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Union membership and the erosion of the Ghent system: Lessons from Finland

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Author Info
Petri Böckerman (Labour Institute for Economic Research)
Roope Uusitalo (Labour Institute for Economic Research)

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Abstract

Union density declined in Finland by more than 10 percentage points in less than ten years. This paper analyses the reasons behind the decline, using micro data from the 1990s. According to our results, the changes in the composition of the labour force and the changes in the labour market explain about a quarter of this decline. The main reason for the decline appears to be the erosion of the Ghent system, due to the emergence of an independent UI fund that provides unemployment insurance without requiring union membership. Interestingly, we find evidence that the decline in the union density can be attributed to declining inclination of the cohorts born after the early 1960s to become union members.

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Paper provided by EconWPA in its series Labor and Demography with number 0508008.

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Length: 32 pages
Date of creation: 11 Aug 2005
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Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpla:0508008

Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 32
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Web page: http://129.3.20.41

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Related research
Keywords: Ghent system; union membership; trade unions;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J - Labor and Demographic Economics

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. Daniele Checchi & Claudio Lucifora, 2002. "Unions and labour market institutions in Europe," Economic Policy, CEPR, CES, MSH, vol. 17(35), pages 361-408, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Alex Bryson & Rafael Gomez, 2005. "Why Have Workers Stopped Joining Unions? The Rise in Never-Membership in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, Blackwell Publishers Ltd/London School of Economics, vol. 43(1), pages 67-92, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Nickell, Stephen & Layard, Richard, 1999. "Labor market institutions and economic performance," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 46, pages 3029-3084 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Hakola, Tuulia & Uusitalo, Roope, 2005. "Not so voluntary retirement decisions? Evidence from a pension reform," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(11-12), pages 2121-2136, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Jaakko Pehkonen & Hannu Tanninen, 1997. "Institutions, Incentives and Trade Union Membership," LABOUR, CEIS, Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini and Blackwell Publishing Ltd, vol. 11(3), pages 579-598, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. David G. Blanchflower & Richard B. Freeman, 1993. "Did the Thatcher Reforms Change British Labour Performance?," NBER Working Papers 4384, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Holmlund, Bertil & Lundborg, Per, 1999. "Wage bargaining, union membership, and the organization of unemployment insurance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 397-415, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(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. Kari O. E. Alho, 2006. "Labour Market Institutions and the Effectiveness of Tax and Benefit Policies in Enchancing Employment: A General Equilibrium Analysis," Discussion Papers 1008, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy. [Downloadable!]
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