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Is There Monopsony in the Labor Market? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Douglas Staiger

    (Dartmouth College and NBER)

  • Joanne Spetz

    (Public Policy Institute of California)

  • Ciaran Phibbs

    (Stanford University School of Medicine)

Abstract

A variety of recent theoretical and empirical advances have renewed interest in monopsonistic models of the labor market. However, there is little direct empirical support for these models, even in labor markets that are textbook examples of monopsony. We use an exogenous change in wages at Veterans Affairs hospitals as a natural experiment to investigate the extent of monopsony in the nurse labor market. In contrast to much of the prior literature, we estimate that labor supply to individual hospitals is quite inelastic, with short-run elasticity around 0.1. We also find that non-VA hospitals responded to the VA wage change by changing their own wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Douglas Staiger & Joanne Spetz & Ciaran Phibbs, 2008. "Is There Monopsony in the Labor Market? Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Working Papers 1115, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    • Handle: RePEc:pri:indrel:545
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael R Ransom & David P. Sims, 2010. "Estimating the Firm's Labor Supply Curve in a "New Monopsony" Framework: Schoolteachers in Missouri," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(2), pages 331-355, April.
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    3. Hurd, Richard W, 1973. "Equilibrium Vacancies in a Labor Market Dominated by Non-Profit Firms: The "Shortage" of Nurses," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 55(2), pages 234-240, May.
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    5. Green, Francis & Machin, Stephen & Manning, Alan, 1996. "The Employer Size-Wage Effect: Can Dynamic Monopsony Provide an Explanation?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 48(3), pages 433-455, July.
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    7. Adamache, Killard W. & Sloan, Frank A., 1982. "Unions and hospitals : Some unresolved issues," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 81-108, May.
    8. William M. Boal, 1995. "Testing for Employer Monopsony in Turn-of-the-Century Coal Mining," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(3), pages 519-536, Autumn.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    monopsony papers; nurses; hospitals; labor market;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J42 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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