Chapter 5

Labor Market Equilibrium

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Labor Economics, 4 th edition

Copyright 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Introduction
Labor market equilibrium coordinates the desires of firms and workers, determining the wage and employment observed in the labor market Market types: - Monopsonies where there is one buyer of labor - Monopolies where there is one seller of labor These market structures generate unique labor market equilibriums

5-4

Equilibrium in a Single Competitive Labor Market

Competitive equilibrium occurs when supply equals demand generating a competitive wage and employment level It is unlikely that the labor market is ever in an equilibrium, since supply and demand are dynamic The model suggests that the market is always moving toward equilibrium

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Efficiency
It is important to note the technical meaning of efficiency - Taken as Pareto Efficiency, this is the condition that exists when all possible gains from trade have been exhausted - A corollary of this condition is that when the state of the world is Pareto Efficient, to improve one persons welfare necessarily means another persons welfare is decreased - In policy applications, the efficiency criterion asks whether a change can make any one better off without harming anyone else. If the answer is yes, then a change is said to be Pareto-improving

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Equilibrium in a Competitive Labor Market

Dollars

P
w*

D0

EL

E*

EH

Employment

The labor market is in equilibrium when supply equals demand; E* workers are employed at a wage of w*. In equilibrium, all persons who are looking for work at the going wage can find a job. The triangle P gives the producer surplus; the triangle Q gives the worker surplus. A competitive market maximizes the gains from trade, or the sum P + Q.

5-7

Competitive Equilibrium Across Labor Markets

If workers were mobile and entry and exit of workers to the labor market was free, then there would be a single wage paid to all workers The allocation of workers to firms equating the wage to the value of marginal product is also the allocation that maximizes national income (this is known as allocative efficiency) The invisible hand process self-interested workers and firms accomplish a social goal that no one had in mind: allocative efficiency.

5-8

Efficiency Revisited
The single wage property of a competitive equilibrium has important implications for economic efficiency. - Recall that in a competitive equilibrium the wage equals the value of marginal product of labor. As firms and workers move to the region that provides the best opportunities, they eliminate regional wage differentials. Therefore, workers of given skills have the same value of marginal product of labor in all markets. The allocation of workers to firms that equates the value of marginal product across markets is also the sorting that leads to an efficient allocation of labor resources.

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Wages and International Trade: NAFTA

NAFTA created a free trade zone in North America The effect of free trade in the zone is to reduce the income differential between the United States and other countries in the zone, such as Mexico Total income of the countries in the trade zone is maximized as a result of equalized economic opportunities across the countries in the zone

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Competitive Equilibrium in Two Labor Markets Linked by Migration

Dollars
SN Dollars

SS

SS

wN w* C

A B
w*

wS
DN Employment DS

Employment (b) The Southern Labor Market

(a) The Northern Labor Market

Suppose the wage in the northern region ( wN) exceeds the wage in the southern region (wS). Southern workers want to move North, shifting the southern supply curve to the left and the northern supply curve to the right. In the end, wages are equated across regions (at w*).

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Wage Convergence Across States

5.7
LA GA

Percent Annual Wage Growth

5.5
MS AR FL NC SC

NH ME VT VA MD MA IA TN AL NE KS MI

5.3

NJ OK MN MO PA TX WI UT

CT DE

5.1

WV IN WA

OH

RI

IL CO NY KY AZ

4.9

ND SD

MT CA

NM NV

4.7

ID OR WY

4.5 .9 1.1 1.3 1.5 M anufacturing W age in 1950

1.7

1.9

Source: Olivier Jean Blanchard and Lawrence F. Katz, Regional Evolutions, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 1 (1992): 1-61.

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Application: Payroll Taxes and Subsidies

Payroll taxes assessed on employers lead to a downward parallel shift in the labor demand curve - The new demand curve shows a wedge between the amount the firm must pay to hire a worker and the amount that workers actually receive - Payroll taxes increase total costs of employment, so these taxes reduce employment in the economy - Firms and workers share the cost of payroll taxes, since the cost of hiring a worker rises at the same rate the wage received by workers declines

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The Impact of a Payroll Tax Assessed on Firms

Dollars

w1 + 1

w0 w1
w0 1

D0

D1 E1 E0 Employment

A payroll tax of $1 assessed on employers shifts down the demand curve (from D0 to D1). The payroll tax cuts the wage that workers receive from w0 to w1, and increases the cost of hiring a worker from w0 to w1 + 1.

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The Impact of a Payroll Tax Assessed on Workers

S1
Dollars

w0 + 1
w1

S0

w0 w1 1

D0 D1 E1 E0
D0

A payroll tax assessed on workers shifts the supply curve to the left (from S0 to S1). The payroll tax has the same impact on the equilibrium wage and employment regardless of who it is assessed on.

Employment

5 - 15

The Impact of a Payroll Tax Assessed on Firms with Inelastic Supply

Dollars S

D0 w0 A

w0 1

B D0 D1 E0
Employment

A payroll tax assessed on the firm is shifted completely to workers when the labor supply curve is perfectly inelastic. The wage is initially w0. The $1 payroll tax shifts the demand curve to D1, and the wage falls to w0 1.

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Payroll Subsidies
An employment subsidy lowers the cost of hiring for firms This means payroll subsidies shift the demand curve for labor to the right (down)

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The Impact of an Employment Subsidy

w0 + 1 w1 w0 w1 1 D1 D0 E0 E1
Employment

B A

An employment subsidy of $1 per worker hired shifts up the demand curve, increasing employment. The wage that workers receive rises from w0 to w1. The wage that firms actually pay falls from w0 to w1 1.

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The Impact of a Mandated Benefit

Dollars
S0

Dollars

S0

w* + C

S1 w0

w0
w* + B

S1

w1
w* w0 C

Q R w* R

D0 D1 E1 E* E0
Employment

D0 D1 E0 Employment

(a) Cost of mandate exceeds workers valuation

(b) Cost of mandate equals workers valuation

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Immigration
Immigrants and natives are perfect substitutes in production As immigrants enter the labor market, the supply curve shifts to the right - Total employment increases - The equilibrium wage decreases

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Native-born workers
Increases in immigration reduce the wages and employment of native-born workers However, native-born workers may be able to increase their productivity since they can specialize in tasks better suited to their skills Competing native workers will have lower wages; complementary native workers will have higher wages

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The Short-Run Impact of Immigration When Immigrants and Natives Are Perfect Substitutes
Dollars

Supply

w0
w1

Demand N1 N0 E1
Employment

Because immigrants and natives are perfect substitutes, the two groups are competing in the same labor market. Immigration shifts out the supply curve. As a result, the wage falls from w0 to w1, and total employment increases from N0 to E1. Note that at the lower wage, there is a decline in the number of natives who work, from N0 to N1.

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The Short-Run Impact of Immigration when Immigrants and Natives are Complements
Dollars

Supply

w1 w0

Demand N0 N1

Employment

If immigrants and natives are complements, they are not competing in the same labor market. The labor market in this figure denotes the supply and demand for native workers. Immigration makes natives more productive, shifting out the demand curve even though capital is fixed. This leads to a higher native wage and to an increase in native employment.

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The Long-Run Impact of Immigration When Immigrants and Natives Are Perfect Substitutes
Dollars

Supply

w0 w1

Demand N0 N0 + Immigrants
Employment

Because immigrants and natives are perfect substitutes, the two groups are competing in the same labor market. Immigration initially shifts out the supply curve. As a result, the wage falls from w0 to w1. Over time, capital expands as firms take advantage of the cheaper workforce, shifting out the labor demand curve.

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The Native Labor Markets Response to Immigration

Dollars
Dollars S0

S0

S2

S1 PPT w0
w*

S3

PLA
w0 w*

w LA Demand
Employment
(a) Los Angeles

Demand

Employment
(b) Pittsburgh

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Trends in Californias population, 1950-1990 (Percent of U.S. Population Living in California)

14

12
All persons

Percent

10
Natives

6 1950

1960

1970 Year

1980

1990

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Scatter Diagram Relating Wages and Immigration for Native Skill Groups
Decadal change in log weekly wage
0.2

0.1

-0.1

-0.2 -0.1 -0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 Decadal change in immigrant share

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The Immigration Surplus

Dollars S A

w0

B
C

w1

Employment

Prior to immigration, there are N native workers in the economy and national income is given by the trapezoid ABN0. Immigration increases the labor supply to M workers and national income is given by the trapezoid ACM0. Immigrants are paid a total of FCMN dollars as salary. The immigration surplus gives the increase in national income that accrues to natives and is given by the area in the triangle BCF.

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The Cobweb Model

Two assumptions of the cobweb model: - Time is needed to produce skilled workers - Persons decide to become skilled workers by looking at conditions in the labor market at the time they enter school A cobweb pattern forms around the equilibrium

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Cobweb Model (continued)

The cobweb pattern arises when people are misinformed The model implies nave workers who do not form rational expectations Rational expectations are formed if workers correctly perceive the future and understand the economic forces at work

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The Cobweb Model in the Market for New Engineers

Dollars S

w1 w3 w* w2 w0

D E0
E2

E*

E1

Employment

The initial equilibrium wage in the engineering market is w0. The demand for engineers shifts to D, and the wage will eventually increase to w*. Because new engineers are not produced instantaneously and because students might misforecast future opportunities in the market, a cobweb is created as the labor market adjusts to the increase in demand.

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Noncompetitive labor markets: monopsony

Monopsony market exists when a firm is a lone buyer of labor (acting as a sole employer of labor in the market) Such a firm must increase wages to attract more workers Two types of monopsonits firms: - Perfectly discriminating - Nondiscriminating

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Discriminating Monopsonist
Able to hire different workers at different wages When perfectly discriminating each worker is paid his or her reservation wage

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Nondisriminating monopsonist
Must pay all workers the same wage, regardless of each workers reservation wage Must raise the wage of all workers when attempting to attract more workers Employs fewer workers than would be employed if the market were competitive

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The Hiring Decision of a Perfectly Discriminating Monopsonist

Dollars

w* w 30
VMPE

w 10

10

30

E*

Employment

A perfectly discriminating monopsonist faces an upwardsloping supply curve and can hire different workers at different wages. The labor supply curve gives the marginal cost of hiring. Profit maximization occurs at point A. The monopsonist hires the same number of workers as a competitive market, but each worker gets paid his reservation wage.

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The Hiring Decision of a Nondiscriminating Monopsonist

Dollars MCE A S

VMPM w* wM

VMPE EM E*

A nondiscriminating monopsonist pays the same wage to all workers. The marginal cost of hiring exceeds the wage, and the marginal cost curve lies above the supply curve. Profit maximization occurs at point A; the monopsonist hires EM workers and pays them a wage of wM.
Employment

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The Impact of the Minimum Wage on a Nondiscriminating Monopsonist

Dollars MCE

w* w

wM
VMPE

The minimum wage may increase both wages and employment when imposed on a monopsonist. A minimum wage set at w increases employment to E.

EM

Employment

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Noncompetitive labor markets: monopoly

Firms that have monopoly power can influence the price of the product that they sell Monopolist faces a downward sloped market demand curve for its output

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The Output Decision of a Monopolist

Dollars MC pM p* A

MR q M q*

D Output

A monopolist faces a downwardsloping demand curve for his output. The marginal revenue from selling an additional unit of output is less than the price of the product. Profit maximization occurs at point A; a monopolist produces qM units of output and sells them at a price of pM dollars.

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The Labor Demand Curve of a Monopolist

Dollars

MRPE EM E*

VMPE

The marginal revenue product gives the workers contribution to a monopolists revenues (or the workers marginal product times marginal revenue), and is less than the workers value of marginal product. Profit maximization occurs at point A; the monopolist hires fewer workers (EM) than would be hired in a competitive market.
Employment

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End of chapter 5