A country enacts a policy that successfully eliminates long-standing divisions in its labor market, allowing all workers to compete for the same jobs. An economist argues that this policy alone will necessarily lead to a higher economy-wide real wage offered by firms. Based on the model where the real wage is determined by firms' pricing decisions, evaluate the economist's argument.

Labor Market Reform and Firm Behavior

Following the successful unification of a country's previously separate high-wage and low-wage labor markets, an economist observes that the overall share of national income going to profits has increased. This observation contradicts the economic model's prediction that the real wage offered by firms is independent of such labor market changes.

Conditions for Stable Firm Pricing Behavior