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On the incentives to increase input efficiency under monopoly trade unions

Author

Listed:
  • Tapan Biswas

    (Centre for Economic Policy, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK)

  • Jolian McHardy

    (Department of Economics, University of Sheffield, 9 Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 4DT, UK)

Abstract

(Originally published in the Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization 2007, 62(4), 657-669) - We examine the effects of and the incentives for increasing input efficiency within a spatially segregated Cournot duopoly with monopoly trade unions whose utility functions depend on both wages and employment. We show that with neoclassical as well as Leontief technology, unions raise wages to appropriate fully the gains from labor-saving technological (or organisational) improvements, leaving the firm with no incentive to invest in increasing the efficiency of workers. However, capital-saving technological improvement may be profitable depending on the elasticity of substitution. Finally, we examine the implication of a fixed minimum wage (or competitive labor market) in one country. - © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Suggested Citation

  • Tapan Biswas & Jolian McHardy, 2012. "On the incentives to increase input efficiency under monopoly trade unions," Review of Economic Analysis, Digital Initiatives at the University of Waterloo Library, vol. 4(1), pages 39-51, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ren:journl:v:4:y:2012:i:1:p:39-51
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    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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