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Competition

Competition issues in labour markets

 

A recent fall in the labour share of income has helped fuel rising inequality and populist demand for dramatic reform of competition law. While these pushes cannot find an immediate response in competition law enforcement, they have stirred a debate within the competition community on monopsony and labour market power retained by employers, and on when exercise of employer monopsony power infringes competition law.

In June 2019, the OECD held a hearing aimed at discussing the anticompetitive concerns in labour markets. The session will focus on the factors contributing to the creation of monopsony power and its effects on workers and consumers. It will explore why cases involving monopsony power have been relatively rare, and what use competition authorities could make of their enforcement powers to prevent the creation of monopsony power, for example through mergers or no-poaching agreements, and the abuse of that power. Other ways to increase the countervailing market power of workers and to address downward pressure on wages and job losses will also be considered.

The topic was explored again during the 2020 Competition Open Day held on 26 February 2020 at the OECD Centre in Paris. 

All related materials for the discussion are available on this page.

SEE ALSO

Full list of OECD best practice roundtables on competition policy 

OECD Handbook on Competition Policy in the Digital Age 

Replay of the 2020 panel on Competition in Labour Markets held during the Competition Open Day

BLOG: Collective bargaining 4.0: Using labour law to extend coverage to new forms of work  

VIDEOS

Professor Hebert Hovenkamp talks about labour market concentration and what competition law can do about it

Watch a 2020 panel on Competition in Labour Markets held during the Competition Open Day

 

 

 

JUNE 2019 ROUNDTABLE INFORMATION

 

INVITED SPEAKERS

Herbert HOVENKAMP  Bio

Professor, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Marshall STEINBAUM Bio

University of Utah, USA

 

KEY MATERIALS

comp-2020-competition-in-labour-markets

OECD Background Note   EN FR

Executive Summary with key findings EN | FR

Detailed Summary of the discussion EN | FR

Competition Policy for Labour Markets by Herbert Hovenkamp

Monopsony and the Business Model of Gig Economy Platforms by Marshall Steinbaum 

Market Concentration, 2018

Does competition kill or create jobs? 2015

 

CONTRIBUTIONS

Brazil

Croatia

Finland

Ireland

Japan

Portugal

Singapore

Spain

Turkey

BIAC

TUAC

PRESENTATIONS

RELATED BEST PRACTICE ROUNDTABLES

Purchasing Power and Buyers' Cartels, 2022

Market studies methodologies for competition authorities, 2017

The role of market studies as a tool to promote competition, 2016 

Public interest considerations in merger control, 2016

Market Studies, 2008

Monopsony and Buyer Power, 2008

Competition and Regulation in Agriculture: Monopsony Buying and Joint Selling, 2004

Buying Power of Multiproduct Retailers, 1998

RELATED TOPICS

OECD Handbook on Competition Policy in the Digital Age 

Market Studies and Competition

OECD best practice roundtables on competition

More OECD work on competition

 

 

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