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Do Unions Capture Monopoly Profits?

Author

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  • Barry T. Hirsch
  • Robert A. Connolly

Abstract

This paper challenges the conclusion reached in recent studies that unions reduce profits exclusively in highly concentrated industries. From their review of previous studies and their analysis of 1977 data on 367 Fortune 500 firms, the authors conclude that there is no convincing evidence that concentration produces monopoly profits for unions to capture. Moreover, they find that the union wage effect is not greater in concentrated industries, as suggested by the hypothesis that unions capture concentration-related profits. Evidence is found suggesting that a firm's market share, its expenditures on research and development, and its protection from foreign competition provide more likely sources for union rents than does industry concentration.

Suggested Citation

  • Barry T. Hirsch & Robert A. Connolly, 1987. "Do Unions Capture Monopoly Profits?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 41(1), pages 118-136, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:41:y:1987:i:1:p:118-136
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Richard B. Freeman & Morris M. Kleiner, 1999. "Do Unions Make Enterprises Insolvent?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 52(4), pages 510-527, July.
    2. Patrice Laroche & Heidi Wechtler, 2011. "The Effects of Labor Unions on Workplace Performance: New Evidence from France," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 157-180, June.
    3. Conyon, M. & Machin, S., 1989. "Profit Determination In U.K. Manufacturing," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 330, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    4. Bhillon, Amrita & Petrakis, Emmanuel, 1995. "On Centralized Bargaining In A Symmetric Oligopolistic Industry," Economic Research Papers 268693, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    5. Dhillon, Amrita & Petrakis, Emmanuel, 2002. "A generalised wage rigidity result," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 285-311, March.
    6. Fallick, Bruce C & Hassett, Kevin A, 1999. "Investment and Union Certification," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(3), pages 570-582, July.
    7. Michael Wachter, "undated". "Judging Unions' Future Using a Historical Perspective: The Public Policy Choice Between Competition and Unionization," Scholarship at Penn Law upenn_wps-1029, University of Pennsylvania Law School.
    8. Laroche, Patrice, 2020. "Unions, Collective Bargaining and Firm Performance," GLO Discussion Paper Series 728, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Hristos Doucouliagos & Patrice Laroche, 2009. "Unions and Profits: A meta-regression Analysis," Post-Print hal-00648569, HAL.
    10. Wachsen, Eva & Blind, Knut, 2016. "More labour market flexibility for more innovation? Evidence from employer–employee linked micro data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 941-950.
    11. Fernando Rios-Avila, 2017. "Unions and Economic Performance in Developing Countries: Case Studies from Latin America," Revista Ecos de Economía, Universidad EAFIT, vol. 21(44), pages 4-36, June.
    12. Richard Volpe, 2014. "Supercenters, Unionized Labor, and Performance in Food Retail," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 325-355, April.
    13. Nair-Reichert, Usha & Pomery, John, 1999. "International R&D rivalry and export market shares of unionized industries: Some evidence from the US manufacturing sector," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 77-97, October.
    14. Balsmeier, Benjamin, 2017. "Unions, collective relations laws and R&D investment in emerging and developing countries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 292-304.

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