Investigating Global Labor and Pro t Shares

This paper investigates labor and profit share trends across Advanced Economies. It shows that growth in the Real Estate sector is the primary driver of declining labor shares outside the US. Excluding the Real Estate sector, non-US labor and profit shares have remained relatively stable since the 1970s. By contrast, the US labor share declined and the profit share increased across virtually all industries. The divergent US patterns appear to be explained by declining competition in the form of rising mark-ups and rising concentration.