IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/2595.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Market Structure, Strike Activity, and Union Wage Settlements

Author

Listed:
  • John M. Abowd
  • Joseph S. Tracy

Abstract

We attempt a synthesis of the industrial relations market structure hypothesis with the modern asymmetric information theory of wage and strike outcomes The industrial relations literature contains a variety of arguments indicating that wage settlements should be positively related to the degree of product market sales concentration and the degree of product market coverage by the union. An asymmetric information bargaining model is specified that relates these same variables to strike probabilities as well as wage settlements. Our empirical analysis is conducted for :he periods from 1970-1380 (strikes) and 1976-1980 (wages). We find that the relation between trade-adjusted sales concentration and wage settlements is positive at low levels of concentration but negative at high levels of concentration. The relation is always negative for strike probabilities. We also find that the relation between the trade-adjusted percent of the product market covered by the same union and the percentage covered by other union are positively related to both wage settlements and strike probabilities. Our empirical analysis includes a rich set of controls including unrestricted time and industry effects, which do not affect the major conclusions.

Suggested Citation

  • John M. Abowd & Joseph S. Tracy, 1988. "Market Structure, Strike Activity, and Union Wage Settlements," NBER Working Papers 2595, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:2595
    Note: LS
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w2595.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Abowd, 1987. "Collective Bargaining and the Division of the Value of the Enterprise," Working Papers 598, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    2. John E. Kwoka Jr., 1983. "Monopoly, Plant, and Union Effects on Worker Wages," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 36(2), pages 251-257, January.
    3. repec:fth:prinin:218 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. John M. Abowd, 1987. "Collective Bargaining and the Division of the Value of the Enterprise," NBER Working Papers 2137, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Tracy, Joseph S, 1986. "An Investigation into the Determinants of U.S. Strike Activity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(3), pages 423-436, June.
    6. Tracy, Joseph S, 1987. "An Empirical Test of an Asymmetric Information Model of Strikes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(2), pages 149-173, April.
    7. Brown, James N & Ashenfelter, Orley, 1986. "Testing the Efficiency of Employment Contracts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 40-87, June.
    8. Harold M. Levinson, 1967. "Unionism, Concentration, and Wage Changes: Toward a Unified Theory," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 20(2), pages 198-205, January.
    9. Arthur M. Ross & William Goldner, 1950. "Forces Affecting the Interindustry Wage Structure," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 64(2), pages 254-281.
    10. S. Rosen, 1969. "Trade Union Power, Threat Effects and the Extent of Organization," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 36(2), pages 185-196.
    11. John M. Abowd & Richard B. Freeman, 1991. "Immigration, Trade, and the Labor Market," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number abow91-1, May.
    12. Freeman, Richard B & Medoff, James L, 1981. "The Impact of the Percentage Organized on Union and Nonunion Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 63(4), pages 561-572, November.
    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. Mauleon, Ana & Vannetelbosch, Vincent, 2010. "Market integration and strike activity," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 154-161, May.
    2. Mauleon, Ana & Vannetelbosch, Vincent J., 2003. "Market competition and strike activity," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 737-758, May.
    3. Arturo Alegría & Fernando Coloma, 1992. "Huelga: Enfoques Teóricos, Análisis del Caso Chileno y Evidencia Internacional," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 29(86), pages 55-98.
    4. Arijit Mukherjee, 2011. "Product market competition, external economies of scale and unionized wage," Discussion Papers 11/14, University of Nottingham, School of Economics.
    5. Stewart, Mark B, 1990. "Union Wage Differentials, Product Market Influences and the Division of Rents," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 100(403), pages 1122-1137, December.
    6. James McDonald & Harry Bloch, 1999. "The Spillover Effects of Industrial Action on Firm Profitability," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 15(2), pages 183-200, September.
    7. Fernando Coloma & Arturo Alegría, "undated". "Huelga: Enfoques Teóricos y Efectos Económicos de Disfrutar Regulaciones," Documentos de Trabajo 141, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    8. Cramton, Peter C & Tracy, Joseph S, 1994. "The Determinants of U.S. Labor Disputes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(2), pages 180-209, April.

    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. repec:eee:labchp:v:2:y:1986:i:c:p:1039-1089 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Stewart, Mark B, 1990. "Union Wage Differentials, Product Market Influences and the Division of Rents," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 100(403), pages 1122-1137, December.
    3. William T. Dickens & Lawrence F. Katz, 1986. "Interindustry Wage Differences and Industry Characteristics," NBER Working Papers 2014, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Card, David, 1990. "Unexpected Inflation, Real Wages, and Employment Determination in Union Contracts," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(4), pages 669-688, September.
    5. Henry S. Farber, 2001. "Notes on the Economics of Labor Unions," Working Papers 2001-5, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    6. H. Osano & T. Inoue, 1988. "Testing Between Competing Models of Business Cycles: The Efficient Long-Term Contract Hypothesis Versus the Intertemporal Substitution Hypothesis," Discussion Papers 768, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science.
    7. Cramton, Peter C & Tracy, Joseph S, 1994. "The Determinants of U.S. Labor Disputes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(2), pages 180-209, April.
    8. John DiNardo & David S. Lee, 2002. "The Impact of Unionization on Establishment Closure: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis of Representation Elections," NBER Working Papers 8993, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Peter Cramton & Morley Gunderson & Joseph Tracy, 1999. "The Effect Of Collective Bargaining Legislation On Strikes And Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(3), pages 475-487, August.
    10. Alex Lehr & Jana Vyrastekova & Agnes Akkerman & René Torenvlied, 2018. "Horizontal and vertical spillovers in wage bargaining: A theoretical framework and experimental evidence," Rationality and Society, , vol. 30(1), pages 3-53, February.
    11. François Belot & Timothée Waxin, 2017. "Labor Conflicts in French Workplaces: Does (the Type of) Family Control Matter?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(3), pages 591-617, December.
    12. P.W. Miller & C. Mulvey, 1992. "Does Compulsory Arbitration Neutralise Union Power?," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 92-18, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    13. Michele Campolieti & Robert Hebdon & Benjamin Dachis, 2014. "The Impact of Collective Bargaining Legislation on Strike Activity and Wage Settlements," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 394-429, July.
    14. Bernd Fitzenberger & Karsten Kohn & Alexander C. Lembcke, 2013. "Union Density and Varieties of Coverage: The Anatomy of Union Wage Effects in Germany," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(1), pages 169-197, January.
    15. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2010. "The Wage Impact of Trade Unions in the UK Public and Private Sectors," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 77(305), pages 92-109, January.
    16. Janet Currie Neelin, 1989. "What Do (Public Sector) Unions Do? Wage and Employment Determination Among Ontario Public School Teachers," UCLA Economics Working Papers 542, UCLA Department of Economics.
    17. Symeonidis, George, 2017. "Does product market competition increase strike activity? Evidence from the UK," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 42-56.
    18. Steven G. Allen, 1994. "Updated Notes on the Interindustry Wage Structure," NBER Working Papers 4664, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Miguel Malo & Nuria Sánchez-Sánchez, 2014. "The legal form of labour conflicts and their time persistence: an empirical analysis with a large firms’ panel," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 513-533, December.
    20. Thomas Lemieux, 1993. "Unions and Wage Inequality in Canada and the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Small Differences That Matter: Labor Markets and Income Maintenance in Canada and the United States, pages 69-108, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Ahn, Tom & Arcidiacono, Peter, 2004. "Paying to queue: a theory of locational differences in nonunion wages," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 565-579, 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:nbr:nberwo:2595. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.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.