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The Importance of Political Systems for Trade Union Membership, Coverage and Influence: Theory and Comparative Evidence

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  • John W. Budd
  • J. Ryan Lamare

Abstract

Ideological connections between the state, political systems and industrial relations have long been important. But the influence of the structural nature of a country's political system on trade union membership, coverage and influence has been largely overlooked. We uniquely theorize three channels through which a political system can shape unionization in the workplace independent of ideology: incentives for inclusionary governance, legislative body composition and policy enactment. Empirically, we use multiple European datasets to test the relationship between political and employee representation using multivariate analyses across more than 25 countries. We find that increased political representativeness, measured by lower disproportionality and the presence of multiparty coalitions, is a statistically significant predictor of a greater likelihood of individual trade union membership, coverage and influence, while competitive fragmentation, measured by greater numbers of political parties, is associated with weakened collective voice.

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  • John W. Budd & J. Ryan Lamare, 2021. "The Importance of Political Systems for Trade Union Membership, Coverage and Influence: Theory and Comparative Evidence," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(3), pages 757-787, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:59:y:2021:i:3:p:757-787
    DOI: 10.1111/bjir.12575
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    2. Hadziabdic, Sinisa, 2023. "Turning no tides: Union effects on partisan preferences and the working-class metamorphosis," MPIfG Discussion Paper 23/2, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    3. J. Ryan Lamare & John W. Budd, 2022. "The relative importance of industrial relations ideas in politics: A quantitative analysis of political party manifestos across 54 countries," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 22-49, January.
    4. Bernd Brandl, 2023. "The cooperation between business organizations, trade unions, and the state during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A comparative analysis of the nature of the tripartite relationship," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 145-171, April.

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