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Union wage effects

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  • Alex Bryson

    (National Institute of Economic and Social Research, UK)

Abstract

Despite declining bargaining power, unions continue to generate a wage premium. Some feel collective bargaining has had its day. Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic have recently called for the removal of bargaining rights from workers in the name of wage and employment flexibility, yet unions often work in tandem with employers for mutual gain based on productivity growth. If this is where the premium originates, then firms and workers benefit. Without unions bargaining successfully to raise worker wages, income inequality would almost certainly be higher than it is.

Suggested Citation

  • Alex Bryson, 2014. "Union wage effects," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-35, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2014:n:35
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Moretti, Luca & Mayerl, Martin & Mühlemann, Samuel & Schlögl, Peter & Wolter, Stefan C., 2017. "So Similar and Yet So Different: A Comparative Analysis of a Firm's Cost and Benefits of Apprenticeship Training in Austria and Switzerland," IZA Discussion Papers 11081, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Braakmann, Nils & Hirsch, Boris, 2023. "Unions as Insurance: Employer–Worker Risk Sharing and Workers' Outcomes during COVID-19," IZA Discussion Papers 15893, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Alex Bryson & Harald Dale-Olsen & Kristine Nergaard, 2016. "Gender Differences in the Union Wage Premium? A Comparative Case Study," DoQSS Working Papers 16-15, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    4. Ahmad, Muhammad Farooq & Kowalewski, Oskar, 2021. "Collective bargaining power and corporate cash policy," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    5. Andrea Garnero & François Rycx & Isabelle Terraz, 2020. "Productivity and Wage Effects of Firm‐Level Collective Agreements: Evidence from Belgian Linked Panel Data," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(4), pages 936-972, December.
    6. Boris Hirsch & Steffen Mueller, 2020. "Firm Wage Premia, Industrial Relations, and Rent Sharing in Germany," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(5), pages 1119-1146, October.
    7. Adam Levai & Riccardo Turati, 2021. "The Impact of Immigration on Workers’ Protection," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2021021, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES), revised 07 Sep 2021.
    8. Andrew T. Young & Hernando Zuleta, 2016. "Golden Rules of Wages," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 83(1), pages 253-270, July.
    9. Marina Bonaccolto-Töpfer & Claus Schnabel, 2023. "Is There a Union Wage Premium in Germany and Which Workers Benefit Most?," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-14, February.
    10. Yong-Woo Lee, 2022. "Trade Unions and Workers’ Life Satisfaction in South Korea," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(1), pages 277-298, February.
    11. Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Guillaume Vermeylen & Mélanie Volral, 2018. "Productivity, wages and profits: Does firms’ position in the value chain matter?," Working Paper Research 358, National Bank of Belgium.
    12. Michail Veliziotis & Guy Vernon, 2023. "From monopoly to voice effects? British workplace unionism and productivity performance into the new millennium," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 574-594, September.
    13. Maarten Keune, 2021. "Inequality between capital and labour and among wage-earners: the role of collective bargaining and trade unions," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 27(1), pages 29-46, February.
    14. Emmanuel Petrakis & Panagiotis Skartados, 2018. "Strategic Profit–Sharing in a Unionized Differentiated Goods Duopoly," Working Papers 1801, University of Crete, Department of Economics.
    15. Marta Kahancová & Monika Martišková, 2023. "Strengthening legislation, weakening collective bargaining? Two faces of trade union strategies in Czechia and Slovakia," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 29(1), pages 63-81, March.
    16. Luca Moretti & Martin Mayerl & Samuel Muehlemann & Peter Schloegl & Stefan C. Wolter, 2017. "So similar and yet so different: A comparative analysis of a firm's net costs and post-apprenticeship training benefits in Austria and Switzerland," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0137, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW), revised Apr 2018.
    17. Mirella Damiani & Fabrizio Pompei & Andrea Ricci, 2020. "Opting Out, Collective Contracts and Labour Flexibility: Firm‐Level Evidence for The Italian Case," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(3), pages 558-586, September.
    18. Hany H. Makhlouf, Ph. D., 2016. "The Labor Movements in the United States and the United Kingdom," Review of Social Sciences, LAR Center Press, vol. 1(4), pages 21-26, April.
    19. Emmanuel Petrakis & Panagiotis Skartados, 2021. "Strategic profit‐sharing in a unionized differentiated goods oligopoly," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(2), pages 582-622, May.
    20. Anderson, D. Mark & Brown, Ryan & Charles, Kerwin Kofi & Rees, Daniel I., 2016. "The Effect of Occupational Licensing on Consumer Welfare: Early Midwifery Laws and Maternal Mortality," IZA Discussion Papers 10074, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Ivlevs, Artjoms & Veliziotis, Michail, 2015. "What Do Unions Do in Times of Economic Crisis? Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 9466, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Cyprien Batut & Ulysse Lojkine & Paolo Santini, 2024. "“Which side are you on?” A historical study of union membership composition in seven Western countries," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 205-287, April.
    23. Kölling, Arnd, 2023. "Does skill shortage pay off for nursing staff in Germany? Wage premiums for hiring problems, industrial relations, and profitability," MPRA Paper 116205, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    trade unions; wages; bargaining; labor market; firm performance; productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • 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
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management

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