The Curse of Institutional Security - The Erosion of German Trade Unionism
Abstract
Among all EU member states, German unions have the widest gap between male and female trade union density rates and are least adjusted to the structural changes stemming from the rise of the service sector on the labour market. This development asks for a more subtle understanding of the role of industrial relations institutions for trade union membership. The paper addresses the phenomenon by locating the main problem areas of membership erosion, such as weak service sector membership and the ageing of membership in manufacturing trade unions. It argues that industrial relations institutions have a double effect. Industry unionism is on the one hand a key pillar for centralized bargaining and institutional stability. On the other hand, stable institutional structures might have contributed to the membership decline.Download Info
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Article provided by Rainer Hampp Verlag in its journal Industrielle Beziehungen.
Volume (Year): 14 (2007)
Issue (Month): 2 ()
Pages: 176 - 191
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Web page: http://www.hampp-verlag.de/
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Postal: Rainer Hampp Verlag, Journals, Marktplatz 5, 86415 Mering, Germany
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Web: http://www.hampp-verlag.de/hampp_e-journals_IndB.htm
Related research
Keywords: Trade Unions; Membership; Institutional Theory;Find related papers by JEL classification:
- A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
- J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
- J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation
- J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
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Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Claus Schnabel & Joachim Wagner, 2008.
"The Aging of the unions in West Germany, 1980-2006,"
Working Paper Series in Economics
93, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
- Claus Schnabel & Joachim Wagner, 2008. "The Aging of the Unions in West Germany, 1980-2006," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Department of Statistics and Economics, vol. 228(5+6), pages 497-511, December.
- Schnabel, Claus & Schank, Thorsten, 2008. "The aging of the unions in West Germany, 1980 - 2006," Discussion Papers 60, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
- Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2008. "The Aging of the Unions in West Germany, 1980–2006," IZA Discussion Papers 3661, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2008. "The aging of the unions in West Germany, 1980-2006," IWQW Discussion Paper Series 04/2008, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institut für Wirtschaftspolitik und Quantitative Wirtschaftsforschung (IWQW).
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