BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

One benefit of authoring a text that has met the test of the market is the opportunity to revise. Revision provides for improvement—to delete the archaic and install the novel, to rectify errors of omission or commission, to rewrite misleading or obscure statements, to introduce more relevant illustrations, to bring more recent data to bear, to upgrade organizational structure, and to enhance pedagogical aids—in short, to build on an accepted framework of ideas. We feel that those who examine this new ninth edition of Contemporary Labor Economics will agree that we have fully exploited this opportunity.

Our basic purpose remains that of presenting the content of the "new" labor economics in a logical and readable fashion. While such traditional topics as labor law, the structure of unions, and collective bargaining have not been entirely crowded out, our focus is clearly on labor economics as an applied field of micro and macro theory. This volume is based on the assumption that labor economics is no longer an area tangential to the core of analytical economics but rather is a critical component of that core.

The level of analysis is tailored for the undergraduate student who has completed a standard sequence on macro and micro principles. The book is designed for a one-semester or one-quarter course, although appropriate supplementation can make it usable as the focal point of a two-semester course.

THE NINTH EDITION

This new edition incorporates many significant changes, several of which were motivated by the comments of colleagues and students. We are especially grateful to the scholars cited in the acknowledgments who provided reviews of the various editions or commented on drafts of the new edition.

New Unions and Collective Bargaining Chapter

We have streamlined and reorganized the material on unions and collective bargaining in Chapters 6 and 10 to form the core of Chapter 10 in the new edition.

New Topics and Expanded Discussions

New, revised, and expanded discussions permeate the ninth edition. Some of the more important changes are these:

• Economic crisis coverage: Updated data and a number of discussions related to the economic crisis focus students on the rapidly changing economy. For example, this edition includes new "World of Work" boxes on a recession-proof industry (Chapter 6), new limits on executive compensation in banking (Chapter 7), autoworker union concessions (Chapter 11), outsourcing of terminations (Chapter 18), and the effect of unemployment news on stock prices (Chapter 18).
• Public policy issues: This edition has a number of new discussions of public policy issues including the GED program, executive compensation limits, union organizing legislation, occupational licensing, religious discrimination, and income inequality.

New "World of Work" Sections

Fifteen of the "World of Work" boxes are new to this edition. The new titles to this edition are "Work Hours Linked to Mother Nature"; "Wives and Later Retirement among Married Men"; "What Is a GED Worth?"; "Hurricanes and Local Labor Markets"; "Always Hiring"; "Economics of Tipping";

"Bankers Face Strict New Pay Cap"; "Is Bigger Still Better?"; "Will the Employee Free Choice Act Help Revive Unions?"; "Autoworker Union Concessions"; "The Prevalence and Effects of Occupational Licensing"; "September 11 and Discrimination against Muslims and Arabs"; "Rising Leisure Time Inequality"; "Outsourcing Terminations"; and "Why Bad Unemployment News Is Usually Good for Stocks."

ORGANIZATION AND CONTENT

The subject matter in this book generally proceeds from micro to macro topics. Figure 1.1 and the "Overview" section of Chapter 1 outline the organizational framework in some detail. Thus we simply call your attention to the figure here; we trust that Figure 1.1 and its accompanying discussion will clearly express our organizational approach. We recognize that other chapter orderings are possible and in fact may be optimal for many professors. Also, our bias has been to be inclusive in our presentation of topics. Professors can easily overcome this bias by selecting chapters for their own classes.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES

At the hazard of immodesty, we feel that this volume embodies a number of features that distinguish it from other books in the field.

Content

In the area of subject matter, the emphasis in Chapter 6 and elsewhere on allocative efficiency is both unique and desirable. The efficiency emphasis makes students realize that society has an interest in how labor markets function. Chapter 7 brings together the literature on the principal–agent problem and the "new economics of personnel" in a single, focused chapter. Chapter 8 on the wage structure has been consistently praised by instructors for providing a thorough, systematic treatment of wage differentials and a simplified presentation of the hedonic wage theory. The comprehensive analysis of the impacts of unions and government on labor markets found in Chapters 10–13 also sets this book apart.

Chapter 14 provides extensive analysis of labor market discrimination and antidiscrimination policies. Chapter 15 discusses job search within and outside the firm. Chapter 16 confines its focus almost entirely to the distribution of personal earnings, rather than the usual discussion of the distribution of income and the poverty problem. We believe this approach is more relevant for a textbook on labor economics. The critical topic of labor productivity has been largely ignored or treated in a piecemeal fashion in other books. We have upgraded this topic by according it extensive treatment in Chapter 17. Chapter 18 looks at employment and unemployment through a stock–flow perspective and uses the aggregate demand–aggregate supply model to examine natural versus cyclic unemployment. Finally, the appendix provides a comprehensive discussion of information sources that can be used to widen and deepen the reader's understanding of the field.

Organization and Presentation

We have put great stress on the logical organization of subject matter, not only chapter by chapter but within each chapter. We have sought to develop the subject matter logically from micro to macro, from simple theory to real-world complications, and from analysis to policy. Similarly, considerable time has been spent in seeking the optimal arrangement of topics within each chapter. Chapter subheadings have been used liberally; our feeling is that the student should always be aware of the organizational structure and directional flow of the subject matter.

Many key topics of labor economics will be intellectually challenging for most students. We have tried not to impair student understanding with clumsy or oblique exposition. Our purpose is to communicate effectively with students. To this end we have taken great care that our writing be clear, direct, and uncluttered. It is our goal that the material contained herein be highly accessible to the typical college undergraduate who has limited training in economics.

Pedagogical Features

We have included a variety of pedagogical devices that instructors tell us significantly contribute to student understanding. First, the introduction of each chapter states the goals of the chapter and, in many cases, relates the chapter to prior or future chapters. Second, end-of-chapter summaries provide a concise, point-by-point recapitulation of each chapter. Third, key terms and concepts are highlighted at the end of each chapter, and a comprehensive glossary of these and other terms is located at the end of the book. Fourth, ample lists of questions are provided at the end of each chapter. These range from open-ended discussion questions to numerical problems that let students test their understanding of basic analytical concepts. Fifth, each chapter includes one or two Internet exercises and links that help students increase their understanding of the material as well as obtain the most current data available. Sixth, relevant historical statistics that are valuable to both students and instructors are included at the end of the text. Seventh, the within-chapter "Quick Review" summaries and "Your Turn" questions should help students identify key points and study for exams. Furthermore, as indicated previously, the appendix of the book lists and discusses ways the interested reader can update statistical materials found in the book and continue the learning process beyond the course. Finally, we have included 72 short "World of Work" minireadings in this edition.

Instructor's Manual

Contemporary Labor Economics is accompanied by a comprehensive Instructor's Manual by author David Macpherson. Among other features, it contains chapter outlines and learning objectives, and answers to end-of-chapter text questions.

PowerPoint Slides

An extensive set of PowerPoint slides is available for each chapter. These slides, which highlight the main points of each chapter using animation, are available at the text's Online Learning Center.

Web Site

A new Web site, www.mhhe.com/mcconnellCLE9e, contains the entire supplementary package for instructors and students. Instructors can access the Instructor's Manual in the password-protected portion of the site while the PowerPoint presentations and a Digital Image Library containing all of the text's table and graphs can be viewed by students and instructors alike.