Farley ECON808

        TOPICS IN THE ECONOMIC HISTORY OF AMERICAN LABOR MARKETS
        (With a Special Emphasis on Issues of Labor Law)

ECON 808-010            Farley Grubb
Fall 2001 (01F) 419 Purnell, 831-1905
MWF 9:05-9:55                           Office hrs: By Appointment
Purnell 328     grubbf@be.udel.edu

Available in the Book Store:
1) Jenny Bourne Wahl, The Bondsman's Burden (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1998).
2) Timothy Hatton and Jeffrey Williamson, The Age of Mass Migration (New York: Oxford univ. Press, 1998).
3) Price V. Fishback and Shawn Everett Kantor, A Prelude to the Welfare State: The Origins of Workers' 
Compensation (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2000).
4) Claudia Goldin, Understanding the Gender Gap (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1990).


        COURSE PROGRESSION AND REQUIRED READING


I. SOME TOPICS ON BOUND LABOR: Servants, Convicts, Slaves, and the Law

        A. The Market Structure and Statutory Regulation of Contract Labor: The Colonial Experience
        i) Farley Grubb, "The Statutory Regulation of Colonial Servitude: An Incomplete-Contract Approach," 
        Explorations in Economic History, 37 (Jan. 2000), pp. 42-75. (on-line electronic journal--Morris Library)
        ii) Farley Grubb, "The Trans-Atlantic Market for British Convict Labor," Journal of Economy History, 
        60 (Mar. 2000), pp. 94-122. (class handout)
        iii) Farley Grubb, "The Market Evaluation of Criminality: Evidence from the Auction of British Convict 
        Labor in America, 1767-1775," American Economic Review, 91 (Mar. 2001), pp. 295-304. (class handout)

***NOTE: No Class Friday September 14th***

        B. U.S. Slavery and Tort Law
        i) Wahl, The Bondsman's Burden.


II. SOME TOPICS ON FREE LABOR: Immigrants, Worker Welfare, and Women 

        A. The Trans-Oceanic Migration of Free Labor: American Labor Markets in a Global Setting
        i) Hatton and Williamson, The Age of Mass Migration.

        B. Workplace Safety, Tort Law, and the Politics of Worker Welfare 
        i) Fishback and Kantor, A Prelude to the Welfare State.

***NOTE: No Class Friday November 16th***

        C. Two Centuries of Gender Labor Markets and Gender Labor Law
        i) Goldin, Understanding the Gender Gap.


***NOTE: LAST DAY OF CLASS---Wednesday Dec. 5th***

***NOTE: FINAL EXAM Tuesday Dec. 11th, 1:00-3:00, in Purnell 328***


        Course Requirements

I. 4 (3-page) critical essays worth, in total, 33% of the course grade.

II. A short (15-page) research paper worth 33% of the course grade. 

III. A comprehensive final exam worth 33% of the course grade Tuesday Dec. 11th, 1:00-3:00, in Purnell 328.

IV. Class attendance is required. If it comes to attention that you have missed over 3 classes (University approved 
excuses excepted), I will automatically assign you a failing grade (F) for the course regardless of what you do on the 
papers and the exam.


        Short Critical Essays

        Approximately every 3 weeks you will be assigned to read a particular article or book chapter from the 
readings and write a short critical essay on that reading. The readings assigned to you to write your essays on will not 
be presented or discussed in class. Each essay is not to exceed 3 pages in length including footnotes and citations 
(see the format requirements below). These essays are not research papers. Do not search out other sources. Focus on 
the assigned reading and present a critical assessment on a relatively narrow and specific issue covered by that 
author(s). Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of one of the important arguments encountered, what makes an 
argument or point of view convincing or unconvincing. In your critique, concentrate on how economic reasoning, 
models, and evidence are used or could be used to weaken or strengthen the argument discussed. Simply 
summarizing the material (writing a book report) is unacceptable. Critical essays submitted after the due date will 
receive no score. Failure to turn in all critical essays by the last day of class will result in a failing grade (F) for the 
course. 


        Short Research Paper

        The short research paper can be on any aspect of the economic history of labor in America. It is your choice 
and responsibility. Keep the paper narrowly focused on a specific problem. It must include a very brief statement of 
the problem you will address and comments on the current state of the literature regarding this particular problem [do 
not present an extensive literature review]. And most importantly, the paper must also include as your original 
contribution some form of economic reasoning and some form of evidential analysis. The paper cannot exceed 15 
pages in total (including tables, figures, footnotes, citations, etc.). See also the format requirements below. The 
research paper is due the last day of class. Late research papers without penalty are allowed. An incomplete grade (I) 
will be issued for the course until your paper is submitted.


        Format Requirements for All Papers

        All papers must be typed, on 8 by 11 inch standard weight paper, on a single side only, double spaced, with 
margins between one inch and one and half inches on all sides, and in 10 or 12 point typeface. Citations must be 
used, both for reference and content, and a proper citation style must be used. For example, see the MLA or APA 
style sheets on display near the Reference Desk of Morris Library (or their on-line versions, e.g. 
), or see the Chicago Manual of Style (current edn.). Do not include a separate title or cover 
page, nor a separate bibliography (other than a reference list if you use that form of citation format). Each critical 
essay cannot exceed 3 pages in length, and the research paper cannot exceed 15 pages in length (including all 
materials). Any paper which fails to adhere to these format requirements will be penalized (depending on the severity 
of format deviation) at my discretion with no appeals.