Abstract
Since Richard Freeman wrote labour economics for the first (1987) edition of The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, labour economics has become increasingly empirical, with less emphasis on theory. The most noticeable change in empirical work is an increased emphasis on the plausibility of identification assumptions such as the validity of instrumental variables. Among the areas growing or receiving the greatest attention are changes in the wage structure, the economics of education, social interactions and personnel economics. The range of topics studied by labour economists today has broadened far beyond those of traditional labour economics.
Keywords
- Education production functions
- Fixed effects
- Group selection
- Human capital
- Identification
- Instrumental variables
- Labour economics
- Labour market search
- Matching
- Natural experiments
- Personnel economics
- Returns to schooling
- Roy model
- Sample selection problem
- Skill-biased technical change
- Wage differentials
- Wage inequality, changes in
JEL Classification
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume
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Taber, C., Weinberg, B.A. (2008). Labour Economics (New Perspectives). In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2659-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2659-1
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5
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