Sam Dodini
@microsamonomics.bsky.social
Dallas Fed Economist, CESifo, IZA // Labor institutions, imperfect labor markets, public econ // Volleyball and music enthusiast
Views my own
Views my own
What's remarkable is that these gaps are there even when both workers are displaced from the same firm but then re-hired into the same firm! In other words, the immigrant is paid far less than his co-worker at the same company even when they were paid the same before the layoff!
April 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
What's remarkable is that these gaps are there even when both workers are displaced from the same firm but then re-hired into the same firm! In other words, the immigrant is paid far less than his co-worker at the same company even when they were paid the same before the layoff!
By the 4th year after the layoff, gaps even in the most concentrated labor markets close, implying the discrimination is based on beliefs about the average productivity differences between immigrants & natives.
April 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
By the 4th year after the layoff, gaps even in the most concentrated labor markets close, implying the discrimination is based on beliefs about the average productivity differences between immigrants & natives.
Competition STRONGLY reduces discrimination among employers, but does not quite completely eliminate it (call it win for Becker). Next we measure if this is labor market power or product market power that matters. Looks like it's loading entirely on labor market power.
April 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Competition STRONGLY reduces discrimination among employers, but does not quite completely eliminate it (call it win for Becker). Next we measure if this is labor market power or product market power that matters. Looks like it's loading entirely on labor market power.
We find fairly small discriminatory gaps between non-Western immigrants & other workers in competitive markets, but large gaps in concentrated (less-competitive) markets. At HHI=0.25 (~4 equally sized employers for that occupation) the immigrants earn 26% less!
April 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
We find fairly small discriminatory gaps between non-Western immigrants & other workers in competitive markets, but large gaps in concentrated (less-competitive) markets. At HHI=0.25 (~4 equally sized employers for that occupation) the immigrants earn 26% less!
Suddenly, their firm closes, & they are forced to look for a new job. Prior to the firm closing, the market valued their skills EXACTLY the same. Immigrant-native gaps after their search can tell us about discrimination--especially the difference between the two pairs.
April 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Suddenly, their firm closes, & they are forced to look for a new job. Prior to the firm closing, the market valued their skills EXACTLY the same. Immigrant-native gaps after their search can tell us about discrimination--especially the difference between the two pairs.
Imagine you have four workers-2 immigrants & 2 natives working at the same firm doing the same job for the same pay. One pair (1 immigrant & 1 native) work in a city where there are lots of employers that will hire for their occupation. For the other, there are fewer employers.
April 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Imagine you have four workers-2 immigrants & 2 natives working at the same firm doing the same job for the same pay. One pair (1 immigrant & 1 native) work in a city where there are lots of employers that will hire for their occupation. For the other, there are fewer employers.
Our context is Norway--long considered one of the most egalitarian societies in the world--and discrimination against immigrants from outside of 'the West.' If we can find discrimination there, it's likely to be in other places. So how do we investigate this?
April 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Our context is Norway--long considered one of the most egalitarian societies in the world--and discrimination against immigrants from outside of 'the West.' If we can find discrimination there, it's likely to be in other places. So how do we investigate this?
🚨🚨 Does labor market discrimination drive economic gaps? Can market competition eliminate discrimination like economic theory suggests? What *kind* of discrimination are we talking about. In a new paper, Alex Willen & I explore the question. #Econsky
April 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
🚨🚨 Does labor market discrimination drive economic gaps? Can market competition eliminate discrimination like economic theory suggests? What *kind* of discrimination are we talking about. In a new paper, Alex Willen & I explore the question. #Econsky
So what happened in Norway? We are not able to detect any measurable effect of the incoming commuters on mortality events, physician retention, or other metrics in Norway. There appears to have been no offsetting gain in Norway.
April 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
So what happened in Norway? We are not able to detect any measurable effect of the incoming commuters on mortality events, physician retention, or other metrics in Norway. There appears to have been no offsetting gain in Norway.
The effects hit hardest in areas with lower physician density before the commuting started. So the out-commuting of doctors increased inequality across classes and across places within Sweden.
April 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
The effects hit hardest in areas with lower physician density before the commuting started. So the out-commuting of doctors increased inequality across classes and across places within Sweden.
These illnesses are more likely to require emergency care. Guess which physicians were most likely to commute? High-skilled, young, generalists--those most likely to staff emergency departments.
April 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
These illnesses are more likely to require emergency care. Guess which physicians were most likely to commute? High-skilled, young, generalists--those most likely to staff emergency departments.
The effects are driven by lower-income people who are most dependent on the public healthcare system. The same is true for education, but the gradient is less steep. The effects are mostly drive by respiratory, infection, & circulatory illnesses.
April 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
The effects are driven by lower-income people who are most dependent on the public healthcare system. The same is true for education, but the gradient is less steep. The effects are mostly drive by respiratory, infection, & circulatory illnesses.
In a dose-response diff-in-diff, areas with lower baseline physician wages lost more doctors to commuting and had significant increases in their mortality rates, particularly people age 65+. 1 log point lower baseline earnings increased 65+ mortality by 3 per 1,000.
April 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
In a dose-response diff-in-diff, areas with lower baseline physician wages lost more doctors to commuting and had significant increases in their mortality rates, particularly people age 65+. 1 log point lower baseline earnings increased 65+ mortality by 3 per 1,000.
Places with lower physician earnings in 2003 saw the biggest increases in this 'out-commuting' of physicians. These municipalities lost a substantial amount of human capital--brain drain--but not due to permanent migration.
April 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Places with lower physician earnings in 2003 saw the biggest increases in this 'out-commuting' of physicians. These municipalities lost a substantial amount of human capital--brain drain--but not due to permanent migration.
Doctors were unique though. While nearly everyone else who started commuting to Norway lived near the border, doctors started doing more frequent and longer short stints in Norway--weekends, full weeks, or even months on end--coming from all over Sweden.
April 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Doctors were unique though. While nearly everyone else who started commuting to Norway lived near the border, doctors started doing more frequent and longer short stints in Norway--weekends, full weeks, or even months on end--coming from all over Sweden.
In 2004, wages in Norway started surging due to oil prices & major growth in labor demand. This made it highly attractive for Swedes to work in Norway. Suddenly, you could make nearly double your Swedish wage, and people responded!
www.iza.org/publications...
www.iza.org/publications...
April 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
In 2004, wages in Norway started surging due to oil prices & major growth in labor demand. This made it highly attractive for Swedes to work in Norway. Suddenly, you could make nearly double your Swedish wage, and people responded!
www.iza.org/publications...
www.iza.org/publications...
🚨🚨
What happens when you take a bunch of human capital out of a local economy? Is brain drain a real thing? And what are the consequences? In a new paper, we shed light on this in the context of highly developed economies: Sweden and Norway. #Econsky
What happens when you take a bunch of human capital out of a local economy? Is brain drain a real thing? And what are the consequences? In a new paper, we shed light on this in the context of highly developed economies: Sweden and Norway. #Econsky
April 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
🚨🚨
What happens when you take a bunch of human capital out of a local economy? Is brain drain a real thing? And what are the consequences? In a new paper, we shed light on this in the context of highly developed economies: Sweden and Norway. #Econsky
What happens when you take a bunch of human capital out of a local economy? Is brain drain a real thing? And what are the consequences? In a new paper, we shed light on this in the context of highly developed economies: Sweden and Norway. #Econsky
If you're at #SEA2024 come to our session! It's going to be awesome. I'll presenting new evidence of oabory market discrimination and how competition strongly reduces it.
November 23, 2024 at 12:35 PM
If you're at #SEA2024 come to our session! It's going to be awesome. I'll presenting new evidence of oabory market discrimination and how competition strongly reduces it.
On the Norwegian side, (especially high HHI) firms take advantage of cheaper Swedish labor & possibly reduce hiring of domestic workers. Value added per domestic worker & per NOK goes up. Higher-income Norwegians loss a skill monopoly, leading to wage compression from the top.
November 14, 2023 at 1:24 PM
On the Norwegian side, (especially high HHI) firms take advantage of cheaper Swedish labor & possibly reduce hiring of domestic workers. Value added per domestic worker & per NOK goes up. Higher-income Norwegians loss a skill monopoly, leading to wage compression from the top.
As a result, the municipalities lose firms, workers, and population, & inequality increases because the commuters disproportionately come from the upper half of the income distribution. Losing firms this way destabilizes the community.
November 14, 2023 at 1:23 PM
As a result, the municipalities lose firms, workers, and population, & inequality increases because the commuters disproportionately come from the upper half of the income distribution. Losing firms this way destabilizes the community.
Swedish firms lose (better) workers: avg productivity goes down, but pay is same—so workers are paid more relative to their value added & gap between their VA & avg earnings goes down. Most of the action is in high concentration firms!
November 14, 2023 at 1:23 PM
Swedish firms lose (better) workers: avg productivity goes down, but pay is same—so workers are paid more relative to their value added & gap between their VA & avg earnings goes down. Most of the action is in high concentration firms!
We take advantage of this in a difference-in-differences design to compare border municipalities to towns in the next county over on both sides of the border in the populated southern regions. We test firm-level & municipality-level outcomes.
November 14, 2023 at 1:22 PM
We take advantage of this in a difference-in-differences design to compare border municipalities to towns in the next county over on both sides of the border in the populated southern regions. We test firm-level & municipality-level outcomes.
These higher wage opportunities put additional pressure on firms on the Swedish side to compete, but essentially only for firms located in towns near the border, where these commuters disproportionately originated.
November 14, 2023 at 1:22 PM
These higher wage opportunities put additional pressure on firms on the Swedish side to compete, but essentially only for firms located in towns near the border, where these commuters disproportionately originated.
Beginning in 2005, Norway’s economic growth took off relative to the rest of the OECD, leading to a big wedge in earnings between Norway & neighboring Sweden. This led a lot of Swedes to start commuting to Norway (daily or seasonally) to take advantage.
November 14, 2023 at 1:22 PM
Beginning in 2005, Norway’s economic growth took off relative to the rest of the OECD, leading to a big wedge in earnings between Norway & neighboring Sweden. This led a lot of Swedes to start commuting to Norway (daily or seasonally) to take advantage.