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The “Matthew Effect” and Market Concentration: Search Complementarities and Monopsony Power

Author

Listed:
  • Jesús Fernández-Villaverde
  • Federico Mandelman
  • Yang Yu
  • Francesco Zanetti

Abstract

This paper develops a dynamic general equilibrium model with heterogeneous firms that face search complementarities in the formation of vendor contracts. Search complementarities amplify small differences in productivity among firms. Market concentration fosters monopsony power in the labor market, magnifying profits and further enhancing high-productivity firms' output share. Firms want to get bigger and hire more workers, in stark contrast with the classic monopsony model, where a firm aims to reduce the amount of labor it hires. The combination of search complementarities and monopsony power induces a strong “Matthew effect” that endogenously generates superstar firms out of uniform idiosyncratic productivity distributions. Reductions in search costs increase market concentration, lower the labor income share, and increase wage inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & Federico Mandelman & Yang Yu & Francesco Zanetti, 2021. "The “Matthew Effect” and Market Concentration: Search Complementarities and Monopsony Power," NBER Working Papers 28495, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28495
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    Cited by:

    1. Xiwen Bai & Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & Yiliang Li & Francesco Zanetti, 2024. "The Causal Effects of Global Supply Chain Disruptions on Macroeconomic Outcomes: Evidence and Theory," Economics Series Working Papers 1033, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    2. Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & Yiliang Li & Le Xu & Francesco Zanetti, 2025. "Charting the Uncharted: The (Un)Intended Consequences of Oil Sanctions and Dark Shipping," CESifo Working Paper Series 11684, CESifo.
    3. Ghassibe, Mishel & Zanetti, Francesco, 2022. "State dependence of fiscal multipliers: the source of fluctuations matters," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 1-23.
    4. Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & Yang Yu & Francesco Zanetti, 2025. "Defensive Hiring and Creative Destruction," NBER Working Papers 33588, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Xu, Le & Yu, Yang & Zanetti, Francesco, 2025. "The adoption and termination of suppliers over the business cycle," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    6. Ernst Ekkehard & Feist Lisa, 2024. "Tomorrow at Work: The Age of Shortages," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Sciendo, vol. 59(3), pages 125-131.
    7. Hashmat Khan & Konstantinos Metaxoglou, 2021. "The Behavior of the Aggregate U.S. Wage Markdown," Carleton Economic Papers 21-06, Carleton University, Department of Economics.
    8. Silva, Jose I. & Okabe, Tomohito & Urzay, Sergi, 2025. "Labor share and market power in European firms," MPRA Paper 123442, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 24 Jan 2025.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C63 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Computational Techniques
    • C68 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Computable General Equilibrium Models
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

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