Branikas, I., "The Effect of Non-Wage Competition on Corporate Profits"
Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Title: "The Effect of Non-Wage Competition on Corporate Profits"
Speaker: Assistant Professor Ioannis Branikas, University of Oregon
Host: Assistant Professor Kospentaris Ioannis, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business
Time: 15.30 -17.00
Room: 76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36
Attachments: 
PDF of Relevant Paper
Abstract: Most S&P 500 corporations disclose that their profits depend on non-wage competition for worker talent via workplace amenities like work-life balance. We quantify this dependence using a labor market matching model with endogenous amenities. When productive (unproductive) firms provide the amenities demanded by workers at a lower cost, firm quality becomes more (less) dispersed relative to worker quality, which results in higher (lower) firm profits due to competition. This cost advantage is identified with data on wages, worker satisfaction, and firm scale. Calibrating our model to Glassdoor surveys, a 1% increase in workers’ non-pecuniary preferences raises firm profits by 0.6%.
