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Monopsony power, employer size, and gender: An analysis of servants’ nominal wages in Southern Sweden: 1500-1800

Cobos Cabral, Francisco LU (2024) EKHS21 20241
Department of Economic History
Abstract
Historians have often noted the existence of frictions in early labour markets. Swedish servants, for example, experienced large mobility restrictions and coercion, preventing them from switching employers. Despite this, wage studies have often relied on assumptions of perfect competition, ignoring these findings. This study uses more than 3,000 observations of servant wages for Southern Sweden, covering more than three centuries, to explore the extent to which the servant labour market was competitive. Furthermore, the analysis examines the degree of monopsonistic power that different employers could exercise by comparing large employers from rural and urban areas, as well as small employers from the city of Malmö, comparing them by their... (More)
Historians have often noted the existence of frictions in early labour markets. Swedish servants, for example, experienced large mobility restrictions and coercion, preventing them from switching employers. Despite this, wage studies have often relied on assumptions of perfect competition, ignoring these findings. This study uses more than 3,000 observations of servant wages for Southern Sweden, covering more than three centuries, to explore the extent to which the servant labour market was competitive. Furthermore, the analysis examines the degree of monopsonistic power that different employers could exercise by comparing large employers from rural and urban areas, as well as small employers from the city of Malmö, comparing them by their status and wealth. Findings suggest a large degree of wage-setting behaviour over time in both rural and urban areas, where nominal wages often could remain unchanged for decades. Furthermore, the bunching of wages around integers and even numbers suggests that employers could mis-optimise without consequences, indicating the presence of monopsonistic power. Female servants seem to have been particularly affected by the wage-setting behaviour of their employers. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Cobos Cabral, Francisco LU
supervisor
organization
course
EKHS21 20241
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
Monopsony Employer size Gender Servants Nominal wages Sweden
language
English
id
9164513
date added to LUP
2024-07-03 07:08:43
date last changed
2024-07-03 07:08:43
@misc{9164513,
  abstract     = {{Historians have often noted the existence of frictions in early labour markets. Swedish servants, for example, experienced large mobility restrictions and coercion, preventing them from switching employers. Despite this, wage studies have often relied on assumptions of perfect competition, ignoring these findings. This study uses more than 3,000 observations of servant wages for Southern Sweden, covering more than three centuries, to explore the extent to which the servant labour market was competitive. Furthermore, the analysis examines the degree of monopsonistic power that different employers could exercise by comparing large employers from rural and urban areas, as well as small employers from the city of Malmö, comparing them by their status and wealth. Findings suggest a large degree of wage-setting behaviour over time in both rural and urban areas, where nominal wages often could remain unchanged for decades. Furthermore, the bunching of wages around integers and even numbers suggests that employers could mis-optimise without consequences, indicating the presence of monopsonistic power. Female servants seem to have been particularly affected by the wage-setting behaviour of their employers.}},
  author       = {{Cobos Cabral, Francisco}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Monopsony power, employer size, and gender: An analysis of servants’ nominal wages in Southern Sweden: 1500-1800}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}