Research

• Master's thesis:  Labor market concentration from the firm's perspective

Abstract: This study examines labor-market concentration in Italy and its effects on firms’ wages, profits, and productivity. Combining firm-level data from Aida with occupational estimates from the Italian Labor Force Survey, it analyzes 2,000 labor markets defined by province, occupation, and year. The results suggest that greater concentration is associated, on average, with lower total wages, higher profits, and lower value added per employee. However, these effects vary substantially across firms: larger firms tend to reduce wages and increase profits as concentration rises, while smaller firms display the opposite pattern. The effects are particularly pronounced in certain occupations and in firms whose workforce is predominantly female. The findings are interpreted through a framework combining monopsony power with worker sorting, highlighting how labor-market concentration can affect firms and workers differently.