, Columnist
Monopolies May Be Worse for Workers Than for Consumers
There isn't much evidence that they raise prices, but they do seem to hold down wages.
Wondering why your raise stinks?
Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty ImagesMonopoly power is a hot topic of economic debate. Economists are starting to ask whether increasing industrial concentration is choking off productivity growth, reducing capital investment, throttling or deterring would-be entrepreneurs, raising consumer prices, and reducing the share of national income flowing to workers.
This is a good and important effort. But it’s also possible that with all the attention being paid to concentration at the industry level, there hasn’t been enough focus on the other end of the monopoly problem -- local labor markets.