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Granular Search, Market Structure, and Wages

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  • Jarosch, Gregor

    (Princeton University)

  • Nimczik, Jan Sebastian

    (European School of Management and Technology (ESMT))

  • Sorkin, Isaac

    (Stanford University)

Abstract

We build a model where firm size is a source of labor market power. The key mechanism is that a granular employer can eliminate its own vacancies from a worker's outside option in the wage bargain. Hence, a granular employer does not compete with itself. We show how wages depend on employment concentration and then use the model to quantify the effects of granular market power. In Austrian micro-data, we find that granular market power depresses wages by about ten percent and can explain 40 percent of the observed decline in the labor share from 1997 to 2015. Mergers decrease competition for workers and reduce wages even at non-merging firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Jarosch, Gregor & Nimczik, Jan Sebastian & Sorkin, Isaac, 2019. "Granular Search, Market Structure, and Wages," IZA Discussion Papers 12574, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12574
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    Cited by:

    1. Fernández-Villaverde, Jesús & Mandelman, Federico & Yu, Yang & Zanetti, Francesco, 2021. "The “Matthew effect” and market concentration: Search complementarities and monopsony power," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 62-90.
    2. Monica Costa Dias & Ella Johnson-Watts & Robert Joyce & Fabien Postel-Vinay & Peter Spittal & Xiaowei Xu, 2021. "Worker Mobility and Labour Market Opportunities," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 21/753, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
    3. Aldunate, Felipe & González, Felipe & Prem, Mounu & Urzúa, Francisco, 2020. "Privatization and business groups: Evidence from the Chicago Boys in Chile," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. David Berger & Kyle Herkenhoff & Simon Mongey, 2022. "Labor Market Power," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(4), pages 1147-1193, April.
    5. Marinescu, Ioana & Ouss, Ivan & Pape, Louis-Daniel, 2021. "Wages, hires, and labor market concentration," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 506-605.
    6. Ludovic Panon, 2020. "Labor Share, Foreign Demand and Superstar Exporters," Working Papers hal-03386549, HAL.
    7. Federico Huneeus & Kory Kroft & Kevin Lim, 2021. "Earnings Inequality in Production Networks," NBER Working Papers 28424, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/5j3i17uo7399t940lrt6h6n545 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5j3i17uo7399t940lrt6h6n545 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Kevin Rinz, 2019. "Did Timing Matter? Life Cycle Differences in Effects of Exposure to the Great Recession," Working Papers 19-25, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    11. Vladimír Peciar, 2021. "Empirical investigation into market power, markups and employment," MUNI ECON Working Papers 2021-03, Masaryk University, revised Feb 2023.
    12. Kory Kroft & Yao Luo & Magne Mogstad & Bradley Setzler, 2020. "Imperfect Competition and Rents in Labor and Product Markets: The Case of the Construction Industry," Working Papers tecipa-666, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    13. Monica Langella & Alan Manning, 2021. "The measure of monopsony," CEP Discussion Papers dp1780, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    14. Alan Manning, 2021. "Monopsony in Labor Markets: A Review," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(1), pages 3-26, January.
    15. Emilio Colombo & Alberto Marcato, 2021. "Skill Demand and Labour Market Concentration: Theory and Evidence from Italian Vacancies," DISEIS - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia internazionale, delle istituzioni e dello sviluppo dis2104, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimento di Economia internazionale, delle istituzioni e dello sviluppo (DISEIS).
    16. Ihsaan Bassier & Arindrajit Dube & Suresh Naidu, 2020. "Monopsony in Movers: The Elasticity of Labor Supply to Firm Wage Policies," NBER Working Papers 27755, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Langella, Monica & Manning, Alan, 2021. "The measure of monopsony," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113925, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Zhuravleva, Nadezhda, 2021. "How Bad Is Labor Market Concentration?: Evidence From Soviet (Urban) Satellites," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242405, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    19. Bassier, Ihsaan, 2022. "Collective bargaining and spillovers in local labor markets," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118057, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Bassanini, Andrea & Batut, Cyprien & Caroli, Eve, 2023. "Labor Market Concentration and Wages: Incumbents versus New Hires," IZA Discussion Papers 15910, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Arnd Kölling, 2022. "Monopsony power and the demand for low-skilled workers," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 33(2), pages 377-395, June.
    22. Axelle Arquié & Julia Bertin, 2022. "The Heterogenous Effects of Employers’ Concentration on Wages: Better Sorting or Uneven Rent Extracting?," Working Papers 2022-09, CEPII research center.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    market power; labor share; search and matching;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J42 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets

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