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Union status of young men in Britain: a decade of change

Author

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  • Wiji Arulampalam

    (Department of Economics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK)

  • Alison L. Booth

    (Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, CO4 3SQ, UK)

Abstract

Previous empirical studies of individual union status in Britain have been cross-sectional. In contrast, we use longitudinal data from the National Child Development Study, to estimate the determinants of male trade union membership over the period 1981-1991. As suggested by union theories, we find that it is important to control for unobserved individual heterogeneity, and our preferred model allows for correlation of individual heterogeneity with observable variables. Our estimates reveal that the observed decline in very large workplaces, and the contraction of the public sector, explain about one third of the predicted decline in union membership over the period. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Wiji Arulampalam & Alison L. Booth, 2000. "Union status of young men in Britain: a decade of change," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(3), pages 289-310.
    • Handle: RePEc:jae:japmet:v:15:y:2000:i:3:p:289-310
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jo Blanden & Stephen Machin, 2003. "Cross‐Generation Correlations of Union Status for Young People in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 41(3), pages 391-415, September.
    2. Rupayan PAL, 2010. "Impact Of Communist Parties On The Individual Decision To Join A Trade Union: Evidence From India," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 48(4), pages 496-528, December.
    3. Francesconi, Marco & L. Booth, Alison, 2000. "Collectivism versus individualism: performance-related pay and union coverage for non-standard workers in Britain," ISER Working Paper Series 2000-35, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    4. Georgios Marios Chrysanthou, 2007. "Determinants of Trade Union Membership in Great Britain During 1991-2003," Discussion Papers 07/01, Department of Economics, University of York.
    5. A Charlwood, 2003. "The Anatomy of Union Decline in Britain: 1990-1998," CEP Discussion Papers dp0601, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    6. Rupayan Pal, 2008. "Estimating the Probability of Trade Union Membership in India: Impact of Communist Parties, Personal Attributes and Industrial Characteristics," Working Papers id:1669, eSocialSciences.
    7. Amynah Gangji & Robert Plasman, 2008. "Microeconomic analysis of unemployment persistence in Belgium," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(3), pages 280-298, June.
    8. Chrysanthou, Georgios Marios, 2014. "Heterogeneity, Endogeneity, Measurement Error and Identification of the Union Wage Impact," QM&ET Working Papers 14-4, University of Alicante, D. Quantitative Methods and Economic Theory, revised 05 Nov 2014.
    9. Charlwood, Andy, 2003. "The anatomy of union decline in Britain: 1990-1998," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20006, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Orla May & Merxe Tudela, 2005. "When is mortgage indebtedness a financial burden to British households? A dynamic probit approach," Bank of England working papers 277, Bank of England.
    11. Hämäläinen, Kari, 2003. "Education and Unemployment: State Dependence in Unemployment Among Young People in the 1990s," Discussion Papers 312, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    12. Kari Hämäläinen & Aki Kangasharju & Sari Pekkala & Matti Sarvimäki, 2005. "Employment Assimilation of Immigrants - Evidence from Finland," ERSA conference papers ersa05p75, European Regional Science Association.

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