scholarly journals Oscar Robertson, Antitrust, and the Fight Against Monopsony Power in the NBA

2021 ◽  
pp. 0003603X2110236
Author(s):  
David Berri
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
National Basketball Association ◽  
Free Agent ◽  
Monopsony Power ◽  
The Many

Labor markets in sports have historically been dominated by the monopsony power enjoyed by owners. In the 1970s, Oscar Robertson argued in front of Congress that “…it’s terribly wrong for anyone to limit anyone’s ability to earn more money.” The data make it clear that Robertson’s wages—and the wages of other National Basketball Association (NBA) players—were indeed limited by the NBA’s reserve clause. Robertson, though, didn’t just make speeches. As the head of the NBA’s Player Association, he delayed a merger between the American Basketball Association and NBA and eventually created the NBA’s free agent market. His work dramatically increased the wages paid to NBA players. These victories, though, didn’t last forever. The many limits today on player wages in the NBA’s labor market suggest that Robertson’s fight has largely been forgotten by today’s NBA players.

scholarly journals Monopsony Power and Guest Worker Programs

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 540-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric M. Gibbons ◽  
Allie Greenman ◽  
Peter Norlander ◽  
Todd Sørensen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
The United States ◽  
Guest Workers ◽  
Guest Worker ◽  
Full Extent ◽  
Monopsony Power ◽  
Program Data

Guest workers on visas in the United States may be unable to quit bad employers due to barriers to mobility and a lack of labor market competition. Using H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B program data, we calculate the concentration of employers in geographically defined labor markets within occupations. We find that many guest workers face moderately or highly concentrated labor markets, based on federal merger scrutiny guidelines, and that concentration generally decreases wages. For example, moving from a market with a Herfindahl-Hirschman Index of zero to a market comprised of two employers lowers H-1B worker wages approximately 10%, and a pure monopsony (one employer) reduces wages by 13%. A simulation shows that wages under pure monopsony could be 47% lower, suggesting that employers do not use the full extent of their monopsony power. Enforcing wage regulations and decreasing barriers to mobility may better address issues of exploitation than antitrust scrutiny alone.

scholarly journals Immigration, Social Networks, and the Emergence of Ethnic Segmentation in a Low-Skill Labor Market

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-404
Author(s):  
Ruth Meyer ◽  
Huw Vasey
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Market Segmentation ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Labor Market Segmentation ◽  
Entry Requirements ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The Many

Postwar migration to “western” countries has gone hand in hand with the development of ethnically segmented labor markets, particularly in low-skill roles where entry requirements are minimal. While numerous theories have been forwarded as to why such situations occur, it has remained difficult to empirically test the relative impact of the many interacting processes that produce segmentation in the labor market. In this article, we investigate the processes of ethnic segmentation in low-skilled labor markets, where referral hiring is the norm, with particular reference to the role of ethnically homogeneous social networks and forms of discrimination. We employ an agent-based modeling approach, adapting key elements from Waldinger and Lichter’s widely cited networked explanation of ethnic labor market segmentation. This approach allows us to provide a different lens on theories of ethnic labor market segmentation, investigating the relative impacts of different causal processes that are difficult to investigate in this way using other social science approaches. The overall results from our model indicate that ethnically homogeneous social networks have the effect of increasing the level of ethnic segmentation within a referral-based labor market, but that these networks also help immigrant populations grow and protect them from the negative impacts of employer discrimination. Furthermore, these networks have a greater impact on labor market segmentation than discrimination alone. In conclusion, this sociologically informed agent-based model provides important insights into the manner and extent in which changes in social conditions may affect population-level phenomena.

Measuring Labor Market Power Two Ways

2019 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 317-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Azar ◽  
Ioana Marinescu ◽  
Marshall Steinbaum
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Supply ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Market Power ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Supply Elasticity ◽  
Labor Supply Elasticity ◽  
Monopsony Power

We compute the “applications elasticity” as a proxy for firm-level labor supply elasticity by regressing the applications to a given job on the posted wage. The average applications elasticity in our data is 0.42. We then relate our elasticity estimates to concentration in labor markets defined by six-digit SOC occupations and commuting zone. We show a robust negative relationship between the two. Applications elasticity is near zero for all but the most densely populated labor markets, suggesting that 80 percent of the workforce works in labor markets where employers exercise significant monopsony power.

Concentration in the Labor Market for Public School Teachers

ILR Review ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 573-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Luizer ◽  
Robert Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Public School Teachers ◽  
Teacher Labor Market ◽  
Teacher Labor Markets ◽  
Wage Effects ◽  
Monopsony Power ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Teacher Labor

Recent studies that have investigated the relationship between the monopsony power of school districts and teachers' salaries have reached conflicting conclusions. The authors of this paper argue that the discrepancies among previous studies may be due to the arbitrary demarcation of the boundaries of teacher labor markets and the use of faulty measures of monopsony. Using a new procedure for defining teacher labor market boundaries and several alternative indices of concentration, this study finds evidence of monopsonistic activity in local teacher labor markets in Pennsylvania. The monopsony wage effects are small, however, and are present mainly at the mid-to-upper ranges of the bachelor's degree salary scale.

Movilidad laboral geográfica en un antiguo enclave minero. La inversión de un mercado de trabajo local

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo Contreras Delgado
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Labor Mobility ◽  
Work Place ◽  
Local Labor Markets ◽  
Local Labor Market ◽  
Local Factors ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

Resumen:Este artículo examina los fa c t o res internos y externos a una localidad que son copartícipes en la estructuración y reestructuración de su mercado de trabajo local. A partir de la revisión de la historia social y económica del lugar, se destaca su tránsito de enclave minero a lugar de residencia de mineros y trabajadores de maquiladoras. En este caso, se presenta la constitución de los mercados de trabajo locales como un resultado del encuentro de las condiciones del lugar de residencia de los trabajadores y el lugar donde se encuentra el centro de trabajo. De aquí que la movilidad laboral geográfica aparezca como una de las tácticas de los sujetos ante una situación de desempleo.Palabras clave: Mercado de trabajo, Minería, Maquiladoras, Mineros, Movilidad laboral, Desempleo.Abstract:This article examines the internal and external local factors shaping the structuring and restructuring of a local labor market. By reviewing the social and economic history of the community, this article underlines its transition from a mining setting to a residence place for miners and maquila workers. In this case, the constitution of local labor markets is presented as a result of the condition encounter of both workers residence place and the location of the work place. This is a reason explaining why geographical labor mobility comes to be an actor tactic to face unemployment.Key words: Labor market, Mining, Export-oriented industry, Miners, Labor mobility, Unemployment.

Labor Market Concentration and Worker Contributions to Health Insurance Premiums

2021 ◽  
pp. 107755872110129
Author(s):  
Mark K. Meiselbach ◽  
Matthew D. Eisenberg ◽  
Ge Bai ◽  
Aditi Sen ◽  
Gerard F. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Health Plan ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Market Concentration ◽  
Medical Expenditure ◽  
Insurance Premiums ◽  
Health Insurance Premiums

In concentrated labor markets, where workers have fewer employers to choose from, employers may exploit their monopsony power by contributing less to workers’ health benefits. This study examined if labor market concentration was associated with higher worker contributions to health plan premiums. We combined publicly available data from the Census to calculate labor market concentration and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance/Employer Component to determine premium contributions from 2010 to 2016 for metropolitan areas. After controlling for year fixed-effects and market characteristics, we found that higher labor market concentration was associated with higher worker contributions to health plan premiums, lower take-home income, and no change in employer contributions to premiums, consistent with the hypothesis that greater labor market concentration is associated with less generous health benefits. When evaluating the effects of mergers and acquisitions on labor markets, regulatory agencies should critically assess worker contributions to health insurance premiums.

scholarly journals Risk, Recessions and Resilience: Towards Sustainable Local Labor Markets through Employment Portfolio Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7926
Author(s):  
Bharman Gulati ◽  
Stephan Weiler
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Local Labor Markets ◽  
Local Labor Market ◽  
Business Survival ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
New Business

This paper explores the role of local labor market dynamics on the survival of new businesses. The characteristics of the local labor market are likely to influence the survival of new businesses, the level of entrepreneurship, and the resilience of the regional economy. We apply portfolio theory to evaluate employment-based and income-based measures of risk-and-return trade-offs in local labor markets on new business survival in the United States. Our results show that volatility in local labor markets has a positive impact on new business survival, especially in Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The results are robust across different timeframes, including during economic downturns, thus highlighting the contribution of new businesses in developing the resilience of the local economy, and further promoting sustainable regional economic development.

scholarly journals Vocational training choice from a regional perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Schuster ◽  
Anne Margarian
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Local Competition ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Welfare Implications ◽  
Urban Labor Markets ◽  
And Training

AbstractMotivated by discussions of skill mismatches on local German vocational educational and training (VET) markets, this paper analyses how occupational segments of VET entry of individuals with lower and intermediate secondary school degree relate to local labor market characteristics. The econometric analysis applies data from a survey conducted with 9th graders within the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Considering opportunity structures and the local competition for training positions, we find that the match between occupations' skill demands and individuals' abilities tends to be specifically close in diverse and competitive urban labor markets. In non-competitive peripheral labor markets, in contrast, graduates with lower school certificates seem to have a higher likelihood of entering VET in segments that are specifically attractive for graduates with upper secondary school degree. The results on the allocation of abilities and the weight of preferences under different labor market conditions have different welfare implications from an individual, regional and general economic perspective.

scholarly journals Detecting Discrimination

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J Heckman
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Labor Market Discrimination ◽  
Gender Groups ◽  
The Way

The evidence on discrimination produced from the audit method is examined. Audits survey the average firm and not the marginal firm which determines the level of market discrimination. Taken on its own terms, there is little evidence of labor market discrimination from audit methods. The validity of audit methods is critically dependent on unverified assumptions about equality across race/gender groups of the distributions of unobserved (by audit designers) productivity components acted on by firms and about the way labor markets work. Audits can find discrimination when none exists and can disguise it when it does.

scholarly journals Market Imperfections and Income Distribution

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 1147-1167
Author(s):  
Ensar Yılmaz
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Wage Rate ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Market Imperfections ◽  
Luxury Goods ◽  
Sector Model ◽  
Two Sectors

Abstract This paper aims to search links between market imperfections and functional income distribution. For this purpose we construct a two-sector model – wage goods and luxury goods producing sectors – incorporating imperfections of the product and labor markets under income inequality. In a structure with interdependent and partially monopolistic and competitive markets, we analytically trace up the effects of the changes in power relations proxied by the degree of mark-ups in the product and labor market. The model shows that price and wage mark-ups in two sectors have crucial income distribution implications for the agents in the economy to varying extents. It also demonstrates the effect of the existence of the differentiated consumption patterns arising from income inequality on income distribution. Furthermore, it seems that unemployment level creates externalities on wage rate and on corporate taxes of firms.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document