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Consumption dispersion between white-collar and blue-collar workers and rising market concentration in the USA: 1984-2011

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  • Dögüs, Ilhan

Abstract

The relationship between consumption inequality (between two groups) and market concentration has hitherto been absent from the literature. This paper argues that consumption dispersion between white-collar and blue-collar workers has caused increased market concentration in the USA in a direct and long-term structural manner. Using data from the Consumption Expenditure Survey (CES) and the St. Louis Fed's FRED datasets, the argument is empirically analyzed based on yearly data for the period 1984-2011 in the USA. The results confirm the existence of a long-term relationship of causality. Applying a vector auto regressive (VAR) model to the data, we find that the variance in market concentration markup due to consumption dispersion starts to rise after the fourth period and reaches 41% in the tenth period.

Suggested Citation

  • Dögüs, Ilhan, 2019. "Consumption dispersion between white-collar and blue-collar workers and rising market concentration in the USA: 1984-2011," ZÖSS-Discussion Papers 72, University of Hamburg, Centre for Economic and Sociological Studies (CESS/ZÖSS).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:cessdp:72
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dögüs, Ilhan, 2017. "Rising wage dispersion between white-collar and blue-collar workers and market concentration: The case of the USA, 1966-2011," ZÖSS-Discussion Papers 62, University of Hamburg, Centre for Economic and Sociological Studies (CESS/ZÖSS).
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    5. Johnson, David & Shipp, Stephanie, 1997. "Trends in Inequality Using Consumption-Expenditures: The U.S. from 1960 to 1993," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 43(2), pages 133-152, June.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    consumption; market concentration; white-collar workers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • J82 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Labor Force Composition

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