Robert S. Chase

Labor Market Discrimination During Post-Communist Transition: A Monopsony Approach to the Status of Latvia's Russian Minority

Conventional wisdom suggests that during communism, tastes for discrimination were suppressed. In partial explanation for ethnic tensions observed following central planning, economic liberalization allows those tastes to be expressed. This paper explores the feasibility of monopsony as an economic structure supportive of discrimination during transition, using Latvias ethnic Russians as a case study. Measuring employment concentration and earnings differentials across regions, monopsony appears prevalent in the country. A monopsony explanation requires Russians to have lower labor supply elasticity than Latvians, a condition which estimates for participation probability confirm. Earnings decompositions show that though Russians are paid more than Latvians on average, given their human capital characteristics, they suffer earnings discrimination of between 5.5 and 7.3 percent. In addition, compared with Latvians the likelihood that Russians will be unemployed is greater, though Russians are less likely to register for unemployment services. This evidence suggests that lack of integrated, flexible labor markets in Latvia, and the monopsony which results, have supported labor market discrimination against Russians during transition.

So you want to quit smoking: have you tried a mobile phone?

Tobacco use, which is rising quickly in developing countries, kills 5.4 million people a year worldwide. This paper explores the impacts of mobile phone ownership on tobacco consumption. Indeed, mobile phone ownership could affect tobacco consumption because individuals might pay for their communication with money they would have spent on tobacco. Using panel data from 2,100 households in 135 communities of the Philippines collected in 2003 and 2006, the analysis finds that mobile phone ownership leads to a 20 percent decline in monthly tobacco consumption. Among households in which at least one member smoked in 2003, purchasing a mobile phone leads to a 32.6 percent decrease in tobacco consumption per adult over the age of 15. This is equivalent to one less pack of 20 cigarettes per month per adult. The results are robust to various estimation strategies. Further, they suggest that this impact materializes through a budget shift from tobacco to communication.