Worker Mobility in Practice: Is Quitting a Right, or a Luxury?

Abstract

have access to considerable savings to cover advance rent and security deposits or to cover expenses while awaiting the sale of a home. And much like in the labor market, there is persistent and well-documented discrimination in the housing market that raises these costs for people of color. Finally, access to credit can smooth out job transition costs, but it is not universal and reflects clear racial differences. Black and Hispanic Americans also have considerably less wealth to tap into than white Americans. Our assessment of these and other labor market and financial considerations illustrates the extent to which barriers to mobility can make moving jobs a luxury, rather than a right. The theoretical context of these findings is dynamic monopsony: the harder it is for a worker to leave, the more power an employer has over that worker’s wages.