The how thriving firms threaten the future of work Eeckhout, Jan creator author. text bibliography nju 2021 1st Edition. monographic eng

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viii, 327 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm "A book on why most things are more expensive or lower quality, and why we're all still working long hours for the same or lower wages. Does it ever seem like most things you buy are more expensive or not as good as they once were, or both? Does it ever seem odd that, despite having access to much better communication and cheaper transportation, we're all working just as many hours and for the same wages as workers decades ago? Well, we now know you're not wrong to wonder about these things. In recent years, economists have been documenting how most of the gains from technology and globalization have been going to an increasingly concentrated number of huge businesses, at the expense of consumers and workers. Prices are higher and wages are lower. The reason is market power. One of the first to authoritatively document the rise of market power was Jan Eeckhout. In this book, he will explain for a general audience how large firms have faced increasingly little competition, allowing them to charge higher prices than they otherwise could. And how we, as consumers, pay more for many goods and services-"everything from a bottle of beer to a flight to Houston to our grandmother's prosthetic hip." As a result, business profits have soared since 1980, and just a few "mega firms" dominate the marketplace. Eeckhout shows how the rise in market power has had radically negative effects on work and the lives of workers-trends that, if not reversed, may cause historical corrections in the form of wars and market collapse. Drawing on a wealth of research and the stories of working people, The Profit Paradox will explain in clear language the rise of market power, how it could change the world further if left unaddressed, and how we can tackle the problem"-- Introduction The origins of market power The harmful consequences of market power The future of work and finding solutions Jan Eeckhout. Includes bibliographical references and index. Labor market Mercado laboral Manpower policy Política de mano de obra Business enterprises Technological innovations Empresas comerciales Innovaciones tecnológicas Work Trabajo Wages Salarios Working class Trabajadores HD 5706 E26p 2021 331.1 Eeckhout, Jan, Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2021. 1st. (DLC) 2020052908 9780691214474 (hardback) 0691214476 (hardback) 2020052907 DLC 210105 20231201120500.0 21858114 eng