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The Wage Impact of Trade Unions In the UK Public and Private Sectors

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Author Info
David G. Blanchflower () (Dartmouth College, University of Stirling, Bank of England, NBER, CESifo and IZA)
Alex Bryson () (Policy Studies Institute and Centre for Economic Performance)

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Abstract

This paper draws attention to an increase in the size of the union membership wage premium in the UK public sector relative to the private sector. We find the public sector membership wage premium is approximately double that in the private sector controlling for a full range of individual, job and workplace characteristics. Using data from the Labour Force Surveys of 1993-2006 the gap between the membership premium in the public and private sectors closes with the addition of three digit occupational controls, although significant wage premia remain in both sectors. However, using data from the Workplace Employment Relations Survey of 2004, the public sector union membership wage premium remains roughly twice the size of the private sector membership premium having accounted for workplace fixed effects, workers’ occupations, their job characteristics, qualifications and worker demographics. Furthermore, the membership wage premium among workers covered by collective bargaining is only apparent in the public sector.

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File URL: ftp://repec.iza.org/RePEc/Discussionpaper/dp3055.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 3055.

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Length: 26 pages
Date of creation: Sep 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3055

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Related research
Keywords: trade unions; wage differentials; public and private sectors;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

Cited by:
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  1. David G. Blanchflower, 2006. "A Cross-Country Study of Union Membership," IZA Discussion Papers 2016, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  2. Blanchflower, David G. & Lawton, Helen, 2008. "The Impact of the Recent Expansion of the EU on the UK Labour Market," IZA Discussion Papers 3695, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Georgios Marios Chrysanthou, 2008. "Determinants of trade union membership in Great Britain during 1991-2003," Economics Working Papers we082315, Universidad Carlos III, Departamento de Economía. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. David Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2008. "Union Decline in Britain," CEP Discussion Papers dp0864, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Manquilef-Bächler, Alejandra A. & Arulampalam, Wiji & Smith, Jennifer C., 2009. "Differences in Decline: Quantile Regression Analysis of Union Wage Differentials in the United Kingdom, 1991-2003," IZA Discussion Papers 4138, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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