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Between Government and Market: The Political Economics of Labor Unions

Author

Listed:
  • Ethan Kaplan

    (Department of Economics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA)

  • Suresh Naidu

    (School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA)

Abstract

We survey and summarize recent literature on labor unions in political economy. While labor unions have been a long-standing subject of study in labor and macroeconomics, until recently they have been less studied by political economists, despite being important political actors in many policy-relevant contexts. We first organize the literature on the external influence of unions on the political system, including effects on voting, campaign finance, lobbying, and intraparty bargaining. We then discuss work on the internal politics and organization of unions, including issues of selection, representation, and union aggregation of preferences. We pay special attention to the economic and political effects of public sector unions. We also discuss union behavior in weakly institutionalized contexts, where crime, corruption, rent-seeking, political strikes, and violence are all issues. We conclude with directions for future work.

Suggested Citation

  • Ethan Kaplan & Suresh Naidu, 2025. "Between Government and Market: The Political Economics of Labor Unions," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 17(1), pages 367-396, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:anr:reveco:v:17:y:2025:p:367-396
    DOI: 10.1146/annurev-economics-051520-025251
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • J5 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining
    • J58 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Public Policy

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