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Minimum Wages for Ronald McDonald Monopsonies: A Theory of Monopsonistic Competition

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Author Info
V. Bhaskar (University of Essex)
Ted To (University of Warwick)

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Abstract

Recent empirical work on the effects of minimum wages has called into question the conventional wisdom that minimum wages invariably reduce employment. We develop a model of \emph{monopsonistic competition} with \emph{free entry} to analyze the effects of minimum wages, and our predictions fit the empirical results closely. Under monopsonistic competition, we find that a rise in the minimum wage a) raises employment per firm, b) causes firm exit, c) may increase or reduce industry employment. Minimum wages increase welfare if they raise industry employment, but welfare effects are ambiguous if employment falls. Industry price and employment are inversely related if the product market is competitive. However, if firms have product market power, a minimum wage which raises industry employment can also increase prices.

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Paper provided by EconWPA in its series Labor and Demography with number 9603001.

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Length: 30 pages
Date of creation: 25 Mar 1996
Date of revision: 21 May 1996
Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpla:9603001

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Related research
Keywords: labor theory minimum wage monopsony oligopsony monopsonistic competition.

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
J42 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets
L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. repec:fth:prinin:300 is not listed on IDEAS
  2. David Neumark & William Wascher, 1992. "Employment effects of minimum and subminimum wages: Panel data on state minimum wage laws," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 46(1), pages 55-81, October.
  3. Lawrence Katz & Alan Krueger, 1992. "The Effect of the Minimum Wage on the Fast Food Industry," Working Papers 678, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Steven C. Salop, 1979. "Monopolistic Competition with Outside Goods," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 141-156, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. David Card, 1992. "Using Regional Variation in Wages to Measure the Effects of the Federal Minimum Wage," Working Papers 680, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
  6. S Machin & A Manning, 1992. "Minimum Wages," CEP Discussion Papers 080, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
  7. Rosen, Sherwin, 1987. "The theory of equalizing differences," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & R. Layard (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 12, pages 641-692 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. David Card, 1992. "Using regional variation in wages to measure the effects of the federal minimum wage," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 46(1), pages 22-37, October.
  9. David Neumark & William Wascher, 1995. "The Effect of New Jersey's Minimum Wage Increase on Fast-Food Employ- ment: A Re-Evaluation Using Payroll Records," NBER Working Papers 5224, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. repec:fth:prinin:298 is not listed on IDEAS
  11. 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)
  12. David Card, 1992. "Using Regional Variation in Wages to Measure the Effects of the Federal Minimum Wage," NBER Working Papers 4058, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Krueger, Alan B, 1991. "Ownership, Agency, and Wages: An Examination of Franchising in the Fast Food Industry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 106(1), pages 75-101, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Rebitzer, James B. & Taylor, Lowell J., 1995. "The consequences of minimum wage laws Some new theoretical ideas," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 245-255, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. David Card & Alan B. Krueger, 1998. "A Reanalysis of the Effect of the New Jersey Minimum Wage Increase on the Fast-Food Industry with Representative Payroll Data," NBER Working Papers 6386, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  16. Card, David & Krueger, Alan B, 1994. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 772-93, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  17. Manning, Alan, 1995. "How Do We Know That Real Wages Are Too High?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 110(4), pages 1111-25, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  18. Burdett, Kenneth & Mortensen, Dale T, 1998. "Wage Differentials, Employer Size, and Unemployment," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 39(2), pages 257-73, May.
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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. Alan Manning, 2003. "The Real Thin Theory: Monopsony in Modern Labour Markets," CEP Discussion Papers dp0564, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Monojit Chatterji & Karen Mumford & Peter N. Smith, 2007. "The Public-Private Sector Gender Wage Differential: Evidence from Matched Employee-Workplace Data," IZA Discussion Papers 3158, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Booth, Alison L & Zoega, Gylfi, 2002. "If You're so Smart, Why Aren't You Rich? Wage Inequality with Heterogenous Workers?," CEPR Discussion Papers 3190, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Aurora García, Nikolaos Georgantzís, Vicente Orts Ríos, & José C. Pernías, . "Profile Learning by Strategic Workers in Wage-Setting Duopsony," Computing in Economics and Finance 1997 149, Society for Computational Economics. [Downloadable!]
  5. Isabelle Méjean & Lise Patureau, 2008. "Location decisions and Minimum Wages," THEMA Working Papers 2008-06, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Daniel Aaronson & Eric French & James MacDonald, 2004. "The minimum wage and restaurant prices," Working Paper Series WP-04-21, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
  7. Pierre Cahuc & Guy Laroque, 2007. "Optimal Taxation and Monopsonistic Labor Market: Does Monopsony Justify the Minimum Wage?," IZA Discussion Papers 2955, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Simonetta Longhi & Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot, 2004. "Spatial Heterogeneity and the Wage Curve revisited," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 04-054/3, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Alison Booth & Melvyn Coles, 2007. "A Microfoundation For Increasing Returns In Human Capital Accumulation And The Under-Participation Trap," CAMA Working Papers 2007-07, Australian National University, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Alison L Booth & Gylfi Zoega, 2005. "Worker Heterogeneity, Intra-firm Externalities and Wage Compression," Birkbeck Working Papers in Economics and Finance 0515, Birkbeck, School of Economics, Mathematics & Statistics. [Downloadable!]
  11. Strobl, Eric & Walsh, Frank, 2002. "Getting It Right: Employment Subsidy or Minimum Wage?," IZA Discussion Papers 662, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  12. Arantza Gorostiaga & Juan Francisco Rubio-Ramírez, 2004. "Optimal minimum wage in a competitive economy," Working Paper 2004-30, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  13. Michael R. Ransom & Ronald L. Oaxaca, 2005. "Sex Differences in Pay in a "New Monopsony" Model of the Labor Market," IZA Discussion Papers 1870, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  14. V. Bhaskar & Ted To, 1999. "Oligopsony and the Distribution of Wages," Labor and Demography 9903003, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  15. Juan J. Dolado & Florentino Felgueroso & Juan F. Jimeno, . "The Role of the Minimum Wage in the Welfare State: An Appraisal," Working Papers 2000-12, FEDEA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  16. 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)
  17. Basu, Arnab K & Chau, Nancy H & Kanbur, Ravi, 2005. "Turning a Blind Eye: Costly Enforcement, Credible Commitment and Minimum Wage Laws," CEPR Discussion Papers 5107, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  18. Armin Falk & Ernst Fehr & Christian Zehnder, 2005. "The Behavioral Effects of Minimum Wages," IZA Discussion Papers 1625, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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