Abstract

After remaining relatively stable for decades, starting from the ’80s of the last century, the share of national income allocated to workers, i.e., the fraction of GDP paid in wages, salaries, and allowances, has consistently decreased not only in advanced economies but also in emerging and developing countries. Various causes have been identified to explain this decline, including globalization, job outsourcing, production automation, reduced political influence of unions, and high unemployment rates. The buyer power of employers, exercised on the demand side through the setting of low wages and precarious working conditions, is considered a significant factor in compressing labor incomes. This contribution aims to demonstrate how the traditional application of antitrust law to labor markets can help limit the behavior of employers who, either collectively or individually, use their significant buyer power to suppress wages and impose poor working conditions.