ABSTRACT
Theories that are long-lived and widely accepted in labor economics share five characteristics. First, at their analytical core, they are elegantly simple ideas susceptible to clear expression and popular understanding. Second, properly articulated these core ideas are capable of wide applications yielding reasonably useful predictions or a verisimilitude that is descriptively appealing. Third, they speak to questions of policy or social action. Fourth, lasting theories typically resonate with some underlying ideological tendency that has a significant tradition and following within the profession and society at large. Finally, good theories carry with them research agendas that induce us to look in some areas and not in others for further understanding of issues that concern us.
