Size doesn’t matter! Gift exchange in experimental labor markets

Open Access
Authors
Publication date 2010
Journal Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
Volume | Issue number 76 | 3
Pages (from-to) 544-548
Organisations
  • Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG) - Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR)
  • Faculty of Law (FdR) - Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS)
Abstract We study how the number of traders affects the interaction between a centralized exchange and bilateral negotiations in an experimental labor market with excess supply and incomplete contracts. Our large markets are three times as large as our small markets. In bilateral negotiations firms obtain information about employees’ performance in previous jobs. Though market forces put a downward pressure on wages in large markets, reciprocal tendencies do not differ. Hence, the occurrence of bilateral negotiations increases overall efficiency for both market sizes.
Document type Article
Language English
Published at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2010.09.007
Downloads
Post-print version of article (Accepted author manuscript)
Permalink to this page
Back