Course description
This course is an introduction to the comparative studies especially looking at difference in labor markets among countries. Specifically, this course takes a close look on outcome of labor markets through the lens of labor economics and labor market institution.
The course begins from overviewing quantitative data of labor market from both cross-country and time-horizon perspectives. The quantitative data includes the number of work hours, unemployment rate, labor mobility, and wage inequality. By looking at actual figures, students are encouraged to understand the current situation of their home country by comparing with those of other countries. We begin with taking a closer look on how student’s home country’s unemployment rate fluctuates with business cycles. For example, at the time of the financial crisis in 2008, the unemployment rate reached 10% in the US and the EU, while that of Japan was only 5.5%. When the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 become severe worldwide in spring of 2020, the US unemployment rate surged to 14.8% in April 2020, however, the rate was 6.6% for 19 EU countries, and 2.8% in Japan.
Given these facts, this course also tries to think possible reasons behind such differences in outcomes. Specifically, we consider how labor laws and regulations affect labor market outcome by comparing regulations such as employment protection legislation, unemployment insurance and minimum wages. In addition, we also look at institutional differences by comparing the position of labor union among countries. Students are encouraged to consider how labor laws and regulations affect bargaining power of labor union, and how that would affect labor market outcomes such as wages, unemployment, and labor market mobility. In the class, we further investigate wage inequality among countries. Although it is said that inequality has become serious issues in many countries, the extent of widening gap differs by countries. In class, we discuss why the inequality is widening in many countries and how the widening gap affect our society.
In class, not only individual presentation but also group work and group presentation are required for students. During class, students are encouraged to learn actively by searching important materials and data, and to share them with other classmates. Therefore, students are requested to bring their own note PC to classroom every lesson.
In the second half of the course, students will create an original online survey to assess labor market outcomes in their home country. Topics will be determined by student interest. One candidate, for example, is gig work and telework. In the past few years, these new styles of work using online technologies have received a great attention around the world. Will gig work and telework become more prevalent in the future? Alternatively, another candidate is a survey about the differences in work perspectives in different countries. Do people want to work longer hours to enable more consumption, or do they value leisure time and want less materially? The survey will be translated into the students' native languages and distributed to friends in their countries via URL. The data gathered will be shared with classmates so that country comparisons can be made. A term paper will be prepared based on these data.

Learning outcomes of the course
Students will be able to understand the basic facts and issues in gender by learning ideas from labor economics, labor market institution and interaction between the two. Also, they will obtain skills of constructing original survey and collecting data by experiencing them in class.

Teaching and evaluation method
Class participation and discussion 25%
Presentation (both individual and group: approximately once in every two classes during the term) 25%
Group work contribution 25%
Term (Final) paper 25%

Bibliography*
International Labour Organization, Global Wage Report 2020-21: Wages and minimum wages in the time of COVID-19, ILO, 2020, https://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/global-wage-report/2020/lang--en/index.htm.
International Labour Organization, Global Wage Report 2022-23: The impact of COVID-19 and inflation on wages and purchasing power, ILO, 2022, https://www.ilo.org/digitalguides/en-gb/story/globalwagereport2022-23
International Labour Organization, World Employment and Social Outlook 2021, The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work, ILO, 2021, https://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/weso/2021/lang--en/index.htm
International Labour Organization, Working from home: From invisibility to decent work, ILO, 2021, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---travail/documents/publication/wcms_765806.pdf

* Other related materials not listed above may be distributed via Moodle in PDF files.

Tentative Schedule (by lesson)
The following schedule may be modified according to the number of students enrolled, the students' interest and level of understanding.

Week 1 (Feb 27-Mar 3)
Lesson 1: Introduction
- As a kick-off, the first lesson will be a casual group discussion. Discussion topics may include, for example, money vs leisure. Do you want to work long hours and make lots of money?　Or do you want more leisure time for yourself and time with your family and loved ones, even if you don't earn a lot of money? Based on various factors related to the labor market, we will think about what happiness means to us.

Lesson 2: Group work (preparation for the next week presentation)
- Depending on the number of students enrolled, students will be divided into groups of 2 to 4 students to prepare for the following week’s group presentation. In this group work, participants will gather information on data and institutions in each other's countries, compare them to discover their differences and similarities and prepare PPT for the presentation. The same goes for the rest of the group works.
- In Lesson 2, we will compare unemployment rates and the unemployment insurance systems in each country.

Week 2 (Mar 6-Mar 10)
Lesson 3: Group presentation (from Lesson 2)
- Each group will make a presentation in front of the class using PPT. Details of the presentation and the time allotted for each group will be given in class.

Lesson 4: Group work (preparation for the next week presentation)
- In Lesson 4, we will compare differences in labor market mobility (such as average length of tenure), strictness of employment protection legislation, mandatory retirement systems, and union ratio in each country.

Week 3 (Mar 13-Mar 17)
Lesson 5: Group presentation (from Lesson 4)
- Each group will make a presentation in front of the class using PPT. Details of the presentation and the time allotted for each group will be given in class.

Lesson 6: Group work (preparation for the next week presentation)
- In Lesson 6, we will compare the differences in average working hours, average sleeping hours, ratio of workers with long work hours, employment status, penetration rate of telework, and maternity leave systems in each country.

Week 4 (Mar 20-Mar 27)
Lesson 7: Group presentation (from Lesson 6)
- Each group will make a presentation in front of the class using PPT. Details of the presentation and the time allotted for each group will be given in class.

Lesson 8: Group work (preparation for the next week presentation)
- In Lesson 8, we will compare differences in minimum wage laws, wage and income inequality, wage subsidies during the COVID-19 era, and wage growth under recent global inflation.

Week 5 (Apr 3-Apr 7)
Lesson 9: Group presentation (from Lesson 8)
- Each group will make a presentation in front of the class using PPT. Details of the presentation and the time allotted for each group will be given in class.

Lesson 10: Group work (preparation for the week 7 Lesson 13 presentation)
- In Lesson 10. we will compare differences in gig work and telework. Student presentations will be given in Lesson 13 in Week 7.

Spring break

Week 6 (Apr 17-Apr 21)
Lesson 11& 12: Creating a Survey
- Based on what has been learned during lessons 1-10, students will consult with each other to create a common questionnaire to be distributed to their country. The questionnaire will be created using a google form, translated into the language of each country, and then sent to people who know in their own country via SNS. It is recommended that at least 50 people respond to the questionnaire. Larger samples would be preferable.

Week 7 (Apr 24-Apr 28)
Lesson 13: Group presentation (from Lesson 10)
- Each group will make a presentation in front of the class using PPT. Details of the presentation and the time allotted for each group will be given in class.

Lesson 14: Group work (preparation for the next week presentation)
- In Lesson 14, we will compare differences in tax rates (e.g. income, corporate, and consumption taxes), education and social welfare systems in each country.

Week 8 (May 1-May 5)
Lesson 15: Group presentation (from Lesson 14)
- Each group will make a presentation in front of the class using PPT. Details of the presentation and the time allotted for each group will be given in class.

Lesson 16: Mid-term presentation
- Each students will present an interim report of data collected in the survey. Details of the presentation and the time allotted for each group will be given in class.

Week 9 (May 8-May 12)
Lesson 17&18: Data cleaning, creating tables & figures, and prepare for presentation (1)
- Combine data collected from different countries and clean the data to make it comparable. Create tables and figures to be used in the presentation.

Week 10 (May 15-May 19)
Lesson 19&20: Data cleaning, creating tables & figures, and prepare for presentation (2)
- Combine data collected from different countries and clean the data to make it comparable. Create tables and figures to be used in the presentation.

Week 11 (May 22-May 26)
Lesson 21&22: Final presentation
- Each student is given a certain time amount to give a presentation in front of classmates. The presentation should be based on the data collected during the class. In the presentation, students should compare the differences and similarities between their country and other countries based on data. Students should then describe what they think their country is good at and what they think they have learned from other countries, what the labor market in their country should be like, and what happiness means to them based on what they have learned in the course.

Week 12 (May 29-June 1)
Final Exam: submit a term paper.
- Exact due date will be announced in class.

Last updated: 17 January, 2023