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Union Power and Product Market Competition: Evidence from the Airline Industry

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Author Info
Damien J. Neven
Lars-Hendrik Röller
Zhentang Zhang

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Abstract

In this paper we specify and estimate a structural model which links product market competition and union power. The model has a two-stage setting in which wages are determined through bargaining between management and unions in the first stage, with a price-setting market game to follow in the second stage. Using data for eight European airlines from 1976-1994, we provide evidence on price-cost margins and the measurement of market power in a model of rent sharing. In particular, we find that the welfare effects of rent sharing work mainly through reducing firms’ profits, rather than consumers surplus. As a consequence the static impact of unions is more on equity rather than efficiency.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG - (Gewerkschaftsmacht und Produktmarkt-Wettbewerb: Evidenz aus der Luftfahrtindustrie)
In diesem Beitrag wird ein strukturiertes Modell spezifiziert und geschätzt, das den Zusammenhang zwischen Produktmarkt-Wettbewerb und Gewerkschaftsmacht abbildet. Das Modell ist zweistufig. In der ersten Stufe werden im Rahmen von Verhandlungen zwischen Management und Gewerkschaften die Löhne bestimmt und auf der zweiten Stufe folgt ein Preissetzungsspiel. Anhand von Daten für acht europäische Fluggesellschaftenfür die Zeit von 1976 bis 1994 läßt sich empirisch ein Zusammenhang zwischen Preis-Kostenspanne und der Messung der Marktmacht in einem Modell des "rent sharing" feststellen. Dabei wird deutlich, daß sich Wohlfahrtseffekte des "rent sharing" hauptsächlich durch eine Verringerung der Unternehmensgewinne ergeben und nicht so sehr aus der Konsumentenrente. Daraus ergibt sich, daß der statische Einfluß der Gewerkschaften auch mehr auf Gleichheit als auf mehr Effizienz abzielt.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB), Research Unit: Competition and Innovation (CIG) in its series CIG Working Papers with number FS IV 97-38.

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Length: 28 pages
Date of creation: Dec 1997
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Handle: RePEc:wzb:wzebiv:fsiv97-38

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Related research
Keywords: efficiency; union power; market power; rent sharing; airline industry;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
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. Brueckner, Jan K. & Spiller, Pablo T., 1991. "Competition and mergers in airline networks," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 323-342, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Encaoua, David, 1991. "Liberalizing European airlines : Cost and factor productivity evidence," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 109-124, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Panzar, John C & Rosse, James N, 1987. "Testing for "Monopoly" Equilibrium," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(4), pages 443-56, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. James A. Brander & Anming Zhang, 1990. "Market Conduct in the Airline Industry: An Empirical Investigation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 21(4), pages 567-583, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Hurdle, Gloria J, et al, 1989. "Concentration, Potential Entry, and Performance in the Airline Industry," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(2), pages 119-39, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Evans, William N & Kessides, Ioannis N, 1994. "Living by the "Golden Rule": Multimarket Contact in the U.S. Airline Industry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 109(2), pages 341-66, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Caves, Douglas W & Christensen, Laurits R & Diewert, W Erwin, 1982. "The Economic Theory of Index Numbers and the Measurement of Input, Output, and Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(6), pages 1393-1414, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Hirsch, Barry T & Macpherson, David A, 2000. "Earnings, Rents, and Competition in the Airline Labor Market," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(1), pages 125-55, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Lars-Hendrik Röller & Robin C. Sickles, 1997. "Capacity and Product Market Competition: Measuring Market Power in a "Puppy-Dog" Industry," CIG Working Papers FS IV 97-31, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB), Research Unit: Competition and Innovation (CIG). [Downloadable!]
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  10. Berry, Steven T, 1990. "Airport Presence as Product Differentiation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 394-99, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Oliver D. Hart, 1983. "The Market Mechanism as an Incentive Scheme," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 14(2), pages 366-382, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Borenstein, Severin, 1990. "Airline Mergers, Airport Dominance, and Market Power," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 400-404, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Corts, Kenneth S., 1998. "Conduct parameters and the measurement of market power," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 227-250, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Neven, Damien J. & Roller, Lars-Hendrik, 1996. "Rent sharing in the European airline industry," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(3-5), pages 933-940, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Bresnahan, Timothy F., 1989. "Empirical studies of industries with market power," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 17, pages 1011-1057 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Good, David H & Roller, Lars-Hendrik & Sickles, Robin C, 1993. "U.S. Airline Deregulation: Implications for European Transport," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 103(419), pages 1028-41, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Neven, Damien & Roller, Lars-Hendrik, 1999. "An aggregate structural model of competition in the European banking industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 17(7), pages 1059-1074, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Good, D.H. & Nadiri, M.I. & Roller, L.H. & Sickles, R., 1992. "Efficiency and Productivity Growth Comparisons of European and U.S. Air Carriers : A First Look at the Data," Working Papers 92-22, C.V. Starr Center for Applied Economics, New York University. [Downloadable!]
  19. Brander, James A. & Zhang, Anming, 1993. "Dynamic oligopoly behaviour in the airline industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 407-435, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Severin Borenstein, 1989. "Hubs and High Fares: Dominance and Market Power in the U.S. Airline Industry," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 20(3), pages 344-365, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Borenstein, Severin & Rose, Nancy L, 1994. "Competition and Price Dispersion in the U.S. Airline Industry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(4), pages 653-83, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  22. Berry, Steven T, 1992. "Estimation of a Model of Entry in the Airline Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 60(4), pages 889-917, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Jan K. Brueckner & Nichola J. Dyer & Pablo T. Spiller, 1992. "Fare Determination in Airline Hub-and-Spoke Networks," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 23(3), pages 309-333, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  24. Robert H. Porter, 1983. "A Study of Cartel Stability: The Joint Executive Committee, 1880-1886," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 14(2), pages 301-314, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Kauppi, Heikki & Koskela, Erkki & Stenbacka, Rune, 2004. "Equilibrium Unemployment and Investment Under Product and Labour Market Imperfections," IZA Discussion Papers 1058, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  2. Heikki Kauppi & Erkki Koskela & Rune Stenbacka, 2004. "Equilibrium Unemployment and Capital Intensity Under Product and Labor Market Imperfections," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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