Dynamic Monopsony: Evidence from a French Establishment Panel

This paper uses a panel of about 6000 French establishments to test some implications of the modern theory of dynamic monopsony or upward-sloping labour supply curves for average firm wages. Panel estimates provide strong evidence of a much larger long-run employer size-wage effect (ESWE) than found previously, while controlling for worker quality and compensating differentials with lagged wages, and for profitability (rent-sharing). Employment expansion also has a positive effect on wages, providing further evidence for upward-sloping labour supply (as distinct from the effect of shocks in a perfectly competitive labour market).