Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Modern Labor Economics: Theory and Public Policy, now in its fifteenth edition, continues to be the leading text for one-semester courses in labor economics at the undergraduate and graduate levels.It offers a thorough overview of the modern theory of labor market behavior and reveals how this theory is used to analyze public policy. Designed for students who may not have extensive backgrounds in economics, the text balances theoretical coverage with examples of practical policy applications that allow students to see concepts in action. The authors believe that showing students the social implications of the concepts discussed in the course will enhance their motivation to learn. Consequently, this text presents numerous examples of policy decisions that have affected, and been affected by, the ever-shifting labor market.This new edition continues to offer the following: a balance of relevant, contemporary examples coverage of the current economic climate an introduction to basic methodological techniques and problems tools for review and further study This fifteenth edition presents updated data and examples throughout and offers greater coverage of monopsonistic labor markets (including anti-trust regulations and rulings), the economics of education, the gender pay gap, recent developments in unions, and unemployment, plus new material on the work-from-home trend and AI. Supplementary materials for students and instructors are also available.

Modern Labor Economics: Theory and Public Policy, now in its fourteenth edition, continues to be the leading text for one-semester courses in labor economics at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It offers a thorough overview of the modern theory of labor market behaviour and reveals how this theory is used to analyze public policy. Designed for students who may not have extensive backgrounds in economics, the text balances theoretical coverage with examples of practical applications that allow students to see concepts in action. The authors believe that showing students the social implications of the concepts discussed in the course will enhance their motivation to learn. As such, this text presents numerous examples of policy decisions that have been affected by the ever-shifting labor market. This new edition continues to offer: a balance of relevant, contemporary examples;coverage of the current economic climate;introduction to basic methodological techniques and problems;tools for review and further study. This fourteenth edition presents updated data throughout and a wealth of new examples, such as the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns, gig work, nudges, monopsony power in the technology industry, and the effect of machine learning on inequality. Supplementary materials for students and instructors are available on the book’s companion website.

Despite the worldwide prestige of America's doctoral programs in the humanities, all is not well in this area of higher education and hasn't been for some time. The content of graduate programs has undergone major changes, while high rates of student attrition, long times to degree, and financial burdens prevail. In response, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 1991 launched the Graduate Education Initiative (GEI), the largest effort ever undertaken to improve doctoral programs in the humanities and related social sciences. The only book to focus exclusively on the current state of doctoral education in the humanities, Educating Scholars reports on the GEI's success in reducing attrition and times to degree, the positive changes implemented by specific graduate programs, and the many challenges still to be addressed. Over a ten-year period, the Foundation devoted almost eighty-five million dollars through the GEI to provide support for doctoral programs and student aid in fifty-four departments at ten leading universities. The authors examine data that tracked the students in these departments and in control departments, as well as information gathered from a retrospective survey of students. They reveal that completion and attrition rates depend upon financial support, the quality of advising, clarity of program requirements, and each department's expectations regarding the dissertation. The authors consider who earns doctoral degrees, what affects students' chances of finishing their programs, and how successful they are at finding academic jobs. Answering some of the most important questions being raised about American doctoral programs today, Educating Scholars will interest all those concerned about our nation's intellectual future.

America’s colleges and universities are the best in the world. They are also the most expensive. Tuition has risen faster than the rate of inflation for the past thirty years. There is no indication that this trend will abate.Ronald G. Ehrenberg explores the causes of this tuition inflation, drawing on his many years as a teacher and researcher of the economics of higher education and as a senior administrator at Cornell University. Using incidents and examples from his own experience, he discusses a wide range of topics including endowment policies, admissions and financial aid policies, the funding of research, tenure and the end of mandatory retirement, information technology, libraries and distance learning, student housing, and intercollegiate athletics.He shows that colleges and universities, having multiple, relatively independent constituencies, suffer from ineffective central control of their costs. And in a fascinating analysis of their response to the ratings published by magazines such as U.S. News & World Report, he shows how they engage in a dysfunctional competition for students.In the short run, colleges and universities have little need to worry about rising tuitions, since the number of qualified students applying for entrance is rising even faster. But in the long run, it is not at all clear that the increases can be sustained. Ehrenberg concludes by proposing a set of policies to slow the institutions’ rising tuitions without damaging their quality.

"""This timely book provides a wide-ranging and insightful discussion of how labor market institutions and policies influence the mechanisms of economic integration and how economic integration inturn is likely to influence key features of labor markets. It offers both a clear analysis of these issues and a wealth of comparative labor market data."" Robert J. Flanagan, Stanford UniversityA volume of the Integrating National Economies Series"

The last two decades have been a turbulent period for American higher education, with profound demographic shifts, gyrating salaries, and marked changes in the economy. While enrollments rose about 50% in that period, sharp increases in tuition and fees at colleges and universities provoke accusations of inefficiency, even outright institutional greed and irresponsibility. As the 1990s progress, surpluses in the academic labor supply may give way to shortages in many fields, but will there be enough new Ph.D.'s to go around? Drawing on the authors' experience as economists and educators, this book offers an accessible analysis of three crucial economic issues: the growth and composition of undergraduate enrollments, the supply of faculty in the academic labor market, and the cost of operating colleges and universities. The study provides valuable insights for administrators and scholars of education.