Product Market Monopolies and Labor Market Monopsonies

This paper unveils a novel externality of product market regulation in the labor market. It shows theoretically and empirically that higher barriers to entry in product markets translate into higher labor market power, measured by the wage markdown-the ratio between the marginal product of labor and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Cali, Massimiliano
Other Authors: Presidente, Giorgio
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C The World Bank 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: World Bank E-Library Archive - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
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100 1 |a Cali, Massimiliano 
245 0 0 |a Product Market Monopolies and Labor Market Monopsonies  |h Elektronische Ressource  |c Massimiliano Cali 
260 |a Washington, D.C  |b The World Bank  |c 2023 
300 |a 57 pages 
653 |a Labor Market 
653 |a Minimum Wage Markdown 
653 |a Firm Entry 
653 |a Product Market Regulations 
653 |a Law and Development 
653 |a Labor Market Power 
653 |a Monopsony 
653 |a Monopoly 
653 |a Minimum Wage Reduction 
700 1 |a Presidente, Giorgio 
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520 |a This paper unveils a novel externality of product market regulation in the labor market. It shows theoretically and empirically that higher barriers to entry in product markets translate into higher labor market power, measured by the wage markdown-the ratio between the marginal product of labor and the wage. The literature suggests that this wedge can distort factor allocation, resulting in lower aggregate output and employment, but also in higher inequality through a reduction in the labor share of national output. Using variation in investment restrictions across 346 manufacturing product markets in Indonesia, the analysis finds that wage markdowns increase by 25 percent in product markets that become subject to investment restrictions. The result is rationalized using a simple oligopsony model in which higher entry costs reduce the equilibrium number of firms, thereby limiting employment options for workers and, hence, their labor market power. Instrumental variable estimates support the model's prediction that lower entry is the main driver of the positive relationship between investment restrictions and wage markdowns