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Who do Unions Target? Unionization over the Life-Cycle of U.S. Businesses

Author

Listed:
  • Jeremy Greenwood

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Henry Hyatt

    (US Census Bureau)

  • Emin Dinlersoz

    (U.S. Census Bureau)

Abstract

What type of businesses do unions target for organizing and when? A dynamic model of the union organizing process is constructed to answer this question. A union monitors establishments in an industry to learn about their productivity, and decides which ones to organize and when. The predictions of the model find support in union certification elections data for 1977-2007 matched with data on establishment characteristics. Two selection effects emerge: unions target larger and more productive establishments early in their life-cycles, and, conditional on targeting, unions are more likely to win elections in smaller and less productive establishments.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeremy Greenwood & Henry Hyatt & Emin Dinlersoz, 2014. "Who do Unions Target? Unionization over the Life-Cycle of U.S. Businesses," 2014 Meeting Papers 62, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:sed014:62
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Henry Hyatt & Erika McEntarfer & John Haltiwanger, 2014. "Cyclical Reallocation of Workers Across Large and Small Employers," 2014 Meeting Papers 735, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    2. Jeremy Greenwood & David Weiss, 2018. "Mining Surplus: Modeling James A. Schmitz'S Link Between Competition And Productivity," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 59(3), pages 1015-1034, August.
    3. Simeon Alder & David Lagakos & Lee Ohanian, 2014. "Competitive Pressure and the Decline of the Rust Belt: A Macroeconomic Analysis," NBER Working Papers 20538, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Lingens, Jörg & De Pinto, Marco & Bauer, Christian, 2016. "The Impact of Organization Costs when Firm-selection Matters," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145620, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J5 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining
    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L6 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory

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