IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jpamgt/v35y2016i1p173-194.html

What Do Right‐to‐Work Laws Do? Evidence from a Synthetic Control Method Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Ozkan Eren
  • Serkan Ozbeklik

Abstract

Using the case study of Oklahoma and a recently developed econometric technique, we examine the impact of right‐to‐work (RTW) laws on state‐level labor market outcomes. Our results show that the passage of RTW laws in Oklahoma decreased private sector unionization rates. Several other state outcomes including total employment rate and private sector average wages, on the other hand, were not affected by RTW laws. The findings for the private sector generally carry over to the manufacturing sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Ozkan Eren & Serkan Ozbeklik, 2016. "What Do Right‐to‐Work Laws Do? Evidence from a Synthetic Control Method Analysis," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(1), pages 173-194, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:35:y:2016:i:1:p:173-194
    DOI: 10.1002/pam.21861
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/pam.21861
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/pam.21861?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. Steven E. Abraham & Paula B. Voos, 2000. "Right-to-Work Laws: New Evidence from the Stock Market," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 67(2), pages 345-362, July.
    2. Barry T. Hirsch, 1980. "The Determinants of Unionization: An Analysis of Interarea Differences," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 33(2), pages 147-161, January.
    3. Barry T. Hirsch & David A. MacPherson, 2003. "Union Membership and Coverage Database from the Current Population Survey: Note," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(2), pages 349-354, January.
    4. Warren, Ronald S, Jr & Strauss, Robert P, 1979. "A Mixed Logit Model of the Relationship between Unionization and Right-to-Work Legislation: Comment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(3), pages 648-655, June.
    5. Alberto Abadie & Javier Gardeazabal, 2003. "The Economic Costs of Conflict: A Case Study of the Basque Country," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 113-132, March.
    6. Thomas J. Holmes, 1998. "The Effect of State Policies on the Location of Manufacturing: Evidence from State Borders," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(4), pages 667-705, August.
    7. Abadie, Alberto & Diamond, Alexis & Hainmueller, Jens, 2010. "Synthetic Control Methods for Comparative Case Studies: Estimating the Effect of California’s Tobacco Control Program," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 105(490), pages 493-505.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kyung-nok Chun, 2023. "What do Right-to-Work Laws do to Unions? Evidence from Six Recently-Enacted RTW Laws," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 94-144, June.
    2. Roy Cerqueti & Raffaella Coppier & Alessandro Girardi & Marco Ventura, 2022. "The sooner the better: lives saved by the lockdown during the COVID-19 outbreak. The case of Italy," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 25(1), pages 46-70.
    3. Nicholas A. Ashford & Ralph P. Hall & Johan Arango-Quiroga & Kyriakos A. Metaxas & Amy L. Showalter, 2020. "Addressing Inequality: The First Step Beyond COVID-19 and Towards Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-43, July.
    4. Rania Gihleb & Osea Giuntella & Jian Qi Tan, 2024. "The impact of right‐to‐work laws on long hours and work schedules," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(3), pages 696-713, June.
    5. Ling Wang & Zhiying Chen & Zheheng Huang, 2022. "Research on the Effects and Mechanism of Carbon Emission Trading on the Development of Green Economy in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-21, September.
    6. Lyon, Melissa Arnold, 2021. "Heroes, villains, or something in between? How “Right to Work” policies affect teachers, students, and education policymaking," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    7. Pier Basaglia & Sophie M. Behr & Moritz A. Drupp & Piero Basaglia, 2023. "De-Fueling Externalities: Causal Effects of Fuel Taxation and Mediating Mechanisms for Reducing Climate and Pollution Costs," CESifo Working Paper Series 10508, CESifo.
    8. Rickman, Dan S. & Wang, Hongbo, 2018. "Two tales of two U.S. states: Regional fiscal austerity and economic performance," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 46-55.
    9. Bruno Ferman & Cristine Pinto & Vitor Possebom, 2020. "Cherry Picking with Synthetic Controls," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(2), pages 510-532, March.
    10. Brett Parker, 2021. "Death Penalty Statutes and Murder Rates: Evidence From Synthetic Controls," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(3), pages 488-533, September.
    11. Giulio Grossi & Marco Mariani & Alessandra Mattei & Patrizia Lattarulo & Ozge Oner, 2020. "Direct and spillover effects of a new tramway line on the commercial vitality of peripheral streets. A synthetic-control approach," Papers 2004.05027, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2023.
    12. Kaul, Ashok & Klößner, Stefan & Pfeifer, Gregor & Schieler, Manuel, 2015. "Synthetic Control Methods: Never Use All Pre-Intervention Outcomes Together With Covariates," MPRA Paper 83790, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Haris Krijestorac & Rajiv Garg & Vijay Mahajan, 2020. "Cross-Platform Spillover Effects in Consumption of Viral Content: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis Using Synthetic Controls," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 31(2), pages 449-472, June.
    14. repec:ran:wpaper:wr-1142 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Dillan Bono‐Lunn, 2024. "The impacts of U.S. right‐to‐work laws on free riding, unionization, and compensation," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 90(3), pages 769-791, January.
    16. Roland Zullo, 2021. "Does the open shop harm union collective action?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 183-197, March.
    17. Cáceres Bustamante, Javiera & López Giral, Dorotea & Muñoz Navia, Felipe, 2022. "The Chile-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement: a synthetic control assessment," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), December.
    18. Edward J. Timmons & Robert J. Thornton, 2019. "There and Back Again: The De‐Licensing and Re‐Licensing of Barbers in Alabama," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 57(4), pages 764-790, December.
    19. Pier Basaglia & Sophie M. Behr & Moritz A. Drupp, 2023. "De-Fueling Externalities: How Tax Salience and Fuel Substitution Mediate Climate and Health Benefits," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2041, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    20. Campos Vázquez, Raymundo Miguel & Rodas Milián, James Alexis, 2020. "El efecto faro del salario mínimo en la estructura salarial: evidencias para México," El Trimestre Económico, Fondo de Cultura Económica, vol. 87(345), pages 51-97, enero-mar.
    21. Ozkan Eren & Masayuki Onda & Bulent Unel, 2016. "Effects of FDI on Entrepreneurial Activity: Evidence from Right-to-Work and Non-Right-to-Work States," Departmental Working Papers 2016-04, Department of Economics, Louisiana State University.
    22. Bibek Adhikari, 2022. "A Guide to Using the Synthetic Control Method to Quantify the Effects of Shocks, Policies, and Shocking Policies," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 67(1), pages 46-63, March.

    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. Ozkan Eren & I. Serkan Ozbeklik, 2011. "Right-to-Work Laws and State-Level Economic Outcomes: Evidence from the Case Studies of Idaho and Oklahoma Using Synthetic Control Method," Working Papers 1101 Classification-JEL J, University of Nevada, Las Vegas , Department of Economics.
    2. Christopher K. Coombs & Richard Cebula, 2011. "The Impact of Union Corruption on Union Membership," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 131-148, January.
    3. Daniel A. Broxterman & William D. Larson, 2020. "An empirical examination of shift‐share instruments," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 677-711, September.
    4. Jacob Bundrick & Weici Yuan, 2019. "Do Targeted Business Subsidies Improve Income and Reduce Poverty? A Synthetic Control Approach," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 33(4), pages 351-375, November.
    5. Guihua Wang, 2022. "Stay at home to stay safe: Effectiveness of stay‐at‐home orders in containing the COVID‐19 pandemic," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(5), pages 2289-2305, May.
    6. Eric James Stokan, 2019. "An Estimate of the Local Economic Impact of State-Level Earned Income Tax Credits," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 33(3), pages 170-186, August.
    7. Israt Jahan & Amir Tayebi, 2025. "The role of firm age in the impact of right-to-work laws on job creation," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 45(3), pages 1467-1474.
    8. Agarwal, Sumit & Ambrose, Brent W. & Diop, Moussa, 2022. "Minimum wage increases and eviction risk," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    9. Masahiro Kato & Akari Ohda, 2023. "Asymptotically Unbiased Synthetic Control Methods by Moment Matching," Papers 2307.11127, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2025.
    10. Oscar Espinosa & Jhonathan Rodríguez & Diego Ávila & Paul Rodríguez-Lesmes & Sergio Basto & Giancarlo Romano & Lorena Mesa & Hernán Enríquez, 2023. "The impact of updating health benefits plans on health technologies usage and expenditures: the case of Colombia," Documentos de Trabajo 20821, Universidad del Rosario.
    11. Qiuyue Xia & Lu Li & Jie Dong & Bin Zhang, 2021. "Reduction Effect and Mechanism Analysis of Carbon Trading Policy on Carbon Emissions from Land Use," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-22, August.
    12. Grodecka-Messi, Anna & Zhang, Xin, 2023. "Private bank money vs central bank money: A historical lesson for CBDC introduction," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    13. Drautzburg, Thorsten & Fernández-Villaverde, Jesús & Guerrón-Quintana, Pablo, 2021. "Bargaining shocks and aggregate fluctuations," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    14. Dalmazzo, Alberto & de Blasio, Guido & Poy, Samuele, 2018. "Local secessions, homophily, and growth. A model with some evidence from the regions of Abruzzo and Molise (Italy, 1963)," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 284-306.
    15. Orhan Erdem & Sukran Erdem & Kelly Monson, 2023. "Children, vaccines, and financial incentives," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 537-552, December.
    16. Charotti, Carlos J. & Palma, Nuno & Pereira dos Santos, João, 2025. "American treasure and the decline of Spain," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    17. Victoria Baudisch & Matthias Neuenkirch, 2023. "Costly, but (Relatively) Ineffective? An Assessment of Germany’s Temporary VAT Rate Reduction During the Covid-19 Pandemic," Research Papers in Economics 2023-04, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    18. Becker, Sascha O. & Heblich, Stephan & Sturm, Daniel M., 2021. "The impact of public employment: Evidence from Bonn," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    19. Jarrett, Uchechukwu & Mohaddes, Kamiar & Mohtadi, Hamid, 2019. "Oil price volatility, financial institutions and economic growth," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 131-144.
    20. Sarah Bohn & Magnus Lofstrom & Steven Raphael, 2014. "Did the 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act Reduce the State's Unauthorized Immigrant Population?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(2), pages 258-269, May.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:jpamgt:v:35:y:2016:i:1:p:173-194. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/34787/home .

    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.