At this point Kalecki's interest is in finding out what happens to the wage share during the business cycle. During recessions, firms collaborate among themselves to cope with the fall of profits, so the degree of monopoly increases and this increases the mark-up. The formula_20 parameter goes up. Nonetheless, the lack of demand during recessions causes a fall in the price of raw materials, so the formula_19 parameter goes down. The argument is symmetrical during the boom: prices of raw materials rise (formula_19 parameter increases) while the strength of unions due to increased employment level causes the degree of monopoly and thereby the mark-up level, to fall. The conclusion is that the α parameter is roughly constant over the business cycle.