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The Impact of Union Corruption on Union Membership

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  • Coombs, Christopher
  • Cebula, Richard

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between union corruption actions and union membership. State-level data from the Office of Labor-Management Standards, and other sources, are utilized over two study periods (1974-2000 and 2001- 2008) to test three hypotheses, including the union corruption hypothesis, as pos­sible explanations for the decline in union membership in the United States over time. Although our initial findings suggest a negative relationship exists between union corruption and membership, after removing the possibility of simultaneous equations bias, we find that changes in corruption do not influence changes in union membership in our sample.

Suggested Citation

  • Coombs, Christopher & Cebula, Richard, 2009. "The Impact of Union Corruption on Union Membership," MPRA Paper 51183, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:51183
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard J. Cebula, 2019. "Labor market freedom and geographic differentials in the percentage unemployment rate in the U.S," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 43(4), pages 828-840, October.
    2. Richard J. Cebula & Gigi M. Alexander, 2020. "Economic and Noneconomic Factors Influencing Geographic Differentials in Homelessness: An Exploratory State‐Level Analysis," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 79(2), pages 511-540, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    union membership. union corruption; decline in union membership;

    JEL classification:

    • J47 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Coercive Labor Markets
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • J58 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Public Policy
    • J59 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Other

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