IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp16475.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Making Their Own Weather? Estimating Employer Labour-Market Power and Its Wage Effects

Author

Listed:
  • Martins, Pedro S.

    (Universidade Nova de Lisboa)

  • Melo, António

    (University of Turin)

Abstract

The subdued wage growth observed in many countries has spurred interest in monopsony views of regional labour markets. This study measures the extent and robustness of employer power and its wage implications exploiting comprehensive matched employer-employee data. We find average (employment-weighted) Herfindhal indices of 800 to 1,100, stable over the 1986-2019 period covered, and that typically less than 9% of workers are exposed to concentration levels thought to raise market power concerns. When controlling for both worker and firm heterogeneity and instrumenting for concentration, we find that wages are negatively affected by employer concentration, with elasticities of around -1.4%. We also find that several methodological choices can change significantly both the measurement of concentration and its wage effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Martins, Pedro S. & Melo, António, 2023. "Making Their Own Weather? Estimating Employer Labour-Market Power and Its Wage Effects," IZA Discussion Papers 16475, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16475
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp16475.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pierre Cahuc & Pauline Carry & Franck Malherbet & Pedro S. Martins, 2023. "Spillover effects of employment protection," Nova SBE Working Paper Series wp655, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics.
    2. Sónia Cabral & Pedro S. Martins & João Pereira dos Santos & Mariana Tavares, 2021. "Collateral Damage? Labour Market Effects of Competing with China—at Home and Abroad," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 88(350), pages 570-600, April.
    3. Wenjing Duan & Pedro S. Martins, 2022. "Rent sharing in China: Magnitude, heterogeneity and drivers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(1), pages 176-219, March.
    4. Azar, José & Marinescu, Ioana & Steinbaum, Marshall & Taska, Bledi, 2020. "Concentration in US labor markets: Evidence from online vacancy data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    5. Alan Manning & Barbara Petrongolo, 2017. "How Local Are Labor Markets? Evidence from a Spatial Job Search Model," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(10), pages 2877-2907, October.
    6. Martins, Pedro S. & Saraiva, Joana, 2020. "Assessing the legal value added of collective bargaining agreements," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    7. Pedro S. Martins, 2021. "30,000 Minimum Wages: The Economic Effects of Collective Bargaining Extensions," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 335-369, June.
    8. David Autor & David Dorn & Lawrence F Katz & Christina Patterson & John Van Reenen, 2020. "The Fall of the Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms [“Automation and New Tasks: How Technology Displaces and Reinstates Labor”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(2), pages 645-709.
    9. Serguey Braguinsky & Lee G. Branstetter & Andre Regateiro, 2011. "The Incredible Shrinking Portuguese Firm," NBER Working Papers 17265, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Luís M B Cabral & José Mata, 2003. "On the Evolution of the Firm Size Distribution: Facts and Theory," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1075-1090, September.
    11. 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.
    12. David Card & Ana Rute Cardoso & Joerg Heining & Patrick Kline, 2018. "Firms and Labor Market Inequality: Evidence and Some Theory," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(S1), pages 13-70.
    13. Douglas O. Staiger & Joanne Spetz & Ciaran S. Phibbs, 2010. "Is There Monopsony in the Labor Market? Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(2), pages 211-236, April.
    14. Alan B. Krueger & Orley Ashenfelter, 2022. "Theory and Evidence on Employer Collusion in the Franchise Sector," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(S), pages 324-348.
    15. Salvanes, Kjell G & Dodini, Samuel & Willén, Alexander, 2021. "The Dynamics of Power in Labor Markets: Monopolistic Unions versus Monopsonistic Employers," CEPR Discussion Papers 16834, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Webber, Douglas A., 2015. "Firm market power and the earnings distribution," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 123-134.
    17. José Azar & Ioana Marinescu & Marshall Steinbaum, 2022. "Labor Market Concentration," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(S), pages 167-199.
    18. Kevin Rinz, 2022. "Labor Market Concentration, Earnings, and Inequality," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(S), pages 251-283.
    19. 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.
    20. Alan Manning, 2010. "The plant size-place effect: agglomeration and monopsony in labour markets," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(5), pages 717-744, September.
    21. Octávio Figueiredo & Paulo Guimarães & Douglas Woodward, 2014. "Firm--worker matching in industrial clusters," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, January.
    22. Torberg Falch, 2010. "The Elasticity of Labor Supply at the Establishment Level," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(2), pages 237-266, April.
    23. Jordan D. Matsudaira, 2014. "Monopsony in the Low-Wage Labor Market? Evidence from Minimum Nurse Staffing Regulations," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(1), pages 92-102, March.
    24. Bassanini, Andrea & Batut, Cyprien & Caroli, Eve, 2023. "Labor Market Concentration and Wages: Incumbents versus New Hires," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    25. Martins, Pedro S. & Melo, António, 2024. "Making their own weather? Estimating employer labour-market power and its wage effects," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    26. Martins, Pedro S., 2020. "What Do Employers' Associations Do?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 496, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    27. Alan Manning, 2021. "Monopsony in Labor Markets: A Review," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(1), pages 3-26, January.
    28. Efraim Benmelech & Nittai K. Bergman & Hyunseob Kim, 2022. "Strong Employers and Weak Employees: How Does Employer Concentration Affect Wages?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(S), pages 200-250.
    29. Arindrajit Dube & Jeff Jacobs & Suresh Naidu & Siddharth Suri, 2020. "Monopsony in Online Labor Markets," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 33-46, March.
    30. Samuel Dodini & Michael Lovenheim & Kjell Salvanes & Alexander Willén, 2024. "Monopsony, Job Tasks and Labour Market Concentration," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(661), pages 1914-1949.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Pedro S. Martins, 2021. "30,000 Minimum Wages: The Economic Effects of Collective Bargaining Extensions," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 335-369, June.
    3. Martins, Pedro S., 2020. "What Do Employers' Associations Do?," IZA Discussion Papers 13705, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Boeri, Tito & Garnero, Andrea & Luisetto, Lorenzo Giovanni, 2023. "Non-compete Agreements in a Rigid Labour Market: The Case of Italy," IZA Discussion Papers 16021, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Bassanini, Andrea & Batut, Cyprien & Caroli, Eve, 2021. "Labor Market Concentration and Stayers' Wages: Evidence from France," IZA Discussion Papers 14912, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Wenjing Duan & Pedro S. Martins, 2022. "Rent sharing in China: Magnitude, heterogeneity and drivers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(1), pages 176-219, March.
    7. Martins, Pedro S. & Melo, António, 2024. "Making their own weather? Estimating employer labour-market power and its wage effects," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    8. Bassanini, Andrea & Batut, Cyprien & Caroli, Eve, 2023. "Labor Market Concentration and Wages: Incumbents versus New Hires," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    9. Vitor Costa, 2023. "Local Labor Market Effects of Mergers and Acquisitions in Developing Countries: Evidence from Brazil," Papers 2306.08797, arXiv.org.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alan Manning, 2021. "Monopsony in Labor Markets: A Review," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(1), pages 3-26, January.
    2. Azar, José & Marinescu, Ioana & Steinbaum, Marshall & Taska, Bledi, 2020. "Concentration in US labor markets: Evidence from online vacancy data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    3. Anna Sokolova & Todd Sorensen, 2021. "Monopsony in Labor Markets: A Meta-Analysis," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(1), pages 27-55, January.
    4. Kevin Rinz, 2018. "Labor Market Concentration, Earnings Inequality, and Earnings Mobility," CARRA Working Papers 2018-10, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    5. David Berger & Kyle Herkenhoff & Simon Mongey, 2022. "Labor Market Power," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(4), pages 1147-1193, April.
    6. Cazzuffi, Chiara & Pereira-López, Mariana & Rosales, Irving & Soloaga, Isidro, 2023. "Monopsony Power and Labor Income Inequality in Mexico," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 13044, Inter-American Development Bank.
    7. Gibson, Matthew, 2021. "Employer Market Power in Silicon Valley," IZA Discussion Papers 14843, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Francesco Amodio & Nicolás de Roux, 2021. "Labor Market Power in Developing Countries: Evidence from Colombian Plants," Documentos CEDE 19267, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    9. Langella, Monica & Manning, Alan Patrick, 2021. "The measure of monopsony," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113925, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Chau, Nancy H. & Kanbur, Ravi & Soundararajan, Vidhya, 2022. "Employer Power and Employment in Developing Countries," Applied Economics and Policy Working Paper Series 324053, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    11. Claudia Macaluso & Brad Hershbein & Chen Yeh, 2019. "Concentration in U.S. local labor markets: evidence from vacancy and employment data," 2019 Meeting Papers 1336, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    12. Bassanini, Andrea & Batut, Cyprien & Caroli, Eve, 2023. "Labor Market Concentration and Wages: Incumbents versus New Hires," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    13. Steven Berry & Martin Gaynor & Fiona Scott Morton, 2019. "Do Increasing Markups Matter? Lessons from Empirical Industrial Organization," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(3), pages 44-68, Summer.
    14. Efraim Benmelech & Nittai K. Bergman & Hyunseob Kim, 2022. "Strong Employers and Weak Employees: How Does Employer Concentration Affect Wages?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(S), pages 200-250.
    15. Brummund, Peter & Makowsky, Michael D., 2024. "Monopsony and Local Religious Clubs: Evidence from Indonesia," IZA Discussion Papers 16999, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Devicienti, Francesco & Grinza, Elena & Manello, Alessandro & Vannoni, Davide, 2022. "Employer Cooperation, Productivity, and Wages: New Evidence from Inter-Firm Formal Network Agreements," IZA Discussion Papers 15617, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Albert Jan Hummel, 2021. "Monopsony power, income taxation and welfare," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 21-051/VI, Tinbergen Institute.
    18. Dario Tortarolo & Roman D. Zarate, 2020. "Imperfect competition in product and labour markets. A quantitative analysis," Discussion Papers 2020-05, Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP).
    19. Vitor Costa, 2023. "Local Labor Market Effects of Mergers and Acquisitions in Developing Countries: Evidence from Brazil," Papers 2306.08797, arXiv.org.
    20. Albert Jan Hummel, 2021. "Monopsony Power, Income Taxation and Welfare," CESifo Working Paper Series 9128, CESifo.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    oligopsony; wages; regional labour markets; worker mobility; Portugal;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J42 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16475. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.