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Is There Monopsony in the Labor Market? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

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Author Info
Douglas Staiger
Joanne Spetz
Ciaran Phibbs
Abstract

A variety of recent theoretical and empirical advances have renewed interest in monopsonistic models of the labor market. However, there is little direct empirical support for these models, even in labor markets that are textbook examples of monopsony. We use an exogenous change in wages at Veterans Affairs hospitals as a natural experiment to investigate the extent of monopsony in the nurse labor market. In contrast to much of the prior literature, we estimate that labor supply to individual hospitals is quite inelastic, with short-run elasticity around 0.1. We also find that non-VA hospitals responded to the VA wage change by changing their own wages.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 7258.

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Date of creation: Jul 1999
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7258

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J42 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets
I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets

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  1. Adamache, Killard W. & Sloan, Frank A., 1982. "Unions and hospitals : Some unresolved issues," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 81-108, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. William M. Boal & Michael R. Ransom, 1997. "Monopsony in the Labor Market," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 86-112, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Torberg Falch, 2003. "Estimating the Elasticity of Labour Supply to an Enterprise Utilizing a Quasi–Natural Experiment," Working Paper Series 3303, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. [Downloadable!]
  2. Goto, Hideaki, 2008. "Labor Market Competitiveness and Poverty," Working Papers 51159, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management. [Downloadable!]
  3. Daron Acemoglu & Amy Finkelstein, 2006. "Input and Technology Choices in Regulated Industries: Evidence From the Health Care Sector," NBER Working Papers 12254, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Reagan Baughman & Kristin Smith, 2007. "The labor market for direct care workers," New England Public Policy Center Working Paper 07-4, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. [Downloadable!]
  5. Hirsch, Barry T. & Schumacher, Edward J., 2004. "Classic Monopsony or New Monopsony? Searching for Evidence in Nursing Labor Markets," IZA Discussion Papers 1154, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  6. Dolado, Juan José & Felgueroso, Florentino, 2008. "Occupational Mismatch and Moonlighting among Spanish Physicians: Do Couples Matter?," IZA Discussion Papers 3419, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Michael R. Ransom & David P. Sims, 2008. "Estimating the Firm’s Labor Supply Curve in a “New Monopsony” Framework: School Teachers in Missouri," Working Papers 1108, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
  8. Hirsch, Barry & Schumacher, Edward J., 2008. "Underpaid or Overpaid? Wage Analysis for Nurses Using Job and Worker Attributes," IZA Discussion Papers 3833, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  9. V. Bhaskar & Alan Manning & Ted To, 2002. "Oligopsony and Monopsonistic Competition in Labor Markets," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(2), pages 155-174, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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