IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/eurjou/v28y2022i2p147-174.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rationalizing the irrational: Making sense of (in)consistency among union members and non-members

Author

Listed:
  • Sinisa Hadziabdic
  • Lorenzo Frangi

Abstract

Focusing on 13 OECD countries over 25 years, we examine the factors that explain why a sizable fraction of wage-earners exhibit an inconsistency between their union membership status and their confidence in unions by being either confident non-members or non-confident members. While structural factors associated with joining constraints generate inconsistency in specific labour market categories, wage-earners who have extreme ideological orientations and are highly interested in politics are much less likely to exhibit inconsistency across time and countries. For individuals who have intermediate ideological orientations and are not very interested in politics, differences in terms of non-member and member inconsistency between countries are explainable through contextual variables such as economic conditions, the level of employment protection, and historical legacies. Implications for union membership research and union strategies are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Sinisa Hadziabdic & Lorenzo Frangi, 2022. "Rationalizing the irrational: Making sense of (in)consistency among union members and non-members," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 28(2), pages 147-174, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:eurjou:v:28:y:2022:i:2:p:147-174
    DOI: 10.1177/09596801211056836
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09596801211056836
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/09596801211056836?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alex Bryson & Rafael Gomez, 2005. "Why Have Workers Stopped Joining Unions? The Rise in Never‐Membership in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 43(1), pages 67-92, March.
    2. Sinisa Hadziabdic & Lucio Baccaro, 2020. "A Switch or a Process? Disentangling the Effects of Union Membership on Political Attitudes in Switzerland and the UK," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 466-499, July.
    3. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    4. Jack Fiorito & Gregor Gall & Arthur Martinez, 2010. "Activism and Willingness to Help in Union Organizing: Who Are the Activists?," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 263-284, September.
    5. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    6. Baccaro,Lucio & Howell,Chris, 2017. "Trajectories of Neoliberal Transformation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107603691, September.
    7. Baccaro,Lucio & Howell,Chris, 2017. "Trajectories of Neoliberal Transformation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107018723, September.
    8. Lorenzo Frangi & Sebastian Koos & Sinisa Hadziabdic, 2017. "In Unions We Trust! Analysing Confidence in Unions across Europe," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 831-858, December.
    9. Rafael Gomez & Morley Gunderson & Noah Meltz, 2002. "Comparing Youth and Adult Desire for Unionization in Canada," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 40(3), pages 542-519, September.
    10. Assar Lindbeck & Dennis J. Snower, 1989. "The Insider-Outsider Theory of Employment and Unemployment," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026262074x, April.
    11. Bruno Palier & Kathleen Thelen, 2010. "Institutionalizing Dualism: Complementarities and Change in France and Germany," Politics & Society, , vol. 38(1), pages 119-148, March.
    12. Servaas Storm, 2017. "The New Normal: Demand, Secular Stagnation, and the Vanishing Middle Class," International Journal of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(4), pages 169-210, October.
    13. Adrienne E. Eaton & Sean E. Rogers & Tracy F. H. Chang & Paula B. Voos, 2014. "Choosing union representation: the role of attitudes and emotions," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 169-188, March.
    14. Servaas Storm, 2017. "The New Normal: Demand, Secular Stagnation and the Vanishing Middle Class," Working Papers Series 55, Institute for New Economic Thinking.
    15. Gregor Gall & Jack Fiorito, 2012. "Union Commitment and Activism in Britain and the United States: Searching for Synthesis and Synergy for Renewal," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(2), pages 189-213, June.
    16. Nicola‐Maria Riley, 1997. "Determinants of Union Membership: A Review," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 11(2), pages 265-301, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Josef Ringqvist, 2022. "Union membership and the willingness to prioritize environmental protection above growth and jobs: A multi‐level analysis covering 22 European countries," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(3), pages 662-682, September.
    2. Josef Ringqvist, 2021. "How do union membership, union density and institutionalization affect perceptions of conflict between management and workers?," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(2), pages 131-148, June.
    3. Rebecca J Oliver & Andrew L Morelock, 2021. "Insider and outsider support for unions across advanced industrial democracies: Paradoxes of solidarity," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(2), pages 167-183, June.
    4. Baccaro, Lucio & D'Antoni, Massimo, 2020. "Has the "external constraint" contributed to Italy's stagnation? A critical event analysis," MPIfG Discussion Paper 20/9, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    5. Leone Leonida & Marianna Marra & Sergio Scicchitano & Antonio Giangreco & Marco Biagetti, 2020. "Estimating the Wage Premium to Supervision for Middle Managers in Different Contexts: Evidence from Germany and the UK," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(6), pages 1004-1026, December.
    6. Hadziabdic, Sinisa, 2023. "Turning no tides: Union effects on partisan preferences and the working-class metamorphosis," MPIfG Discussion Paper 23/2, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    7. Benassi, Chiara & Dorigatti, Lisa & Pannini, Elisa, 2018. "Explaining divergent bargaining outcomes for agency workers: the role of labour divides and labour market reforms," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 89371, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Arthur Corazza, 2020. "Power, interest and insecurity: A comparative analysis of workplace dualization and inclusion in Europe," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 153, European Institute, LSE.
    9. Lorenzo Frangi & Sebastian Koos & Sinisa Hadziabdic, 2017. "In Unions We Trust! Analysing Confidence in Unions across Europe," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 831-858, December.
    10. Guglielmo Meardi & Melanie Simms & Duncan Adam, 2021. "Trade unions and precariat in Europe: Representative claims," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(1), pages 41-58, March.
    11. Marius R Busemeyer & Martin B Carstensen & Patrick Emmenegger, 2022. "Orchestrators of coordination: Towards a new role of the state in coordinated capitalism?," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 28(2), pages 231-250, June.
    12. Christopher Gordon Smith & Tingting Zhang & Lorenzo Frangi & Linda Duxbury, 2023. "Would you like to become a union leader? Analysing leadership intentions through a generational lens," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(6), pages 425-444, November.
    13. Peppel-Srebrny, Jemima, 2021. "Not all government budget deficits are created equal: Evidence from advanced economies' sovereign bond markets," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    14. Shvartsman, Elena & Beckmann, Michael, 2015. "Stressed by your job: What is the role of personnel policy?," Working papers 2015/15, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    15. Zamparelli, Luca, 2022. "On Labor Productivity Growth and the Wage Share with Endogenous Size and Direction of Technical Change," MPRA Paper 112684, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Franzini, Maurizio & Raitano, Michele, 2019. "Earnings inequality and workers’ skills in Italy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 215-224.
    17. Meyer, Sophie-Charlotte, 2016. "Maternal employment and childhood overweight in Germany," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 84-102.
    18. Chang, Hung-Hao & Lee, Brian & Hsieh, Yi-Ting, 2021. "Participation in afforestation programs and the distribution of forest farm income," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    19. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Doherr, Thorsten & Hussinger, Katrin & Schliessler, Paula & Toole, Andrew A., 2016. "Knowledge Creates Markets: The influence of entrepreneurial support and patent rights on academic entrepreneurship," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 131-146.
    20. Bakx, Pieter & Wouterse, Bram & van Doorslaer, Eddy & Wong, Albert, 2020. "Better off at home? Effects of nursing home eligibility on costs, hospitalizations and survival," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:eurjou:v:28:y:2022:i:2:p:147-174. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.