IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_9868.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Job Satisfaction and Trade Union Membership in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Laszlo Goerke
  • Yue Huang

Abstract

Using panel data from 1985 to 2019, we provide the first comprehensive investigation of the relationship between trade union membership and job satisfaction in Germany. Cross-sectional analyses reveal a negative correlation, while fixed effects estimates indicate an insignificant relationship. This is also true if we incorporate information on collective bargaining coverage or the existence of works councils in subsamples for which this data is available. To address the endogeneity of union membership, we generate information on the union density individuals faced in their industry and region. This time-variant IV suggests no causal impact of individual union membership on job satisfaction. Finally, using different estimation models, we investigate whether the effects vary by gender, age, birth year, and employment status.

Suggested Citation

  • Laszlo Goerke & Yue Huang, 2022. "Job Satisfaction and Trade Union Membership in Germany," CESifo Working Paper Series 9868, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9868
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp9868.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alex Bryson & Lorenzo Cappellari & Claudio Lucifora, 2004. "Does Union Membership Really Reduce Job Satisfaction?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(3), pages 439-459, September.
    2. Damian Clarke & Benjamín Matta, 2018. "Practical considerations for questionable IVs," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 18(3), pages 663-691, September.
    3. Keith A. Bender & Susan M. Donohue & John S. Heywood, 2005. "Job satisfaction and gender segregation," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 57(3), pages 479-496, July.
    4. Laszlo Goerke & Markus Pannenberg, 2024. "Wage determination in the shadow of the law: The case of works councilors in Germany," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 45(1), pages 83-115, February.
    5. Schmidt, Christoph M & Zimmermann, Klaus F, 1991. "Work Characteristics, Firm Size and Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(4), pages 705-710, November.
    6. Boris Hirsch & Philipp Lentge & Claus Schnabel, 2022. "Uncovered workers in plants covered by collective bargaining: Who are they and how do they fare?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(4), pages 929-945, December.
    7. K. Pouliakas & I. Theodossiou, 2009. "Confronting Objections To Performance Pay: The Impact Of Individual And Gain‐Sharing Incentives On Job Satisfaction," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 56(5), pages 662-684, November.
    8. Ekaterina Oparina & Sorawoot Srisuma, 2022. "Analyzing Subjective Well-Being Data with Misclassification," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 730-743, April.
    9. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2020. "Job satisfaction over the life course," DoQSS Working Papers 20-20, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    10. Martin Nybom, 2017. "The Distribution of Lifetime Earnings Returns to College," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(4), pages 903-952.
    11. Jirjahn Uwe & Tsertsvadze Georgi, 2006. "Betriebsräte und Arbeitszufriedenheit / Works Councils and Job Satisfaction," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 226(5), pages 537-561, October.
    12. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2002. "What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 402-435, June.
    13. Freeman, Richard B, 1978. "Job Satisfaction as an Economic Variable," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 68(2), pages 135-141, May.
    14. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2001. "The Changing Distribution of Job Satisfaction," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 36(1), pages 1-30.
    15. Miller, Paul W, 1990. "Trade Unions and Job Satisfaction," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(55), pages 226-248, December.
    16. Nattavudh Powdthavee, 2011. "Anticipation, Free-Rider Problems, and Adaptation to Trade Unions: Re-Examining the Curious Case of Dissatisfied Union Members," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 64(5), pages 1000-1019, October.
    17. Aaron J. Sojourner & Brigham R. Frandsen & Robert J. Town & David C. Grabowski & Min M. Chen, 2015. "Impacts of Unionization on Quality and Productivity," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 68(4), pages 771-806, August.
    18. Colin P. Green & John S. Heywood, 2015. "Dissatisfied Union Workers: Sorting Revisited," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 580-600, September.
    19. Adrian Chadi & Clemens Hetschko, 2021. "How Job Changes Affect People's Lives — Evidence from Subjective Well‐Being Data," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 279-306, June.
    20. Artz, Benjamin & Blanchflower, David G. & Bryson, Alex, 2022. "Unions increase job satisfaction in the United States," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 173-188.
    21. Laetitia Hauret & Donald R. Williams, 2017. "Cross-National Analysis of Gender Differences in Job Satisfaction," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 203-235, April.
    22. Vasilios D. Kosteas, 2011. "Job Satisfaction and Promotions," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 174-194, January.
    23. Pouliakas, Konstantinos & Theodossiou, Ioannis, 2009. "Confronting Objections to Performance Pay: A Study of the Impact of Individual and Gain-sharing Incentives on the Job Satisfaction of British Employees," MPRA Paper 14244, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    24. Brigham R. Frandsen, 2021. "The Surprising Impacts of Unionization: Evidence from Matched Employer-Employee Data," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(4), pages 861-894.
    25. Timothy N. Bond & Kevin Lang, 2019. "The Sad Truth about Happiness Scales," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(4), pages 1629-1640.
    26. Goerke Laszlo & Pannenberg Markus, 2004. "Norm-Based Trade Union Membership: Evidence for Germany," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 5(4), pages 481-504, December.
    27. Clark, Andrew E. & Oswald, Andrew J., 1996. "Satisfaction and comparison income," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 359-381, September.
    28. 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.
    29. Alex Bryson & Michael White, 2016. "Not so dissatisfied after all? The impact of union coverage on job satisfaction," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 68(4), pages 898-919.
    30. Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Paul Frijters, 2004. "How Important is Methodology for the estimates of the determinants of Happiness?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(497), pages 641-659, July.
    31. Goerke, Laszlo & Pannenberg, Markus, 2011. "Trade union membership and dismissals," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 810-821.
    32. Naylor, Robin & Cripps, Martin, 1993. "An economic theory of the open shop trade union," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1599-1620, December.
    33. Alex Bryson & Lorenzo Cappellari & Claudio Lucifora, 2010. "Why So Unhappy? The Effects of Unionization on Job Satisfaction," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 72(3), pages 357-380, June.
    34. Christian Grund & Andreas Schmitt, 2013. "Works councils, wages and job satisfaction," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 299-310, January.
    35. Konstantinos Pouliakas, 2010. "Pay Enough, Don't Pay Too Much or Don't Pay at All? The Impact of Bonus Intensity on Job Satisfaction," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(4), pages 597-626, November.
    36. Matthew Knepper, 2020. "From the Fringe to the Fore: Labor Unions and Employee Compensation," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(1), pages 98-112, March.
    37. Emily Oster, 2019. "Unobservable Selection and Coefficient Stability: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 187-204, April.
    38. Benjamin Artz, 2012. "Does the Impact of Union Experience on Job Satisfaction Differ by Gender?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(2), pages 225-243, April.
    39. Laszlo Goerke & Sabrina Jeworrek & Markus Pannenberg, 2015. "Trade union membership and paid vacation in Germany," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-26, December.
    40. Timothy G. Conley & Christian B. Hansen & Peter E. Rossi, 2012. "Plausibly Exogenous," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(1), pages 260-272, February.
    41. Lutz Bellmann & Olaf Hübler & Ute Leber, 2019. "Works council and training effects on satisfaction," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(14), pages 1177-1181, August.
    42. George J. Borjas, 1979. "Job Satisfaction, Wages, and Unions," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 14(1), pages 21-40.
    43. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson & Colin Green, 2022. "Trade unions and the well‐being of workers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(2), pages 255-277, June.
    44. Alex Bryson & Michael White, 2016. "Unions and the economic basis of attitudes," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 360-378, July.
    45. Carlos García‐Serrano, 2011. "Does Size Matter? The Influence Of Firm Size On Working Conditions, Job Satisfaction And Quit Intentions," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 58(2), pages 221-247, May.
    46. Keith A. Bender & Peter J. Sloane, 1998. "Job Satisfaction, Trade Unions, and Exit-Voice Revisited," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 51(2), pages 222-240, January.
    47. Booth, Alison L & Chatterji, Monojit, 1993. "Reputation, Membership and Wages in Open Shop Trade Union," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 45(1), pages 23-41, January.
    48. Patrice Laroche, 2015. "Union Membership and Job Satisfaction: Initial Evidence from French Linked Employer-Employee Data," Post-Print hal-03048619, HAL.
    49. Naylor, Robin & Raaum, Oddbjorn, 1993. "The Open Shop Union, Wages, and Management Opposition," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 45(4), pages 589-604, October.
    50. John DiNardo & David S. Lee, 2004. "Economic Impacts of Unionization on Private Sector Employers: 1984-2001," NBER Working Papers 10598, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    51. Berton, Fabio & Dughera, Stefano & Ricci, Andrea, 2021. "Are Unions Detrimental to Innovation? Theory and Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 14102, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    52. Tove Helland Hammer & Ariel Avgar, 2005. "The Impact of Unions on Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and Turnover," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 26(2), pages 241-266, January.
    53. John S. Heywood & W. S. Siebert & Xiangdong Wei, 2002. "Worker Sorting and Job Satisfaction: The Case of Union and Government Jobs," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(4), pages 595-609, July.
    54. John DiNardo & David S. Lee, 2004. "Economic Impacts of New Unionization on Private Sector Employers: 1984–2001," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(4), pages 1383-1441.
    55. Joni Hersch & Joe A. Stone, 1990. "Is Union Job Dissatisfaction Real?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 25(4).
    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. Addison, John T. & Teixeira, Paulino, 2022. "Worker Satisfaction and Worker Representation: The Jury Is Still Out," IZA Discussion Papers 15809, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    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. Goerke, Laszlo, 2020. "Unions and Workers' Well-being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 726, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson & Colin Green, 2022. "Trade unions and the well‐being of workers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(2), pages 255-277, June.
    3. Patrice Laroche, 2016. "A Meta-Analysis of the Union–Job Satisfaction Relationship," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(4), pages 709-741, December.
    4. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2020. "Now Unions Increase Job Satisfaction and Well-being," NBER Working Papers 27720, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Artz, Benjamin & Heywood, John S., 2020. "Unions, Worker Participation and Worker Well-Being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 705, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Artz, Benjamin & Blanchflower, David G. & Bryson, Alex, 2022. "Unions increase job satisfaction in the United States," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 173-188.
    7. Ioulia Bessa & Andy Charlwood & Danat Valizade, 2021. "Do Unions Cause Job Dissatisfaction? Evidence from a Quasi‐Experiment in the United Kingdom," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 251-278, June.
    8. Diriwaechter, Patric & Shvartsman, Elena, 2018. "The anticipation and adaptation effects of intra- and interpersonal wage changes on job satisfaction," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 116-140.
    9. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2020. "Job satisfaction over the life course," DoQSS Working Papers 20-20, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    10. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2022. "Union membership and job satisfaction over the life course," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 411-429, September.
    11. Colin P. Green & John S. Heywood, 2015. "Dissatisfied Union Workers: Sorting Revisited," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 580-600, September.
    12. Adrian Chadi & Laszlo Goerke, 2023. "Seeking shelter in times of crisis? unemployment, perceived job insecurity and trade union membership," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(359), pages 1041-1088, July.
    13. C Green & J S Heywood, 2010. "Unions, Dissatisfied Workers and Sorting," Working Papers 615292, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    14. Damiano Fiorillo & Nunzia Nappo, 2014. "Job satisfaction in Italy: individual characteristics and social relations," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 41(8), pages 683-704, August.
    15. Getinet A. Haile, 2015. "Workplace Job Satisfaction in Britain: Evidence from Linked Employer–Employee Data," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 29(3), pages 225-242, September.
    16. Michael White & Alex Bryson, 2018. "HPWS in the Public Sector: Are There Mutual Gains?," DoQSS Working Papers 18-10, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    17. Alex Bryson & Lorenzo Cappellari & Claudio Lucifora, 2010. "Why So Unhappy? The Effects of Unionization on Job Satisfaction," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 72(3), pages 357-380, June.
    18. repec:lan:wpaper:2914 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. repec:lan:wpaper:3161 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. repec:lan:wpaper:2912 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Olivier Guillot & Magali Jaoul-Grammare & Isabelle Terraz, 2024. "Job strain and union membership: An empirical study based on French data," Working Papers of BETA 2024-08, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    22. Alex Bryson & Lucy Stokes & David Wilkinson, 2023. "Is pupil attainment higher in well-managed schools?," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 129-144, January.
    23. Colin Peter Green & John Spencer Heywood & Parvinder Kler & Gareth Leeves, 2016. "Paradox lost," Working Papers 107134075, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    exit-voice framework; German socio-economic panel; instrumental variable; job satisfaction; sorting; trade union membership;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

    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:ces:ceswps:_9868. 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: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.html .

    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.