MILR Concentration: Labor Market Policy
In the Labor Market Policy concentration candidates are prepared for careers in public policy toward labor markets. These are careers that analyze, develop, and administer public policy; careers that will often bridge government, private firms, and non-profit organizations. The curriculum provides students with skills that will enable them to evaluate government policies. It also provides student with knowledge of public and private institutions that are fundamental to the operation of the labor market.
Core Courses
All MILR candidates must complete the following six core courses
- ILRCB 500 Collective Bargaining
- ILRCB 501 Labor Relations Law and Legislation
- ILRST 511 Statistical Methods for Social Sciences
- ILROB 520 Organizational Behavior and Analysis
- ILRLE 540 Labor Economics
- ILRHR 560 Human Resource Management
Concentration Courses
In addition to the 6 core MILR courses, students must complete a minimum of 6 courses that explicitly prepare students for public policy oriented career. These include two courses in the principles of policy evaluation (A), two courses in public policy towards labor market (B), and two general policy courses that are selected by students subject to advisor approval (C).
A. Principles of Policy Evaluation - A subset of courses that introduce analytic tools for evaluating government programs (e.g., cost/benefit analysis).
- ILRLE 642 The Economic Analysis of the Welfare State
- CRP 621 Quantitative Techniques for Policy Analysis and Program Management
- AEM 430 International Trade Policy
- AEM 432 Business and Governments in a Global Marketplace
- ECON 335 Public Finance: The Microeconomics of Government
- ECON 336 Public Finance: Resource Allocation and Fiscal Policy
- PAM 204 Economics of the Public Sector
B. Public Policy in the Labor Market - A subset of courses that examine how public policy and government institutions shape labor markets. (2 courses)
- ILRLE 441 Income Distribution
- ILRLE 442 The Economics of Employee Benefits
- ILRLE 445 Women in the Economy
- ILRLE 644 The Economics of Occupational Safety and Health
- ILRLE 647 Evaluation of Social Programs
- ILRLE 648 Economic Analysis of the University
- ILRHR 652 Research on Education Reform and Human resource Policy
- ILRHR 692 Training the Displaced and Disadvantaged
- ILRHR 695 Education, Technology, and Productivity
- ILRHR 698 International Human Resources Policies and Institutions
- ILRCB 684 Employment Discrimination and the Law
- ILRCB 686 Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector
- ILRIC 332 Labor in Developing Economies
C. Two other policy courses - subject to approval by advisor.
- a course on government regulation or foreign trade
- econometrics courses
- law courses
- an approved independent study that focuses on a research question
Electives
Students in the Labor Market Policy concentration enroll in a minimum of 4 additional free electives. While these electives could focus on public policy, they may focus on other areas as well. For examples they could include courses on negotiation or international human resource management.
Notes
Courses taken toward fulfillment of the MILR degree requirements must meet all of the following criteria:
- The course number (level) must be 400, or above. Note: Special permission may be given for Labor Market Policy majors to take certain classes numbered below 400. Please check with the ILR Graduate Office for instructions.
- The course must be taken for a letter grade. Courses graded with the S/U option do not count towards MILR degree requirements.
- The final course grade must be C or above.
- All courses must be full semester in length and worth 3 or more credit hours.
- Exceptions: NBA 570 and ILRHR 654 count toward the 48 credit hour requirement but not toward the 16 course requirement. 1 or 2 credit, or partial semester courses, meeting all other criteria, may count toward the 48 credit hours but not the 16 courses.
- Students must petition the Director of Graduate Studies for other exceptions, prior to taking the course in question.
ILR Field Faculty Members in Labor Market Policy Concentration
- John Abowd jma7@cornell.edu
- Francine Blau fdb4@cornell.edu
- George Boyer grb3@cornell.edu
- Jed Devaro jld48@cornell.edu
- Ronald Ehrenberg rge2@cornell.edu
- Gary Fields gsf2@cornell.edu
- Robert Hutchens rmh2@cornell.edu
- George Jakubson gj10@cornell.edu
- Lawrence Kahn lmk12@cornell.edu
- Robert Smith rss14@cornell.edu
The Labor Market Policy concentration is in the ILR Department of Labor Economics.
