The Rise of the Megafirm: Causes and Consequences for Labor and Product Markets
Organized by Kathryn L. Shaw and John Van Reenen
Supported by the Smith Richardson Foundation
October 19, 2018
Cambridge, MA
Thursday, October 18
6:00 pm
Group Dinner - Bambara Restaurant at Hotel Marlowe (across the street from the Royal Sonesta Hotel)
Friday, October 19
FORMAT
25 mins presenter
10 mins discussant
10 mins open discussion
8:15 am
Shuttle Van Leaves Royal Sonesta Hotel for NBER
8:30 am
Continental Breakfast
9:00 am

Increasing Differences between Firms: Market Power and the Macro-Economy

John Van Reenen, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and NBER
9:30 am

The Large Firm Pay Premium Redux

Nicholas Bloom, Stanford University and NBER
Fatih Guvenen, University of Minnesota and NBER
Brian Lucking, Charles River Associates
Benjamin S. Smith, University of California, Los Angeles
Jae Song, Social Security Administration
Till M. von Wachter, University of California, Los Angeles and NBER

Discussant:
Lawrence F. Katz, Harvard University and NBER
10:15 am
Coffee Break
10:30 am

New Evidence on Market Power, Profit, Concentration, and the Role of Mega-Firms in the US Economy

Robert E. Hall, Stanford University and NBER

Discussant:
Emmanuel Farhi, Harvard University
11:15 am

The Modern Wholesaler: Global Sourcing, Domestic Distribution, and Scale Economies

Sharat Ganapati, Georgetown University and NBER

Discussant:
Daniel Xu, Duke University and NBER
12:00 pm
Lunch
1:00 pm

Labor Market Concentration

José A. Azar, University of Navarra
Ioana Marinescu, University of Pennsylvania and NBER
Marshall I. Steinbaum, University of Utah Department of Economics

Discussant:
Efraim Benmelech, Northwestern University and NBER
1:45 pm

Granular Identification

Xavier Gabaix, Harvard University and NBER
Ralph Koijen, University of Chicago and NBER

Discussant:
Oleg Itskhoki, Harvard University and NBER
2:30 pm
Coffee Break
2:45 pm

The Use of Performance-Based Pay versus Wage Insurance within the Megafirm: Implications for the Within-Person Volatility of Income

Chinhui Juhn, University of Houston and NBER
Kristin McCue, U.S. Census Bureau
Brooks Pierce, Congressional Budget Office
Kathryn L. Shaw, Stanford University and NBER

Discussant:
Matthias Kehrig, Duke University and NBER
3:30 pm

Changing Business Dynamism and Productivity: Shocks vs. Responsiveness

Ryan Decker, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
John C. Haltiwanger, University of Maryland, College Park and NBER
Ron S. Jarmin, U.S. Census Bureau
Javier Miranda, Friedrich-Schiller University

Discussant:
Chiara Criscuolo, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
4:15 pm
Adjourn