The impact of superstar firms on the labor share: Evidence from Belgium

Abstract

The Belgian labor share, measured as the part of GDP going to labor, is declining. This fits into the global secular trend of decreasing labor shares. A novel strand in the literature focusses on its granular drivers. Recent research in the United States suggests that superstar firms, defined as large firms with a dominant market share, are increasing their market share and relate this to the fall of the labor share (Autor et al. in Q J Econ 135(2):645-709, 2020). Using a long time series of Belgian firm-level data from 1985 to 2014, we provide evidence for the link between the rise of market concentration and the decrease of the labor share in its two largest sectors: Manufacturing and Wholesale & Retail. These two sectors represent approximately half of the Belgian economy. We do not find evidence in other Belgian sectors.