Labor market power in Spain

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of labor market power in Spain, focusing on the period from 1997 to 2021. Using detailed firm-level data from the Central de Balances Integrada (CBI) of the Bank of Spain, we estimate markdowns—a direct measure of labor market power—across various sectors...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Azar, J. (José)|||/items/86212880-16c8-4572-a1c4-e72d90b2cc2c, Sanz-Espín, J. (Javier)|||/items/e55e1c56-3936-4c80-ac67-87eb798b398b
Format: article
Publication Date:2025
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Navarra
Repository:Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarra
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:dadun.unav.edu:10171/116544
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10171/116544
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Monopsony
Markdown estimation
Spain
Labor market
Description
Summary:This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of labor market power in Spain, focusing on the period from 1997 to 2021. Using detailed firm-level data from the Central de Balances Integrada (CBI) of the Bank of Spain, we estimate markdowns—a direct measure of labor market power—across various sectors, firm sizes, and regions. Our findings show that there was a notable decline in markdowns following the 2008 financial crisis. However, this trend has partially reversed in recent years, suggesting a resurgence of labor market power, particularly among larger firms. We find that firms with a higher proportion of temporary workers or female workers tend to have higher markdowns.