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The Elusive Explanation for the Declining Labor Share

Author

Listed:
  • Gene M. Grossman

    (Princeton University and NBER)

  • Ezra Oberfield

    (Princeton University and NBER)

Abstract

A vast literature seeks to measure and explain the apparent decline in the labor share in national income that has occurred in recent times in the United States and elsewhere. The culprits include technological change, increased globalization and the rise of China, the enhanced exercise of market power by large firms in concentrated product markets, the decline in unionization rates and the erosion in the bargaining power of workers in labor markets, and the changing composition of the workforce due to a slowdown in population growth and a rise in educational attainment. We review this literature, with special emphasis on the pitfalls associated with using cross-sectional data to assess this phenomenon and the reasons why the body of papers collectively explains the phenomenon many times over.

Suggested Citation

  • Gene M. Grossman & Ezra Oberfield, 2021. "The Elusive Explanation for the Declining Labor Share," Working Papers 2021-23, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    • Handle: RePEc:pri:econom:2021-23
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    File URL: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w29165/w29165.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Reshef, Ariell & Santoni, Gianluca, 2023. "Are your labor shares set in Beijing? The view through the lens of global value chains," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    2. Andreas Teichgraber & John Van Reenen, 2021. "Have Productivity and Pay Decoupled in the UK?," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 41, pages 31-60, Fall.
    3. Sekine, Toshitaka, 2022. "Looking from Gross Domestic Income: Alternative view of Japan’s economy," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    4. Dreger, Christian & Fourné, Marius & Holtemöller, Oliver, 2023. "Globalization, productivity growth, and labor compensation," IWH Discussion Papers 7/2022, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), revised 2023.
    5. Juan E. Jacobo, 2022. "Back to the Surplus: An Unorthodox Neoclassical Model of Growth, Distribution and Unemployment with Technical Change," Papers 2211.14978, arXiv.org.
    6. Kausik, B.N., 2023. "Cognitive Aging and Labor Share," MPRA Paper 118406, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Xiao, De & Yu, Fan & Guo, Chenhao, 2023. "The impact of China's pilot carbon ETS on the labor income share: Based on an empirical method of combining PSM with staggered DID," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    8. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2022. "Tasks, Automation, and the Rise in U.S. Wage Inequality," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(5), pages 1973-2016, September.
    9. Emily G. Moschini & Gajendran Raveendranathan & Ming Xu, 2022. "Over-optimism About Graduation and College Financial Aid," Department of Economics Working Papers 2022-09, McMaster University.
    10. Joel M. David & Romain Rancière & David Zeke, 2023. "International Diversification, Reallocation, and the Labor Share," NBER Working Papers 31168, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Ibarra, Carlos A. & Ros, Jaime, 2023. "Trade and factor intensity, and the transmission of the global shock to labor: A panel analysis of the fall of the labor income share in the Mexican manufacturing sector," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(1).
    12. Roya Taherifar & Mark J. Holmes & Gazi M. Hassan, 2023. "The drivers of labour share and impact on pay inequality: A firm-level investigation," Working Papers in Economics 23/03, University of Waikato.
    13. Madeira, Carlos & Salazar, Leonardo, 2023. "The impact of monetary policy on a labor market with heterogeneous workers: The case of Chile," Latin American Journal of Central Banking (previously Monetaria), Elsevier, vol. 4(2).
    14. Mertens, Matthias, 2022. "Micro-mechanisms behind declining labor shares: Rising market power and changing modes of production," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    15. Florentine Schwark & Andreas Tryphonides, 2022. "Digitalization and Resilience to Disaggregate Shocks," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 08-2022, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    16. von Maydell, Richard, 2023. "Artificial Intelligence and its Effect on Competition and Factor Income Shares," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277654, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    17. Çürük, Malik & Rozendaal, Rik, 2022. "Labor Share, Industry Concentration and Energy Prices : Evidence from Europe," Discussion Paper 2022-023, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    18. Haarburger, Richard & Stemmler, Henry, 2023. "Taking over the World? Automation and Market Power," EconStor Preprints 281378, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    19. Michele Boldrin & David K Levine & Yong Wang & Lijun Zhu, 2022. "A Theory of the Dynamics of Factor Shares," Levine's Working Paper Archive 11694000000000102, David K. Levine.
    20. Vitor Costa, 2023. "Local Labor Market Effects of Mergers and Acquisitions in Developing Countries: Evidence from Brazil," Papers 2306.08797, arXiv.org.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    labor share; national income;

    JEL classification:

    • E01 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth; Environmental Accounts

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