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Research ArticleArticles
Open Access

Labor Market Concentration

José Azar, Ioana Marinescu and Marshall Steinbaum
Journal of Human Resources, April 2022, 57 (S) S167-S199; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.monopsony.1218-9914R1
José Azar
José Azar is Assistant Professor at the University of Navarra’s Business and Economics Department and a Visiting Assistant Professor and Research Associate at University of Navarra’s IESE Business School IESE Business School, Av. Pearson, 21, 08034 Barcelona, Spain and CEPR Associate ().
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  • For correspondence: [email protected]
Ioana Marinescu
Ioana Marinescu is Assistant Professor at University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice, 3701 Locust Walk, Philadelphia PA, 19104-6214 and NBER Faculty Research Fellow ().
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Marshall Steinbaum
Marshall Steinbaum is Assistant Professor at University of Utah Economics Department, 260 Central Campus Dr. 4100, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.
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Abstract

A product market is concentrated when a few firms dominate the market. Similarly, a labor market is concentrated when a few firms dominate hiring in the market. Using data from the leading employment website CareerBuilder.com, we calculate labor market concentration for more than 8,000 geographic–occupational labor markets in the United States. Based on the Department of Justice–Federal Trade Commission horizontal merger guidelines, the average market is highly concentrated. Going from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile in concentration is associated with a 5 percent (OLS) to 17 percent (IV) decline in posted wages, suggesting that concentration increases labor market power.

JEL Classification:
  • J23
  • J31
  • J42
  • J63
  • L41
  • Received December 2018.
  • Accepted March 2020.

This open access article is distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) and is freely available online at: http://jhr.uwpress.org.

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Journal of Human Resources: 57 (S)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 57, Issue S
1 Apr 2022
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Labor Market Concentration
José Azar, Ioana Marinescu, Marshall Steinbaum
Journal of Human Resources Apr 2022, 57 (S) S167-S199; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.monopsony.1218-9914R1

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Labor Market Concentration
José Azar, Ioana Marinescu, Marshall Steinbaum
Journal of Human Resources Apr 2022, 57 (S) S167-S199; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.monopsony.1218-9914R1
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Keywords

  • J23
  • J31
  • J42
  • J63
  • L41
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