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Capital Share Dynamics When Firms Insure Workers

Author

Listed:
  • Hartman-Glaser, Barney

    (UCLA)

  • Lustig, Hanno

    (Stanford University)

  • Zhang, Mindy X.

    (University of TX)

Abstract

Although the aggregate capital share for U.S. firms has increased, the firm-level capital share has decreased on average. The divergence is due to the largest firms. While these mega-firms now produce a larger output share, their labor compensation has not increased proportionately. We develop a model in which firms insure workers against firm-specific shocks. More productive firms allocate more rents to shareholders, while less productive firms endogenously exit. Increasing firm-level risk delays the exit of less productive firms and increases the measure of mega-firms, raising the aggregate capital share and lowering it on average. We present evidence supporting this mechanism.

Suggested Citation

  • Hartman-Glaser, Barney & Lustig, Hanno & Zhang, Mindy X., 2017. "Capital Share Dynamics When Firms Insure Workers," Research Papers 3534, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:stabus:3534
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    File URL: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/gsb-cmis/gsb-cmis-download-auth/433696
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. David Autor & David Dorn & Lawrence F Katz & Christina Patterson & John Van Reenen, 2020. "The Fall of the Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms [“Automation and New Tasks: How Technology Displaces and Reinstates Labor”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(2), pages 645-709.
    2. Donangelo, Andres & Gourio, François & Kehrig, Matthias & Palacios, Miguel, 2019. "The cross-section of labor leverage and equity returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(2), pages 497-518.
    3. Matthias Kehrig & Nicolas Vincent, 2017. "Growing Productivity without Growing Wages: The Micro-Level Anatomy of the Aggregate Labor Share Decline," CESifo Working Paper Series 6454, CESifo.
    4. Emilien Gouin-Bonenfant, 2018. "Productivity Dispersion, Between-firm Competition and the Labor Share," 2018 Meeting Papers 1171, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    5. Joseba Martinez, 2018. "Automation, Growth and Factor Shares," 2018 Meeting Papers 736, Society for Economic Dynamics.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E25 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Aggregate Factor Income Distribution
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy

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