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Union Organization in Advanced Industrial Democracies

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  • Wallerstein, Michael

Abstract

I suggest a new explanation of cross-national differences in unionization rates: the size of the labor force. Size matters because the gains unions are able to achieve in collective bargaining depend on the proportion of substitutable workers who are organized, while the costs of organizing depend in part on the absolute number to be recruited. The comparison of the costs and benefits of organizing new workers yields the conclusion that unions in larger labor markets will accept lower levels of unionization. Statistical analysis of cross-national differences in unionization rates among advanced industrial societies in the late 1970s indicates that the size of the labor force and the cumulative participation of leftist parties in government explain most of the variance.

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  • Wallerstein, Michael, 1989. "Union Organization in Advanced Industrial Democracies," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 83(2), pages 481-501, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:83:y:1989:i:02:p:481-501_08
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    Cited by:

    1. Bob Hancké, 1993. "Trade Union Membership in Europe, 1960–1990: Rediscovering Local Unions," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 31(4), pages 593-613, December.
    2. Jonas Pontusson, 2013. "Unionization, Inequality and Redistribution," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(4), pages 797-825, December.
    3. Stephen Knack & Philip Keefer, 1997. "Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1251-1288.
    4. Kim, Jaewon, 2006. "The Determinants of Labor Market Institutions: A Panel Data Study," Research Papers in Economics 2006:10, Stockholm University, Department of Economics, revised 06 Dec 2006.
    5. Belot, M.V.K., 2001. "Why is the Employment Protection Stricter in Europe than in the US?," Other publications TiSEM 1b89c06b-a254-4d69-8d7f-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. Agell, J., 2000. "On the Determinants of Labour Market Institutions: Rent-sharing vs. Social Insurance," Papers 2000:16, Uppsala - Working Paper Series.
    7. Jonas Agell, 2002. "On the Determinants of Labour Market Institutions: Rent Seeking vs. Social Insurance," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 3(2), pages 107-135, May.
    8. Daniele Checchi & Jelle Visser, 2002. "Pattern persistence in european trade union density," Departmental Working Papers 2002-01, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    9. Lewkowicz Jacek & Lewczuk Anna, 2017. "An Institutional Approach to Trade Union Density. The Case of Legal Origins and Political Ideology," Central European Economic Journal, Sciendo, vol. 2(49), pages 35-49, December.
    10. Hyman, Richard, 2001. "Trade union research and cross-national comparison," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 757, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. 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.
    12. Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2003. "Trade union membership in Eastern and Western Germany: convergence or divergence?," Discussion Papers 18, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    13. Michael Kremer & Benjamin A. Olken, 2009. "A Biological Model of Unions," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(2), pages 150-175, April.
    14. Knack, Stephen, 2001. "Trust, assocational life, and economic performance," MPRA Paper 27247, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Joel Rogers, 1995. "United States: Lessons from Abroad and Home," NBER Chapters, in: Works Councils: Consultation, Representation, and Cooperation in Industrial Relations, pages 375-410, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. repec:aia:aiaswp:wp4 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Marianna Belloc, 2009. "International Specialization and Labor Unions: Evidence from OECD Countries," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(1), pages 34-50, February.
    18. Henning Finseraas & Marianne Røed & Pål Schøne, 2020. "Labour immigration and union strength," European Union Politics, , vol. 21(1), pages 3-23, March.
    19. Schnabel, Claus, 2002. "Determinants of trade union membership," Discussion Papers 15, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    20. Jeremy Waddington & Reiner Hoffmann & Jens Lind, 1997. "European trade unionism in transition? a review of the issues," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 3(3), pages 464-497, November.
    21. Gibrán Cruz-Martínez, 2021. "Mapping Welfare State Development in (post) Neoliberal Latin America," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 175-201, August.
    22. Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2003. "Determinants of Trade Union Membership in Western Germany: Evidence from Micro Data, 1980-2000," IZA Discussion Papers 708, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    23. Robert Grafstein, 2000. "Employment, Party Economic Performance, and the Formation of Partisan Preferences," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 12(3), pages 325-351, July.
    24. Cruz-Martinez, Gibran, 2017. "Is there a Common Path that could have Conditioned the Degree of Welfare State Development in Latin America and the Caribbean?," SocArXiv 2y3mb, Center for Open Science.

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