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Monopsony in the Labor Market: New Empirical Results and New Public Policies

Author

Listed:
  • Orley C. Ashenfelter
  • David Card
  • Henry S. Farber
  • Michael Ransom

Abstract

This paper summarizes the results of nearly a dozen new papers presented at the Sundance Conference on Monopsony in Labor Markets held in October 2018. These papers, to be published as a special issue of the Journal of Human Resources, study various aspects of monopsony and failures of competition in labor markets. It also reports on the new developments in public policies associated with widespread concerns about labor market competition and efforts to ameliorate competitive failures. The conference papers range from studies of the labor supply elasticity individual firms face to studies of local labor market concentration to studies of explicit covenants suppressing labor market competition. New policies range from private and public antitrust litigation to concerns about the effect of mergers and inter-firm agreements on labor market competition. We provide a detailed discussion of the mechanics of the Silicon Valley High Tech Worker conspiracy to suppress competition based on Court documents in the case. Non-compete agreements, which are not enforceable in three states already, have also come under scrutiny.

Suggested Citation

  • Orley C. Ashenfelter & David Card & Henry S. Farber & Michael Ransom, 2021. "Monopsony in the Labor Market: New Empirical Results and New Public Policies," NBER Working Papers 29522, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29522
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    Cited by:

    1. Rania Gihleb & Osea Giuntella & Jian Qi Tan, 2024. "The impact of right‐to‐work laws on long hours and work schedules," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(3), pages 696-713, June.
    2. Bassier, Ihsaan, 2022. "Firms and inequality when unemployment is high," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117999, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Blömer, Maximilian J. & Guertzgen, Nicole & Pohlan, Laura & Stichnoth, Holger & van den Berg, Gerard J., 2024. "Unemployment effects of the German minimum wage in an equilibrium job search model," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Gibson, Matthew, 2021. "Employer Market Power in Silicon Valley," IZA Discussion Papers 14843, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Burdin, Gabriel & Garcia-Louzao, Jose, 2025. "Employee-owned firms and the careers of young workers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    6. Korpi, Martin & Halvarsson, Daniel, 2023. "City Size, Employer Concentration, and Wage Income Inequality," Ratio Working Papers 363, The Ratio Institute.
    7. Meiselbach, Mark K. & Abraham, Jean M., 2023. "Do minimum wage laws affect employer-sponsored insurance provision?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    8. Ihsaan Bassier, 2022. "Firms and inequality when unemployment is high," CEP Discussion Papers dp1872, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    9. Jose Garcia-Louzao & Alessandro Ruggieri, 2023. "Labor Market Competition and Inequality," Bank of Lithuania Working Paper Series 117, Bank of Lithuania.
    10. Bassier, Ihsaan, 2023. "Firms and inequality when unemployment is high," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    11. Andrew Leigh, 2023. "How uncompetitive markets hurt workers," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 26(1), pages 1-21.
    12. Allan, Corey & Maré, David C. & Hyslop, Dean R., 2025. "Monopsony in the New Zealand Labour Market: First Estimates from Administrative Data," IZA Discussion Papers 17614, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Halvarsson, Daniel & Korpi, Martin, 2025. "City size, employer concentration, and wage income inequality," Working Paper Series 2025:4, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    14. Mora-García, Claudio A. & Prem, Mounu & Rodríguez-Lesmes, Paul & Vargas, Juan F., 2025. "Health workforce reallocation in the aftermath of conflict: Evidence from Colombia," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    15. Brianna L. Alderman & Roger D. Blair & Perihan Ö. Saygin, 2023. "Monopsony, wage discrimination, and public policy," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(3), pages 572-583, July.
    16. Alex Bryson & Paul Willman, 2024. "How should we think about employers’ associations?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 62(2), pages 193-205, June.
    17. Chau, Nancy H. & Kanbur, Ravi & Soundararajan, Vidhya, "undated". "Employer Power and Employment in Developing Countries," Applied Economics and Policy Working Paper Series 324053, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    18. Kahn, Matthew E. & Tracy, Joseph, 2024. "Monopsony in spatial equilibrium," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    19. Bassier, Ihsaan, 2022. "Firms and inequality when unemployment is high," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121970, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J4 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets

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