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Unions And The Labour Market For Managers

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  • Pischke, Jorn-Steffen
  • Dinardo, John
  • Hallock, Kevin F

Abstract

We examine the relationship between the employment and compensation of managers and CEOs and the presence of a unionized workforce. We develop a simple efficiency wage model, with a tradeoff between higher wages for workers and more monitoring, which requires more managers. The model also assumes rent sharing between workers, managers and the owners of the firm. Unions, by redistributing rents towards the workers, lead to lower employment and lower pay for managers. Using a variety of data sets, we examine the implications of the model for the relationship between the employment and wages of managers and unionization. We find several results generally consistent with our model. (1) Both a higher fraction of unionization in an industry and region and a higher union wage differential are associated with fewer managers. (2) Managers' wages are about 5 to 7 percent lower in unionized firms. (3) For CEOs the effects are larger: a 10 percent increase in unionization reduces the pay of CEOs by 2.5 percent or more.

Suggested Citation

  • Pischke, Jorn-Steffen & Dinardo, John & Hallock, Kevin F, 2000. "Unions And The Labour Market For Managers," CEPR Discussion Papers 2418, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:2418
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    Cited by:

    1. Kuhnen, Camelia M. & Niessen-Ruenzi, Alexandra, 2008. "Is Executive Compensation Shaped by Public Attitudes?," CFR Working Papers 08-09, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR).
    2. Rafael Gomez & Konstantinos Tzioumis, 2006. "What Do Unions Do to Executive Compensation?," CEP Discussion Papers dp0720, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    3. Henry S Farber & Daniel Herbst & Ilyana Kuziemko & Suresh Naidu, 2021. "Unions and Inequality over the Twentieth Century: New Evidence from Survey Data," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 136(3), pages 1325-1385.
    4. Boodoo, Muhammad Umar, 2018. "Do heavily-unionized companies compensate their CEOs less in periods of financial distress? Evidence from Canadian companies during the financial crisis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 69601, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Muhammad Umar Boodoo, 2016. "Do heavily-unionized companies compensate their CEOs less in periods of financial distress? Evidence from Canadian companies during the financial crisis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 67557, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. D. Acemoglu & J. Robinson, 2013. "Economics versus politics: pitfalls of policy advice," Voprosy Ekonomiki, NP Voprosy Ekonomiki, issue 12.
    7. Juan E. Jacobo, 2022. "Back to the Surplus: An Unorthodox Neoclassical Model of Growth, Distribution and Unemployment with Technical Change," Papers 2211.14978, arXiv.org.
    8. Kilman, Josefin, 2020. "Monetary Policy and Income Inequality in the United States: The Role of Labor Unions," Working Papers 2020:10, Lund University, Department of Economics, revised 20 Sep 2022.
    9. Lisa Dorigatti & Roberto Pedersini, 2021. "Industrial relations and inequality: the many conditions of a crucial relationship," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 27(1), pages 11-27, February.
    10. Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson, 2013. "Ekonomia kontra polityka: niebezpieczne rady w kwestiach polityki ekonomicznej," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 11-12, pages 113-136.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ceos; Executives; Managers; Unions; Wage structure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

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