in America, not in their countries of origin...). In the particular case of the U.S. minimum wage debate, he has not (yet) incorporated a flurry of recent research (e.g. Dube, Lester & Reich 2010, Allegretto, Dube & Reich 2011, Hirsch, Kaufman & Zelenska 2015, Sabia, Burkhauser & Hansen 2012), which have considerably moved the debate forward. I would like to extend this section of the review once I am able to compare his account with other textbooks' narratives of the disputed phenomena. Third, despite being labelled as international edition, the book is strongly centered on the United States, with most of the book's content focusing on the explanation of stylized facts concerning the U.S. economy, though this is to some extent due to the relative wealth of economic data and studies on the U.S. economy rather than the author's predilections (this is not to say that international comparisons are utterly absent, just that they take a third-row backseat relative to the U.S.). I hope to get my hands on a German textbook on labor economics by Wolfgang Franz soon, which ought to enable comparisons between both books and whether Borjas' focus on the U.S. can be seen as a drawback for its international edition.
The book consists of twelve chapters on (1) labor economics in general, (2) labor supply, (3) labor demand, (4) labor market equilibrium, (5) compensating wage differentials, (6) human capital, (7) the wage structure, (8) labor mobility, (9) labor market discrimination, (10) labor unions, (11) incentive pay, and (12) unemployment. Two important subfields of labor economics omitted by this selection are experimental and behavioral labor economics, though they sometimes implicitly surface in the narrative. The book also does not treat labor markets in developing countries separately, though one may question to what extent economics research based on industrialized countries' experiences generalizes at the global level.
The book ends with a mathematical appendix, an index and the absence of a bibliography. The absence of a bibliography impedes the book's use as a reference, which is not improved by the embarrassing quality of many citations (I found up to at least a dozen citation mistakes in a single chapter, something which should have been corrected a long time ago). The mathematical appendix is pretty standard and does not require any mathematical skills beyond advanced high school math. The index aggregates personal names and concepts.
In sum, I really liked this book: It wet my appetite for labor economics through its clear exposition and sophisticated balance between theory and facts. Absent the omission of certain (important) subjects and the bad quality of the citations the maximum rating would have been possible. I strongly recommend the book as a textbook for any undergraduate course in labor economics, though not as a reference.
August 6, 2007
My second minor in college. Economics explains human behavior. That cannot be overstated.
This book is essential reading for both policymakers and the learned who wants to learn labor economics, economics in general, or have a deeper understanding of public policy issues. The best features are its unmatched explanations of human capital models, labor market discrimination models, and labor union models, which will change the way you think of these issues and give deeper understanding to Nobel-prize winning material.
This book is essential reading for both policymakers and the learned who wants to learn labor economics, economics in general, or have a deeper understanding of public policy issues. The best features are its unmatched explanations of human capital models, labor market discrimination models, and labor union models, which will change the way you think of these issues and give deeper understanding to Nobel-prize winning material.
December 27, 2021
Simple and mostly intuitive. Labour economics is a branch where you can take a break from the equations from Microeconomics, the monetary transmission mechanisms of macroeconomic models, and the discouraging rigour of classical economic literature. Many labour economic models are simplistic and could potentially appear unconvincing; nonetheless, the framework and analytical methods by which labour economics is built are not too different from its common doctrine. Both the way models are interpreted and their understanding reinforced by standard derivations, and how equilibrium, curve shifts analysis are explained through a step-by-step, from point E to point G kind of way in popular textbooks. Many models in labour economics are explained with hypothetical examples, often combined with explanations from real-life scenarios.
October 21, 2019
Great book. Well written.
June 20, 2012
Τα οικονομικά της εργασίας είναι από τα πιο εύκολα τμήματα των οικονομικών, που έχω διδαχτεί. Αλλά εξακολουθούν να είναι ένας ιδιαίτερα περίπλοκος κλάδος. Το βιβλίο του Borjas είναι ιδιαίτερα επεξηγηματικό και αναλυτικό και βοηθά και έναν όχι και τόσο μυημένο αναγνώστη, όπως για παράδειγμα κι εγώ, να κατανοήσει της βασικές αρχές της αγοράς εργασίας. Η μετάφραση , καθοριστική κατά τη γνώμη μου για βιβλία οικονομικών είναι πολύ καλή. Τα σχεδιαγράμματα του βιβλίου (που είναι πολλά, πραγματικά ΠΟΛΛΑ, σχεδόν ένα σε κάθε σελίδα) είναι αρκετά εύκολο να τα κατανοήσει κανείς μετά τη σχετική επεξήγηση.
May 22, 2011
This book is well written in the sense that it fully explains the imprecise nature of economical models. Labor economics is really messy and complicated.
June 9, 2014
it is good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2025
Stat padding
June 1, 2007
Book for work
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews