Labour Markets

What this page covers

The resources follow the usual path through Labour Markets. The demand side is covered by the flashcard deck The Labour Market, which runs through derived demand, productivity, the price of other factors of production and supplementary labour costs. The supply side includes a note on the backward-bending supply curve for labour, with a worked example of hours falling as the wage doubles.

Where to start

Begin with the mind maps. Labour market and Chapter 7 - The labour market: Supply & demand are both good first looks at how workers supply labour and firms demand it. Then move to the notes MRP and Derived Demand for Labour and Elasticity of Demand for Labour, which explain why a firm's demand slopes downward.

1. Read a mind map on demand and supply.
2. Work through a flashcard deck to fix the key terms.
3. Read the notes on marginal revenue product and wage determination.
4. Test yourself with a quiz.

Going further

Once the basics are clear, look at where markets go wrong. There are notes on causes of labour market failure and trade unions, bilateral monopoly, imperfect information and discrimination, and labour immobility. Mind maps on types of unemployment, immobility of labour and the minimum wage sit alongside them. Other maps look at technology and jobs, and at income inequality and poverty.

Using quizzes and maps together

Use a quiz first to see what you get wrong, such as the Marginal Revenue Product quiz or Economics A2: Labour market MCQ. Then go back to the matching mind map and read the branch that caught you out. Try the same quiz again a few days later. Some resources mention A-level Economics, Leaving Certificate Economics, GCSE Economics and AP Microeconomics, so check which fit your course.

Where it sits

This unit belongs to the strand Firms, Industries and Factor Markets in Economics. Choose a resource that matches what you are studying this week, and add your own notes or flashcards where the page leaves a gap.