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Anna Stansbury on How to Boost Worker Bargaining Power

Aug 4, 2022

In this discussion, Anna Stansbury, an MIT economist specializing in labor economics, reveals the troubling decline of worker bargaining power and its impact on wage growth. She explains how inflation complicates workers' purchasing power and the long-term reduction of labor's income share. Stansbury advocates for reforms like sectoral bargaining to strengthen unions. She compares U.S. and European labor models, emphasizing the importance of representation and corporate concentration's role in negotiations. It's a deep dive into how to empower today's workforce.

49:49

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Episode guests

Anna Stansbury

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Episode notes

Intro

2min

Inflation, Wages, and Labor Market Dynamics

16min

The Decline of Union Power and Paths to Reform

5min

Worker Representation Models: A Comparative Analysis

12min

Exploring Corporate Concentration and Worker Bargaining Power

3min

Navigating Worker Bargaining in a Modern Economy

15min

Labor markets are considered to be "tight" right now, but wage growth continues to lag inflation. For decades, in fact, we've seen a steady decline in worker bargaining power, or labor's share of total income. So what would it take to turn this around? How can workers regain leverage? On this episode of the podcast, we speak with Anna Stansbury, an MIT economist who focuses on labor and macroeconomics. She discusses her research, the decline of labor's share and the role that unionization and other factors play in this long-term trend.

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