IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/scotjp/v51y2004i4p477-506.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unions And Employment Growth In British Workplaces During The 1990s: A Panel Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Alex Bryson

Abstract

This paper uses the 1990–1998 Workplace Industrial Relations Survey Panel to analyse the impact of unions on employment growth among private sector workplaces in Britain. The growth rate among unionised workplaces was roughly 3–4% per annum lower than among non‐unionised workplaces, ceteris paribus. The effect is not accounted for by the age of unionised workplaces, union concentration in declining industries, or organisational or technical change at workplace level. The effect remains once we account for the impact of unions on workplace survival. However, effects are only apparent where unions do not negotiate over employment and where unions have some degree of bargaining strength.

Suggested Citation

  • Alex Bryson, 2004. "Unions And Employment Growth In British Workplaces During The 1990s: A Panel Analysis," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 51(4), pages 477-506, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scotjp:v:51:y:2004:i:4:p:477-506
    DOI: 10.1111/j.0036-9292.2004.00317.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0036-9292.2004.00317.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.0036-9292.2004.00317.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Steven J. Davis & John Haltiwanger, 1992. "Gross Job Creation, Gross Job Destruction, and Employment Reallocation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(3), pages 819-863.
    2. Walter J. Wessels, 1991. "Do Unions Contract for Added Employment?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 45(1), pages 181-193, October.
    3. Stephen Nickell & Sushil Wadhwani, 1991. "Employment Determination in British Industry: Investigations Using Micro-Data," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(5), pages 955-969.
    4. Machin, Stephen J & Wadhwani, Sushil, 1991. "The Effects of Unions on Organisational Change and Employment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 101(407), pages 835-854, July.
    5. Alison L. Booth & Andrew McCulloch, 1999. "Redundancy Pay, Unions and Employment," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 67(3), pages 346-366, June.
    6. Troske, Kenneth R, 1996. "The Dynamic Adjustment Process of Firm Entry and Exit in Manufacturing and Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(2), pages 705-735, October.
    7. Voos, Paula B & Mishel, Lawrence R, 1986. "The Union Impact on Profits: Evidence from Industry Price-Cost Margin Data," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(1), pages 105-133, January.
    8. David G. Blanchflower & Simon M. Burgess, 1996. "Job Creation and Job Destruction in Great Britain in the 1980s," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(1), pages 17-38, October.
    9. Sue Fernie & David Metcalf, 1995. "Participation, Contingent Pay, Representation and Workplace Performance: Evidence from Great Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 379-415, September.
    10. Stephen Machin, 1995. "Plant Closures and Unionization in British Establishments," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 33(1), pages 55-68, March.
    11. David Card & Thomas Lemieux & W. Craig Riddell, 2003. "Unionization and Wage Inequality: A Comparative Study of the U.S, the U.K., and Canada," NBER Working Papers 9473, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Blanchflower, David G & Millward, Neil & Oswald, Andrew J, 1991. "Unionism and Employment Behaviour," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 101(407), pages 815-834, July.
    13. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    14. Richard E. Caves, 1998. "Industrial Organization and New Findings on the Turnover and Mobility of Firms," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 1947-1982, December.
    15. Alex Bryson, 2004. "Unions and Workplace Closure in Britain, 1990–1998," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(2), pages 282-302, June.
    16. Kevin Denny & Stephen Nickell, 1991. "Unions and Investment in British Manufacturing Industry," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 29(1), pages 113-121, March.
    17. John T. Addison & Clive R. Belfield, 2001. "Updating the Determinants of Firm Performance: Estimation using the 1998 UK Workplace Employee Relations Survey," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 39(3), pages 341-366, September.
    18. McDonald, Ian M & Solow, Robert M, 1981. "Wage Bargaining and Employment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(5), pages 896-908, December.
    19. Richard J. Long, 1993. "The Effect of Unionization on Employment Growth of Canadian Companies," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 46(4), pages 691-703, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Brändle Tobias & Heinbach Wolf Dieter, 2013. "Opening Clauses in Collective Bargaining Agreements: More Flexibility to Save Jobs?," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 64(2), pages 159-192, August.
    2. Brändle, Tobias & Goerke, Laszlo, 2018. "The One Constant: A Causal Effect of Collective Bargaining on Employment Growth?," IZA Discussion Papers 11518, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Semih Akcomak & Suzanne Kok & Hugo Rojas-Romagosa, 2013. "The effects of technology and offshoring on changes in employment and task-content of occupations," CPB Discussion Paper 233, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    4. Bryson, Alex & Forth, John, 2016. "What Role Did Management Practices Play in SME Growth Post-Recession?," IZA Discussion Papers 10042, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Tobias Brändle & Laszlo Goerke, 2018. "The one constant: a causal effect of collective bargaining on employment growth? Evidence from German linked‐employer‐employee data," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 65(5), pages 445-478, November.
    6. Patrice Laroche & Géraldine Schmidt & Heidi Wechtler, 2006. "L'influence des relations sociales sur la performance des entreprises," Post-Print hal-01010597, HAL.
    7. Alex Bryson & Michael White, 2016. "Unions and the economic basis of attitudes," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 360-378, July.
    8. René Böheim & Martina Zweimüller, 2013. "The Employment of Temporary Agency Workers in the UK : For or Against the Trade Unions?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 80(317), pages 65-95, January.
    9. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2020. "Now Unions Increase Job Satisfaction and Well-being," NBER Working Papers 27720, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2022. "Union Membership Peaks in Midlife," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(1), pages 124-151, March.
    11. Blanchflower, David G., 2006. "A Cross-Country Study of Union Membership," IZA Discussion Papers 2016, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. David Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2004. "The Union Wage Premium in the US and the UK," CEP Discussion Papers dp0612, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    13. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson & Colin Green, 2022. "Trade unions and the well‐being of workers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(2), pages 255-277, June.
    14. Patrice Laroche & Géraldine Schmidt & Heidi Wechtler, 2006. "L'influence des relations sociales sur la performance des entreprises," Working Papers hal-01010597, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tobias Brändle & Laszlo Goerke, 2018. "The one constant: a causal effect of collective bargaining on employment growth? Evidence from German linked‐employer‐employee data," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 65(5), pages 445-478, November.
    2. Brändle, Tobias & Goerke, Laszlo, 2018. "The One Constant: A Causal Effect of Collective Bargaining on Employment Growth?," IZA Discussion Papers 11518, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. John T. Addison & John S. Heywood & Xiangdong Wei, 2003. "New Evidence on Unions and Plant Closings: Britain in the 1990s," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 69(4), pages 822-841, April.
    4. Bryson, Alex & White, Michael, 2006. "Unions, within-workplace job cuts and job security guarantees," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19849, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Addison, John T. & Siebert, W. Stanley, 2002. "Changes in Collective Bargaining in the U.K," IZA Discussion Papers 562, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Karen Mumford & Peter N. Smith, 2004. "Job Reallocation, Employment Change And Average Job Tenure: Theory And Workplace Evidence From Australia," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 51(3), pages 402-421, August.
    7. Addison, John T. & Teixeira, Paulino, 2004. "The Effect of Worker Representation on Employment Behavior in Germany: Another Case of -2.5%," IZA Discussion Papers 1188, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. John T. Addison & Paulino Teixeira, 2005. "The Effect of Works Councils on Employment Change," GEMF Working Papers 2005-06, GEMF, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra.
    9. Patrice Laroche & Géraldine Schmidt & Heidi Wechtler, 2006. "L'influence des relations sociales sur la performance des entreprises," Post-Print hal-01010597, HAL.
    10. David Metcalf, 1993. "Transformation of British Industrial Relations? Institutions, Conduct and Outcomes 1980-1990," CEP Discussion Papers dp0151, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    11. Metcalf, David, 1993. "Transformation of British industrial relations? Institutions, conduct and outcomes 1980-1990," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20981, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Blanchflower, David G., 2006. "A Cross-Country Study of Union Membership," IZA Discussion Papers 2016, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2711-2805 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Carlos Casacuberta & Gabriela Fachola & Nestor Gandelman, 2004. "The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Employment, Capital, and Productivity Dynamics: Evidence from the Uruguayan Manufacturing Sector," Research Department Publications 3170, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    15. Michail Veliziotis & Guy Vernon, 2023. "From monopoly to voice effects? British workplace unionism and productivity performance into the new millennium," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 574-594, September.
    16. Addison, John T. & Belfield, Clive R., 2002. "Unions and Establishment Performance: Evidence from the British Workplace Industrial/Employee Relations Surveys," IZA Discussion Papers 455, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Uwe Jirjahn & Steffen Mueller, 2014. "Non-union worker representation, foreign owners, and the performance of establishments," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 66(1), pages 140-163, January.
    18. Uwe Jirjahn, 2012. "Non-union worker representation and the closure of establishments: German evidence on the role of moderating factors," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 33(1), pages 5-27, February.
    19. Millward, N., 1993. "Uses of the workplace industrial relations surveys by British labour economists," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20964, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Brändle Tobias & Heinbach Wolf Dieter, 2013. "Opening Clauses in Collective Bargaining Agreements: More Flexibility to Save Jobs?," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 64(2), pages 159-192, August.
    21. Falch, Torberg & Strom, Bjarne, 2007. "Wage bargaining and monopsony," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 202-207, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:scotjp:v:51:y:2004:i:4:p:477-506. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/sesssea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.