Title
Estimating the Firm's Labor Supply Curve in a "New Monopsony" Framework: School Teachers in Missouri
Author(s)
Michael R. Ransom Michael Ransom (Brigham Young University)
David P. Sims David Sims (Brigham Young University)
Abstract
In the context of certain dynamic models of monopsony, it is possible to infer the elasticity of labor supply to the firm from the elasticity of the quit rate with respect to the wage. Using this property, we estimate the average labor supply elasticity to public school districts in Missouri. We take advantage of the plausibly exogenous variation in pre-negotiated district salary schedules to instrument for actual salary. Instrumental variables estimates lead to a labor supply elasticity estimate of about 3.65, suggesting the presence of significant market power for school districts, especially over more experienced teachers. This is partially explained by institutional features of the teacher labor market.
Creation Date
2008-12
Section URL ID
IRS
Paper Number
538
URL
https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp011831cj94z/1/538.pdf
File Function
Jel
J42, I11, L13
Keyword(s)
monopsony papers, labor supply elasticity, public schools, Missouri
Suppress
false
Series
1