Market Power in Labor Markets: Unions, Monopsony, and Minimum Wage Impacts
Explore how labor unions influence wages, the dynamics of monopsony markets, and the impact of minimum wage laws on labor market equilibrium.
Market Power in Labor Markets: Unions, Monopsony, and Minimum Wage Impacts
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Presentation Transcript
Appendix to Chapter 14: Market Power in the Labour Market
Market Power in the Labour Market • Just as a monopoly firm can restrict output and raise price, so can a monopoly owner of a resource restrict supply and raise price. • The main source of market power in labour markets is a labour union, which is an organised group of workers that aims to increase wages and influence other job conditions.
Market Power in the Labour Market • A Union in a Competitive Labour Market • Unions try to restrict the supply for union labour and raise the wage rate. • But this action also decreases the quantity of labour demanded.
Su Sc Du Dc A Union in a Competitive Market Figure A14-1 9 Wage rate (dollars per hour) 8 7 0 85 90 100 Labour (hours per day)
Market Power in the Labour Market • How Unions Try to Change the Demand for Labour • A union tries to make the demand for union labour inelastic and to increase its demand • This lowers the employment lost from a higher wage rate • Unions try to increase the demand for union labour by making them more productive through training schemes, apprenticeships and other on-the-job training activities. • Unions action increase the supply of labour in non-union markets.
Monopsony • A monopsonyis a market with a single buyer. • The employer determines the wage rate and pays the lowest wage at which it can attract the labour it plans to employ • A monopsony makes a bigger profit than a group of firms that compete with each other for their labour • The ability of a monopsony to cut the wage rate and employment and make an economic profit depends on the elasticity of labour supply
MCL S Competitive equilibrium MRP = D Monopsony equilibrium A Monopsony Labour Market Figure A14-2 10.00 7.50 Wage rate (dollars per hour) 5.00 0 50 100 Labour (hours per day)
Monopsony • Monopsony and a Union • Sometimes both the firm and the employees have market power when a monopsony encounters a labour union, a situation called a bilateral monopoly. • In bilateral monopoly bargaining determine the wage rate
Monopsony • Monopsony and the Minimum Wage • The imposition of a minimum wage may actually increase the level of labour hired by a monopsony. • Figure A14.3 shows why.
MCL S Minimum wage MRP Increase in employment Minimum Wage Law in Monopsony Figure A14-3 10.00 7.50 Wage rate (dollars per hour) 5.00 0 50 100 Labour (hours per day)
END CHAPTER 14 Appendix