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The Surprising Retreat of Union Britain

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John Pencavel

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Abstract

After expanding in the 1970s, unionism in Britain contracted substantially over the next two decades. This paper argues that the statutory reforms in the 1980s and 1990s were of less consequence in accounting for the decline of unionism than the withdrawal of the state's indirect support for collective bargaining. The principal goal of the reforms was to boost productivity so the paper examines the link between unions and productivity finding only a small association by the end of the 1990s. Private sector unionism has become highly decentralized which renders it vulnerable to the vagaries of market forces.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 9564.

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Date of creation: Mar 2003
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9564

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J5 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Andrews, Martyn J & Bell, David N F & Upward, Richard, 1998. "Union Coverage Differentials. Some Estimates for Britain Using the New Earnings Survey Panel Dataset," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 60(1), pages 47-77, February.
  2. Stewart, Mark B, 1995. "Union Wage Differentials in an Era of Declining Unionization," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 57(2), pages 143-66, May.
  3. Haskel, Jonathan, 1991. "Imperfect Competition, Work Practices and Productivity Growth," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 53(3), pages 265-79, August.
  4. Andrews, Martyn J. & Stewart, Mark B. & Swaffield, Joanna K. & Upward, Richard, 1998. "The estimation of union wage differentials and the impact of methodological choices," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 449-474, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Stewart, Mark B, 1987. "Collective Bargaining Arrangements, Closed Shops and Relative Pay," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 97(385), pages 140-56, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Richard Freeman & Jeffrey Pelletier, 1991. "The Impact of Industrial Relations Legislation on British Union Density," NBER Working Papers 3167, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Parker, David & Martin, Stephen, 1995. "The Impact of UK Privatisation on Labour and Total Factor Productivity," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 42(2), pages 201-20, May.
  8. Metcalf, David, 1991. "British Unions: Dissolution or Resurgence?," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(1), pages 18-32, Spring.
  9. David Metcalf, 1999. "The British National Minimum Wage," CEP Discussion Papers dp0419, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  10. Metcalf, David & Stewart, Mark, 1992. "Closed Shops and Relative Pay: Institutional Arrangements or High Density?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 54(4), pages 503-16, November.
  11. Stewart, Mark B, 1991. "Union Wage Differentials in the Face of Changes in the Economic and Legal Environment," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 58(230), pages 155-72, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Disney, Richard & Gosling, Amanda & Machin, Stephen, 1996. "What Has Happened to Union Recognition in Britain?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 63(249), pages 1-18, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Machin, Stephen & Stewart, Mark, 1996. "Trade Unions and Financial Performance," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 48(2), pages 213-41, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Stewart, Mark B, 1990. "Union Wage Differentials, Product Market Influences and the Division of Rents," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 100(403), pages 1122-37, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Stephen Machin & Stephen Wood, 2004. "Looking for HRM/Union Substitution: Evidence from British Workplaces," CEP Discussion Papers dp0605, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  2. Dobbelaere, Sabien, 2005. "Joint Estimation of Price-Cost Margins and Union Bargaining Power for Belgian Manufacturing," IZA Discussion Papers 1466, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Blanchflower, David G. & Bryson, Alex, 2008. "Union Decline in Britain," IZA Discussion Papers 3436, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Hervé Boulhol & Sabien Dobbelaere & Sara Maioli, 2009. "Imports as Product and Labour Market Discipline," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 09-002/3, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. David Card & Thomas Lemieux & W. Craig Riddell, 2003. "Unionization and Wage Inequality: A Comparative Study of the U.S, the U.K., and Canada," NBER Working Papers 9473, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. A Charlwood, 2003. "The Anatomy of Union Decline in Britain: 1990-1998," CEP Discussion Papers dp0601, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  7. Alex Bryson & P Willman, 2007. "Union Organization in Great Britain," CEP Discussion Papers dp0774, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  8. Helge Sanner, 2003. "Imperfect Goods and Labor Markets, and the Union Wage Gap," Volkswirtschaftliche Diskussionsbeiträge 55, Universität Potsdam, Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. David Card & Richard B. Freeman, 2002. "What Have Two Decades of British Economic Reform Delivered?," NBER Working Papers 8801, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. John Godard, 2003. "Labour Unions, Workplace Rights and Canadian Public Policy," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 29(4), pages 449-467, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. David G. Blanchflower, 2006. "A Cross-Country Study of Union Membership," IZA Discussion Papers 2016, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  12. A Charlwood, 2005. "The De-Collectivisation of Pay Setting in Britain 1990-1998: Incidence, Determinants and Impact," CEP Discussion Papers dp0705, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  13. Helge Sanner, 2003. "Imperfect Goods and Labor Markets, Regulation, and Spillover Effects," Volkswirtschaftliche Diskussionsbeiträge 56, Universität Potsdam, Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät. [Downloadable!]
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