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Union Density Effects on Productivity and Wages

Author

Listed:
  • Erling Barth
  • Alex Bryson
  • Harald Dale-Olsen

Abstract

We exploit changes in tax subsidies for union members in Norway to identify the effects of changes in firm-level union density on productivity and wages. Increased deductions in taxable income for union members led to higher membership rates and contributed to a lower decline in union membership rates over time in Norway. Accounting for selection effects and the potential endogeneity of unionisation, the results show that increasing union density at the firm level leads to a substantial increase in both productivity and wages. The wage effect is larger in more productive firms, consistent with rent-sharing models.

Suggested Citation

  • Erling Barth & Alex Bryson & Harald Dale-Olsen, 2020. "Union Density Effects on Productivity and Wages," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 130(631), pages 1898-1936.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:econjl:v:130:y:2020:i:631:p:1898-1936.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ej/ueaa048
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    Cited by:

    1. Belloc, Filippo & Burdin, Gabriel & Cattani, Luca & Ellis, William & Landini, Fabio, 2022. "Coevolution of job automation risk and workplace governance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(3).
    2. Clément Brébion, 2021. "The works council wage premium in Germany: a case of strategic discrimination?," Working Papers halshs-03100169, HAL.
    3. Adrian Chadi & Laszlo Goerke, 2023. "Seeking shelter in times of crisis? unemployment, perceived job insecurity and trade union membership," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(359), pages 1041-1088, July.
    4. Harald Dale-Olsen, 2021. "Do unions contribute to creative destruction?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(12), pages 1-23, December.
    5. 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.
    6. Giulia Zacchia & Izaskun Zuazu, 2023. "The Wage Effect of Workplace Sexual Harassment: Evidence for Women in Europe," Working Papers Series inetwp205, Institute for New Economic Thinking.
    7. Kostøl, Fredrik B. & Svarstad, Elin, 2023. "Trade Unions and the Process of Technological Change," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    8. Samuel Dodini & Kjell Salvanes & Alexander L.P. Willén & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2021. "The Dynamics of Power in Labor Markets: Monopolistic Unions versus Monopsonistic Employers," CESifo Working Paper Series 9495, CESifo.
    9. Bernd Brandl, 2023. "Everything we do know (and don’t know) about collective bargaining: The Zeitgeist in the academic and political debate on the role and effects of collective bargaining," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(3), pages 660-678, August.
    10. Thommen, Yann, 2022. "Reforms of collective bargaining institutions in European Union countries: Bad timing, bad outcomes?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    11. Erling Barth & Alex Bryson & Harald Dale-Olsen, 2022. "Turning Non-members into Members: Do Public Subsidies to Union Membership Matter?," DoQSS Working Papers 22-05, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    12. Bustos, Emil, 2023. "The Effect of Centrally Bargained Wages on Firm Growth," Working Paper Series 1456, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    13. Gihleb, Rania & Giuntella, Osea & Tan, Jian Qi, 2023. "The Impact of Right-to-Work Laws on Long Hours and Work Schedules," IZA Discussion Papers 16588, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Elin Svarstad & Ragnar Nymoen, 2023. "Wage inequality and union membership at the establishment level: An econometric study using Norwegian data," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 75(2), pages 371-392.
    15. Christian Lyhne Ibsen & Lisa Sezer & Virginia Doellgast, 2023. "Coordination versus organization: Diverging logics of firm cooperation in Denmark and Sweden," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 526-549, September.
    16. Samuel Dodini & Anna Stansbury & Alexander Willén & Alexander L.P. Willén, 2023. "How Do Firms Respond to Unions?," CESifo Working Paper Series 10873, CESifo.
    17. Dodini, Samuel & Willén, Alexander & Zhu, Julia Li, 2023. "The Role of Labor Unions in Immigrant Integration," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 24/2023, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    18. Grodzicki, Maciej J. & Możdżeń, Michał, 2021. "Central and Eastern European economies in a Goldilocks age: A model of labor market institutional choice," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    19. Barth, Erling & Bryson, Alex & Dale-Olsen, Harald, 2022. "Creative Disruption: Technology Innovation, Labour Demand and the Pandemic," IZA Discussion Papers 15762, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Devicienti, Francesco & Fanfani, Bernardo, 2021. "Firms' Margins of Adjustment to Wage Growth: The Case of Italian Collective Bargaining," IZA Discussion Papers 14532, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Riccardo Rovelli, 2024. "Labor market institutions and policies in old and new EU members," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 222-222, January.
    22. Cardullo, Gabriele & Conti, Maurizio & Sulis, Giovanni, 2020. "A model of unions, two-tier bargaining and capital investment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    23. Erol Taymaz & Ebru Voyvoda & Kamil Yilmaz, 2021. "Transition to Democracy, Real Wages and Productivity: The Turkish Experience," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 2111, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    24. Suresh Naidu, 2022. "Is There Any Future for a US Labor Movement?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 3-28, Fall.
    25. Elin Svarstad & Fredrik B. Kostøl, 2022. "Unions, collective agreements and productivity: A firm‐level analysis using Norwegian matched employer–employee panel data," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(4), pages 864-894, December.

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