3 ms·

> And theoretically speaking, women’s mass entry into the workforce shouldn’t produce an overall decline in wages. Just like immigration or a baby boom, women’s

> And theoretically speaking, women’s mass entry into the workforce shouldn’t produce an overall decline in wages. Just like immigration or a baby boom, women’s entry into the workforce is both a positive labor supply shock and also a positive labor demand shock at the same time — when women earn more, they spend most of what they earn, on things that require labor to produce.1 So we shouldn’t expect the addition of women to the workforce to hold down wages. The reason that excess labor doesn't drive down wages is because they spend those wages on rolls dice labor intensive things? This makes no sense in any direction. I'm reading through the beginning, which was a little sus, then jumped to the end and loathe to read most of this handwaving.

HDThoreaun 1y ago
excess labor doesnt exist. Labor is a gas, it fills any container it finds itself in.
- Supermancho 1y ago
  I don't find this correlates with reality. I understand the analogy. Gas is a liquid, which conforms to the container. The problem is that not all gas is used. When there's excess, the value tends to bottom out. I don't think it's like fuel to a fire, where the fire will grow in correlation with the amount of fuel. In a constrained market (like where I have moved to with a 150k people), wages are suppressed locally by excess labor, as one would expect. College kids come in, increased wage posters go up. College kids go out, increased pay posters go up and wages do not meaningfully stay up. I've observed for years and tried to make the argument to get struggling family to move to this area, where the competition is lighter and the costs are lower. Job lines are a thing. Massive stacks of resumes, are a thing. Competition is a thing. If competition for labor didn't matter, everyone would aspire to be a crappy tradesman, because the wages are better than McDonalds. Sector growth is not instantaneous (measured in years or decades) or uniform in growth. eg During COVID there was "overhiring".

HDThoreaun 1y ago

excess labor doesnt exist. Labor is a gas, it fills any container it finds itself in.

Supermancho 1y ago
I don't find this correlates with reality. I understand the analogy. Gas is a liquid, which conforms to the container. The problem is that not all gas is used. When there's excess, the value tends to bottom out. I don't think it's like fuel to a fire, where the fire will grow in correlation with the amount of fuel. In a constrained market (like where I have moved to with a 150k people), wages are suppressed locally by excess labor, as one would expect. College kids come in, increased wage posters go up. College kids go out, increased pay posters go up and wages do not meaningfully stay up. I've observed for years and tried to make the argument to get struggling family to move to this area, where the competition is lighter and the costs are lower. Job lines are a thing. Massive stacks of resumes, are a thing. Competition is a thing. If competition for labor didn't matter, everyone would aspire to be a crappy tradesman, because the wages are better than McDonalds. Sector growth is not instantaneous (measured in years or decades) or uniform in growth. eg During COVID there was "overhiring".