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In Search of Labor Demand

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  • Paul Beaudry
  • David A. Green
  • Ben M. Sand

Abstract

We propose and estimate a novel specification of labor demand which encompasses search frictions and the role of entrepreneurs in new firm creation. Using city-industry variation over four decades, we estimate the wage elasticity of employment demand to be close to -1 at the industry-city level and -0.3 at the city level. We argue that the difference between these estimates reflects the congestion externalities predicted by the search literature. Our estimates also indicate that entrepreneurship should be treated as a scarce factor in the determination of labor demand. We use our estimates to evaluate the impact of large changes in the minimum wage on employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Beaudry & David A. Green & Ben M. Sand, 2018. "In Search of Labor Demand," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(9), pages 2714-2757, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:108:y:2018:i:9:p:2714-57
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.20141374
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    Cited by:

    1. Joao Galindo da Fonseca, 2022. "Unemployment, Entrepreneurship and Firm Outcomes," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 45, pages 322-338, July.
    2. Gert Bijnens & Shyngys Karimov & Jozef Konings, 2023. "Does Automatic Wage Indexation Destroy Jobs? A Machine Learning Approach," De Economist, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 85-117, March.
    3. Miroslav Gabrovski & Mario Rafael Silva, 2023. "Unemployment and Labor Productivity Co-movement: the Role of Firm Exit," Working Papers 202301, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    4. Edward Glaeser & Joseph Gyourko, 2018. "The Economic Implications of Housing Supply," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 32(1), pages 3-30, Winter.
    5. João Galindo da Fonseca & Charles Berubé, 2023. "Spouses, Children, And Entrepreneurship," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 64(3), pages 1165-1199, August.
    6. Iosifidi, Maria & Panopoulou, Ekaterini & Tsoumas, Chris, 2021. "Mortgage loan demand and banks’ operational efficiency," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    7. Gregory Howard, 2017. "The Migration Accelerator: Labor Mobility, Housing, and Aggregate Demand," 2017 Meeting Papers 563, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    8. Basu, Arnab K. & Chau, Nancy H. & Soundararajan, Vidhya, 2021. "Contract employment as a worker discipline device," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    9. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/3dn0o0jvtp972r5lmr1fd29k5c is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Medrano-Adán, Luis & Salas-Fumás, Vicente, 2023. "Do minimum wages deliver what they promise? Effects of minimum wage on employment, output, and income inequality from occupational choice theory," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 366-383.
    11. Green, David A. & Liu, Huju & Ostrovsky, Yuri & Picot, Garnett, 2023. "Are immigrants particularly entrepreneurial? Policy lessons from a selective immigration system," CLEF Working Paper Series 61, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    12. Gerald Carlino & Thorsten Drautzburg, 2020. "The role of startups for local labor markets," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 751-775, September.
    13. Pierre Cahuc & Stéphane Carcillo & Thomas Le Barbanchon, 2019. "The Effectiveness of Hiring Credits," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(2), pages 593-626.
    14. Joya, Omar & Rougier, Eric, 2019. "Do (all) sectoral shocks lead to aggregate volatility? Empirics from a production network perspective," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 77-107.
    15. Mario Bossler & Lars Chittka & Thorsten Schank, 2024. "A 22 percent increase in the German minimum wage: nothing crazy!," Papers 2405.12608, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2024.
    16. Loukas Karabarbounis & Jeremy Lise & Anusha Nath, 2022. "Minimum Wages and Labor Markets in the Twin Cities," NBER Working Papers 30239, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Pierre Cahuc & Stéphane Carcillo & Thomas Le Barbanchon, 2017. "The Effectiveness of Hiring Credits," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03393157, HAL.
    18. Pérez Pérez, Jorge, 2020. "The minimum wage in formal and informal sectors: Evidence from an inflation shock," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    19. Jardim, Ekaterina & Long, Mark C. & Plotnick, Robert & Vigdor, Jacob & Wiles, Emma, 2024. "Local minimum wage laws, boundary discontinuity methods, and policy spillovers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    20. Pierre Cahuc & Stéphane Carcillo & Thomas Le Barbanchon, 2017. "The Effectiveness of Hiring Credits," SciencePo Working papers hal-03393157, HAL.
    21. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/3dn0o0jvtp972r5lmr1fd29k5c is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Sun, Jianhua & Hou, Shaobo & Deng, Yuxia & Li, Huaicheng, 2024. "New media environment, green technological innovation and corporate productivity: Evidence from listed companies in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    23. Luis E. Arango & Francesca Castellani & Nataly Obando, 2016. "It is mainly about where you work! Labor demand in the Colombian manufacturing sector," Borradores de Economia 933, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    24. Tim Bartik, 2023. "Seize the Time: Needed Research on Local Economic Development in an Era of Increased Attention to Problems of Place," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 37(1), pages 7-13, February.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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