By the way: the ban is retroactive and has penalties built in for violators. It goes into effect June 2027, when WA will join CA, OK, MN, and ND as states that prohibit more or less all noncompetes.

Noncompetes are a bit less in the news than a year or two ago. But WA just quietly banned ALL employee noncompetes. Previously, they had been banned for relatively low paid workers only governor.wa.gov/news/2026/go...

When firms take political stances, workers sort accordingly. Firm announcements post Dobbs reshaped who applies and quits, and how politics increasingly organize the labor market, from Pawel Adrjan, Svenja Gudell, Emily Nix, Allison Shrivastava, Jason Sockin and Evan Starr www.nber.org/papers/w34948

They used to say "you either die a consumer goods company or live long enough to enter consumer finance." The 2026 version is: "you either die a user experience company, or live long enough to become a data broker." Exhibit A:

Many workers have missed shifts without jobs being destroyed making it challenging to measure labor impacts with conventional sources. We use real-time daily data from Homebase to measure impacts. Thanks to UChicago and Homebase for making the data available. #EconSky #NumbersDay

How does employer access to prisoners’ labor through work release impact the well-being of those workers & of free workers? New working paper by Sue Helper, Suresh Naidu, Akseli Palomaki, Adam Reich, + me provides evidence, focus on auto manufacturing in AL #EconSky papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

ICYMI given today's focus on the budget: the UK government has today also published a working paper on options for reform of non-compete agreements. Responses to the specific options set out therein (statutory limits, size cutoffs and an outright ban), can be submitted until 18 February. 1/2

Come work with me, and more importantly with all the much smarter and cooler people than I am, at the @innovateeconomy.bsky.social: Full-time, entry-level research role for someone who wants to work directly with data, policy ideas, all while building strong quantitative and writing skills.

I've been interested in this question for a while now. It's really one that could go either way: does the increase in competition or the greater ability to tacitly collude dominate? Great to see strong evidence. I'm sure this is a topic we'll learn a lot more about in coming years

Understanding how Black Americans got to where they are today, requires understanding Black history. The Green Book Project is a place to share the rich historical journey of Black Americans finding dignity during the Jim Crow era: greenbookproject.osu.edu #GreenBookProject #CommunityMap #EconSky

Come work with us at CMU Heinz! We have a great applied microeconomics group and we’re looking for an economist to join us. Please reach out if you have any questions! www.aeaweb.org/joe/listing....

Applications are now OPEN for the Master of Applied Economics and Data Science program, @upenn.edu econ's newest degree! You can get lots more info (and apply!!) here: www.lps.upenn.edu/degree-progr...

Applications are now OPEN for the Master of Applied Economics and Data Science program, @upenn.edu econ's newest degree! You can get lots more info (and apply!!) here: www.lps.upenn.edu/degree-progr...

AI Acquihires: Competition Risks, Talent Battles and Economic Spillovers Webinar - 8 October @ 17:00 CEST 🗣️Jonathan Kanter @lugaricano.bsky.social @imarinescu.bsky.social @igorletina.bsky.social Hans Zenger Moderator: @florianederer.bsky.social Register: cepr.org/events/ai-ac... #EconSky

My coauthors and I are hiring a project coordinator for new research on an innovative jail-based rehabilitation paper (IGNITE), building on our recent QJE Apply at careersearch.stanford.edu/jobs/project...

Who wants to work with Kate Bahn at the Institute for Women's Policy Research? #econ_ra iwpr.applytojob.com/apply/ACdbXf...

Today is my last day working for the FTC. I'm very excited to start a new job next week in the @upenn.edu economics department! The Bureau of Economics was a fantastic place to work with great colleagues, and being able to put my noncompete research into practice was the opportunity of a lifetime.

The FTC is hiring Statisticians in the Bureau of Economics! This is a great opportunity for seniors or recent grads interested in antitrust and consumer protection economics, and applied microeconomics research. Come work with me! Happy to answer any questions. www.usajobs.gov/job/845835200

📣 Columbia’s Center for Political Economy searching for post docs for next academic year working on labor, firms and markets, and climate change! Applications due 11/3, and I’m happy to talk to folks interested in working with the Labor Lab team! apply.interfolio.com/173083 📣

📢Nina Roussille and I are hiring a full-time predoctoral researcher to work with us at MIT on labor economics research projects. IMPORTANT: this vacancy is open right now, so we are particularly interested in people who could start soon. Link to apply: careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/cl...

Doing research on productivity, business dynamism and/or market power? Please submit to our fourth CMA-Durham workshop! Deadline 25 Sept. Also apply if your work links to: industrial policy, technology diffusion, start-ups, supply chains. cma-partnership.webspace.durham.ac.uk/2025/08/29/2...

I went to this fantastic conference last year and had a blast. I highly encourage everyone to submit their work!

Two new post doc positions studying wealth and poverty at the Stone Center at CUNY (New York). A fantastic opportunity! cuny.jobs/new-york-ny/... cuny.jobs/new-york-ny/...

Join the CMA's econometrics team and work with my super-smart colleagues @alcrawfs.bsky.social and @ivan-olszak.bsky.social on demand estimation, merger simulations and event studies in CMA merger cases and market studies. Ideal for recent quant MSc graduates or PhD students.

My department @miamiecon.bsky.social is hiring an instructor/VAP to teach introductory macroeconomics this upcoming year. Could be a good opportunity for new PhDs or advanced grad students who are interested in teaching-focused positions. Apply ASAP if interested! #econsky

Americans favor labor unions over big business now more than ever, analysis of new data @epi.org from me & Adam Reich of Columbia Labor Lab. In data back 60 years, Americans' sentiments are both warmer toward unions & cooler towards big business than ever before. www.epi.org/blog/america...

Join the CMA Microeconomics Unit as a UKRI Policy Fellow for 18 months! Awards buy out teaching/admin time to allow you to focus on a CMA-relevant research project, while embedded part-time in the Unit. The call for fellowships is here: www.ukri.org/opportunity/... 1/

Love labor and employment research? New opportunity to join the team @upjohninstitute.bsky.social in Kalamazoo as a research analyst. Bachelors required, more experience & education desirable. #econ_ra www.upjohn.org/sites/defaul...

I learned a new term today: rollup. When an outside investor consecutively acquires many of the small firms in a local market and consolidates them. When this occurs with anesthesia practices, prices increase by 18%. I'm paraphrasing an NBER summary of this paper: www.nber.org/papers/w33217

🚨New Predoc Posting Alert!🚨 @koenig-felix.bsky.social and I are looking to hire a full-time predoctoral fellow to work with us on projects about the economics of labor markets and the future work at @carnegiemellon.bsky.social Please share and/or apply! apply.interfolio.com/164383 #econ_ra

Looking to do a fully funded, policy-relevant PhD in economics? The ESRC has funded another joint CMA PhD studentship, this time with Lorenza Rossi and Stefano Fasani at Lancaster University, on the interaction of market power, price setting and macro dynamics. Please share widely and apply!

The opening of ethnic Catholic churches created immigrant enclave neighborhoods in the early 20th century. Residents experienced falling earnings but strengthened communal ties, from Ran Abramitzky, @leah_boustan, and @osea82 https://www.nber.org/papers/w33362

Here are highlights from @kevinrinz.bsky.social on DECEMBER’s #JobsReport. 📈 A 🧵: First, this month we saw some encouraging stabilization in prime-age employment after declines in the previous 2 months. Participation ticked down again for this group but remains high by recent historical standards.

The H-1B labor market is 40% more concentrated than the broader US labor market. This employer concentration decreases wages by 12.2% (median salary loss $10.5k) and is primarily borne by first-time H-1B applicants whose visa status is tied to specific employer. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Recently accepted to #REStud, ``Worker Mobility in Production Networks,'' from Cardoza, Grigoli, Pierri and @cianruane.bsky.social : www.restud.com/worker-mobil...

New Agglomerations post from @saraheckhardt.bsky.social The year in business dynamism — 2024 marks another year of elevated entrepreneurial activity in a post-pandemic economy, with business applications and establishment births and deaths remaining high. Read more here: tinyurl.com/2tdt8yak

As an econ researcher / ph.d. student, what would you value a blog post most about? (*like* which of the following topics you would value most):

Mergers are followed by large and persistent increases in lobbying activity, both by individual firms and by industry trade associations, suggesting that firms with market power will also attempt to gain political power. www.nber.org/papers/w33255

My paper with Devesh Raval is now out at Marketing Science! We find that when the FTC redesigned its complaint website: -Complaints increased by 40%, -included more useful and detailed information -increased most for older consumers and those with less tech savvy

Might as well use this as a reminder to encourage your undergrads to apply to our 1-year econ MA program! We offer funding & our grads (like @joalkhafajiking.bsky.social) go on to do great things 🥳

Got AEA & ASSA emails this morning abt hotel workers striking in SF? Want to figure out what it means & what your options are? See this analysis @shirkandsteal.bsky.social @jennifercohen.bsky.social & me, & our call to support 3 small ASSA policy changes #EconSky aaronsojourner.org/hotel-worker...

With all the new joiners, my original IO/org econ starter pack hit its size limit. I have therefore split into into two (with some overlap). This starter pack is broadly for IO, competition and innovation: go.bsky.app/Rchu8QX 1/2 #EconSky

Here's a great starter pack for folks interested in the economics of innovation, competition and IO go.bsky.app/Rchu8QX

Just re-upping this #econsky: I currently have more mentors than mentees/students (can probably match another 10-11 students from LMICs who would like feedback on a research paper from a senior scholar.) Fill out the form here if interested! forms.gle/ekvvoEKBLYQM...

6. Random features you didn't know about. If your post includes a link, you can wait for the preview to show up, and remove the url, and the link stays there! This also saves characters from the character limit.

A few months ago I was talking to a reporter and did what has so far turned out to be a bad Beveridge curve take. Thinking it over has been clarifying, and hopefully these Beveridge curve-related takes hold up better. kevinrinz.substack.com/p/revisiting...

Great timing of this blog post summarizing our research on how many kids might potentially be eligible for SSI -- presenting this paper tomorrow at #APPAM2024 at 10:15 in Chesapeake 2. Come join!

Nathan Miller has been appointed Chief Economist of the Antitrust Division. A great appointment. I note with particular pleasure that before becoming an academic, he was a Staff Economist in the Antitrust Division. www.nathanhmiller.org