A discussion of “The Role of Firms in Gender Earnings Inequality” and “Ranking Firms Using Revealed Preferences” Do women earn less than men because of discrimination? Or are they making choices that lead to lower pay? Why on earth would someone choose lower pay? Because the lower pay may come with…
Category: Microeconomics
Microeconomics
Bigger Firms used to Mean Bigger Paychecks but not Anymore
A Discussion of “The Productivity-Wage Premium: Does the Size Still Matter in a Service Economy?” We turn today to another piece in the puzzle of determining why it seems income inequality has grown in the United States in recent decades. Knowing why a variable is trending a certain way makes…
Microeconomics
Status Seeking Competition Created Gender Gap
A Discussion of “Social-status ranking: a hidden channel to gender inequality under competition” Reports women earn less than men is not what this story is about. Arguing about that statistic, the role of selectivity bias, and the presence of proper controls is not the point of this study although its…
Microeconomics
Superstar Firms Causing Concentration of Market Power
A Discussion of “Concentrating on the Fall of the Labor Share” For much of the 20th century, economists marveled at the stability of labor’s share of national income. Labor’s share of national income is the total dollar amount paid out in wages, salaries, and benefits as a percentage of GDP,…
Microeconomics
Increasing Market Power Leading to Increasing Inequality
A Discussion of “Market Power, Inequality, and Financial Instability” Two economists from the Federal Reserve have put out a paper that is exactly what I think economics should look like. What do I mean? Cairo and Sim (2020) identify six problematic trends in our macro economy since 1980, trying to…
Microeconomics
Should You Buy Fair Trade Coffee?
A Discussion of “The Economics of Fair Trade” Fair Trade is a movement to ensure producers receive higher prices for their goods, not only for coffee, but that may be the best-known example. Dragusanu, Giovannucci, and Nunn (2014) explore the Fair Trade coffee market to see if it achieves its goals:…
Microeconomics
Income Contingent Loans: Fixing the College Debt Crisis
A Discussion of “Financing Higher Education in an Imperfect World” Pssstt! I got a secret. College debt is soaring. OK, not really a secret. Search Medium and you can find article after article decrying the situation. But what can we do to fix it? That is what Long (2019) is…
Microeconomics
Targeted Beats Universal in Developing Countries
A Discussion of “Universal Basic Income vs. Targeted Transfers” Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a hot issue— it even played a role in the 2020 Democrat presidential primary as a key feature of Andrew Yang’s platform. I see a lot of political, ethical, and philosophical reasons given for it, but…