Income distributions reflect actors’ relative bargaining and claimsmaking power.

Evidence

Notice, however, that, strictly speaking, bargaining theory offers a unifying account of partner-choice and partner-control models under the general principle that negotiated distributions of resources reflect relative bargaining power. Power, in turn, is measured by the difference between individuals’ negotiated payoffs and the payoff they would obtain if bargaining broke down (their outside options). The general theory helps one appreciate that effort and talent are only two factors among those that determine an individual’s bargaining power. The availability of alternative partners is another factor, but so are physical strength (the capacity to offend or coerce), accumulated wealth, membership in a coalition, and so forth. Baumard et al.’s market for partners effectively abstracts away from such factors and focuses on effort and talent only. This may be a good approximation to the ancestral environment where fairness norms initially evolved, but need not be true of many other ecological and social niches created by homo sapiens since then. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 443 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

The nature of the protection contract is also conditional upon the relative strength of customer and mafioso. Other things being equal, legal businesses are less vulnerable to the mafioso’s monopoly, for they can always resort to the law. Similarly, the mafioso with many customers is more independent than the mafioso with just one. Finally, a powerful customer is always treated with respect. — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 419 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Fairness distributions reflect bargaining power, not just effort. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 443; Contract terms depend on the relative bargaining power of customer and mafioso — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 419; Financial income reallocates resources away from workers and strengthens owner bargaining power (+4 more)

Related

• Income inequality reflects relative bargaining power between actor groups, not markets (similarity 0.85)
• Fairness distributions reflect bargaining power, not just effort. (similarity 0.80)
• Contract terms depend on the relative bargaining power of customer and mafioso (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Fairness distributions reflect bargaining power, not just effort. #corroborates (0.85) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 443
• Contract terms depend on the relative bargaining power of customer and mafioso #exemplifies (0.80) — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 419
• Financial income reallocates resources away from workers and strengthens owner bargaining power #expands (0.80)
• Workplace claims-making power is shaped by race and gender status. #qualifies (0.75) — Ken-Hou Lin & Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, Financialization and U.S. Income…, 106
• Ideological hegemony operates when subordinates internalize the dominant group’s justifications of inequality #complicates (0.70)