Chapter 7 is devoted to human capital theory, Chapter 8 examines occupational wage differentials, and Chapter 9 looks at the causes and consequences of discrimination. Chapters 10 and 11 are devoted to the economics of unions and labor relations. Chapter 10 describes why workers join unions and examines theprocess of collective bargaining. Chapter 11 analyzes the impact of unions on wages, fringe benefits, productivity, income inequality, and profits. Since courses in labor economics differ considerably with respect to the amount of attention given to unions and collective bargaining, it was difficult to decide the amount of space to devote to this topic in the text.
Some authors devote as little as one chapter, others use half the book.
We have tried to strike a balance at about 16 percent-a figure approximating the size of the organized sector in the labor market. Instructors who desire a detailed discussion of labor history, labor law, and the administration of the labor agreement should probably look elsewhere, however. Both the causes and consequences of unemployment receive considerable attention. One consequence of the extensive topical coverage, the in-depth treatment of most subjects, and the presentation of alternative theories is that the text is relatively lengthy. Few instructors will be able to cover all the material, particularly if their college or university is on a quartersystem.