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The Impact of Declining Union Membership on Voter

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  • Oren M. Levin-Waldman

    (The Jerome Levy Economics Institute)

Abstract

Much has been written on realigning elections and whether or not the general model has any contemporary relevance. Discussions of the last great realignment -- the New deal realignment of the 1930s -- often emphasize the broad coalition of interests which brought it about. Although organized labor was an important interest, there is very little in the current literature on the influence of organized labor institutions on both party identification and voting behavior. Using data from the National Election Studies, this paper examines the voting behavior of working individuals who are specifically union members over a forty year period. What the data shows is that as union members are more likely to vote than non-union members, the decline in unionism has effectively resulted in a disfranchisement among many who traditionally would have voted for the Democratic party.

Suggested Citation

  • Oren M. Levin-Waldman, 1997. "The Impact of Declining Union Membership on Voter," Macroeconomics 9712001, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpma:9712001
    Note: Type of Document - Acrobat PDF; prepared on IBM PC; to print on PostScript; pages: 31; figures: included
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert E. Prasch, 1996. "In Defense of the Minimum Wage," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 391-397, June.
    2. Hungerford, Thomas L, 1993. "U.S. Income Mobility in the Seventies and Eighties," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 39(4), pages 403-417, December.
    3. Abramson, Paul R. & Aldrich, John H., 1982. "The Decline of Electoral Participation in America," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 76(3), pages 502-521, September.
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    • E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics

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