Firm consolidations can have long lasting impacts on workers’ labor market outcomes: Blog

Increasing corporate market power and merger and acquisition activity represent an important phenomenon in many countries. These activities have far-reaching implications for macroeconomics, competition policy and labor markets for both advanced economies and emerging markets. Although most research and policy discussions focus on the impact of mergers and acquisitions on competition and consumer welfare in product markets, firm consolidations can also be consequential for workers. Understanding the short- and long-term impacts of consolidations on worker outcomes is important for effective regulation of consolidations and the design of labor market, social insurance, and safety net policies.