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Compensation, Unionization, and Deregulation in the Motor Carrier Industry

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  • Kevin E. Henrickson
  • Wesley W. Wilson

Abstract

Previous research on the deregulation of the motor carrier industry has concluded that firms have become more efficient under deregulation and that costs have fallen, largely at the expense of labor. Most studies that examine the effects on labor use Current Population Survey data and find that wage premiums to union labor have fallen as a result of deregulation. This study uses firm data and finds that deregulation had a very small effect on the average compensation paid by surviving union firms. For nonunion firms, the impact of deregulation is much larger. These results suggest that the compensation premium for the labor of surviving union firms has increased, but this increase applies only to surviving union labor. In the paper, we also point to and note a major exodus of union firms with the result that union labor levels have fallen, and fallen dramatically. (c) 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

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  • Kevin E. Henrickson & Wesley W. Wilson, 2008. "Compensation, Unionization, and Deregulation in the Motor Carrier Industry," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(1), pages 153-177, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlawec:v:51:y:2008:i:1:p:153-177
    DOI: 10.1086/520006
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    Cited by:

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    2. Burks, Stephen V. & Guy, Frederick, 2012. "What Are Over-the-Road Truckers Paid For? Evidence from an Exogenous Regulatory Change on the Role of Social Comparisons and Work Organization in Wage Determination," IZA Discussion Papers 6375, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Trick, Steven & Peoples, James, 2012. "Union compensation following intrastate deregulation: Evidence from the US trucking industry," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 10-18.

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