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Estimating the probability of trade union membership in India: Impact of Communist parties, personal attributes and industrial characteristics

Author

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  • Rupayan Pal

    (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)

Abstract

The paper analyses the impact of the reach of communist parties, the degree of political activism, personal attributes of workers, and industrial characteristics on the individual decision to unionise for Indian non-agricultural regular workers using micro data from the 2004-05 Employment and Unemployment Survey, NSSO, linked to state-level factors. A notable result is that the reach of communist parties has considerable effect on unionisation probability. Moreover, it seems that mere existence of communist parties in a state also facilitates unionisation to some extent. State-level political activism and unemployment rate also influence the individual decision to be unionist. The paper concludes also that worker's gender, marital status, ethnic background, employment status, experience, occupation, sector of employment, establishment size, and type of industry remain important in the determination of union membership.

Suggested Citation

  • Rupayan Pal, 2008. "Estimating the probability of trade union membership in India: Impact of Communist parties, personal attributes and industrial characteristics," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2008-015, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
  • Handle: RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2008-015
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    File URL: http://www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2008-015.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    9. Alex Bryson & Rafael Gomez, 2003. "Why Have Workers Stopped Joining Unions?," CEP Discussion Papers dp0589, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rupayan Pal & Bibhas Saha, 2016. "Entry Threats and Inefficiency in ‘Efficient Bargaining’," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 63(3), pages 258-277, July.
    2. Vidu Badigannavar & John Kelly & Manik Kumar, 2021. "Turning the tide? Economic reforms and union revival in India," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 364-385, July.
    3. Kaushik, Arun & Rupayan Pal, 2012. "Political strongholds and budget allocation for developmental expenditure: Evidence from Indian states, 1971-2005," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2012-015, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    4. Wolf-Heimo Grieben & Fuat Sener, 2012. "North-South Trade, Unemployment and Growth: What’s the Role of Labor Unions?," Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz 2012-06, Department of Economics, University of Konstanz.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Communist Party; Decision; Probability; State; Trade Union;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities

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