Contemporary Labor Economics,presents the “new” labor economics in a readable and logical fashion. The authors' focus in this edition 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 a critical component of that core. However, since traditional topics such as labor law, structure of unions, and collective bargaining also play an important role in labor markets, they are also presented. In the Ninth Edition, the authors deliver new and updated discussions of public policy issues and expanded and updated coverage of the current economic crisis.