IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/zewdip/15039.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

A sequential decomposition of the drop in collective bargaining coverage

Author

Listed:
  • Fitzenberger, Bernd
  • Sommerfeld, Katrin

Abstract

Union representation has been in strong decline in most OECD countries with potentially important consequences for wages. What drives this decline? We try to answer this question by developing and implementing a detailed decomposition approach based on Fairlie (2005). Using linked employer-employee data from the German Structure of Earnings Survey for 2001 and 2006, we document a sharp drop in collective bargaining coverage that amounts to 17 percentage points for males and 20 percentage points for females in West, and eight and 14 percentage points, respectively, in East Germany. We find that neither changes in the characteristics nor changes in the coefficients associated with the characteristics as a whole provide an explanation for the drop in collective bargaining coverage. The drop in coverage is the result of an unexplained time trend.

Suggested Citation

  • Fitzenberger, Bernd & Sommerfeld, Katrin, 2015. "A sequential decomposition of the drop in collective bargaining coverage," ZEW Discussion Papers 15-039, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:15039
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/110914/1/827016751.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Antonczyk, Dirk & Fitzenberger, Bernd & Sommerfeld, Katrin, 2010. "Rising wage inequality, the decline of collective bargaining, and the gender wage gap," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 835-847, October.
    2. David Card & Jörg Heining & Patrick Kline, 2013. "Workplace Heterogeneity and the Rise of West German Wage Inequality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(3), pages 967-1015.
    3. Victor Chernozhukov & Iván Fernández‐Val & Blaise Melly, 2013. "Inference on Counterfactual Distributions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 81(6), pages 2205-2268, November.
    4. DiNardo, John & Fortin, Nicole M & Lemieux, Thomas, 1996. "Labor Market Institutions and the Distribution of Wages, 1973-1992: A Semiparametric Approach," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(5), pages 1001-1044, September.
    5. Laszlo Goerke & Markus Pannenberg, 2012. "Risk Aversion and Trade‐Union Membership," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 114(2), pages 275-295, June.
    6. Martin Beck & Bernd Fitzenberger, 2004. "Changes in Union Membership Over Time: A Panel Analysis for West Germany," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 18(3), pages 329-362, September.
    7. Bernd Fitzenberger & Karsten Kohn & Qingwei Wang, 2011. "The erosion of union membership in Germany: determinants, densities, decompositions," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(1), pages 141-165, January.
    8. Fairlie, Robert W, 1999. "The Absence of the African-American Owned Business: An Analysis of the Dynamics of Self-Employment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(1), pages 80-108, January.
    9. Anke Hassel, 2007. "The Curse of Institutional Security - The Erosion of German Trade Unionism," Industrielle Beziehungen - Zeitschrift fuer Arbeit, Organisation und Management - The German Journal of Industrial Relations, Rainer Hampp Verlag, vol. 14(2), pages 176-191.
    10. Fortin, Nicole & Lemieux, Thomas & Firpo, Sergio, 2011. "Decomposition Methods in Economics," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 1, pages 1-102, Elsevier.
    11. Oaxaca, Ronald, 1973. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 14(3), pages 693-709, October.
    12. Wolf Dieter Heinbach & Stefanie Schröpfer, 2007. "Typisierung der Tarifvertragslandschaft. Eine Clusteranalyse der tarifvertraglichen Öffnungsklauseln," IAW Discussion Papers 28, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW).
    13. repec:jns:jbstat:v:227:y:2007:i:3:p:219-235 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. John T. Addison & Alex Bryson & Paulino Teixeira & André Pahnke, 2011. "Slip Sliding Away: Further Union Decline In Germany And Britain," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 58(4), pages 490-518, September.
    15. Wolf Dieter Heinbach, 2006. "Bargained Wages in Decentralized Wage-Setting Regimes," IAW Discussion Papers 26, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW).
    16. Hagen Lesch, 2004. "Trade Union Density in International Comparison," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 5(04), pages 12-18, December.
    17. Antonczyk Dirk & Fitzenberger Bernd & Leuschner Ute, 2009. "Can a Task-Based Approach Explain the Recent Changes in the German Wage Structure?," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(2-3), pages 214-238, April.
    18. Nicole Gürtzgen, 2016. "Estimating the Wage Premium of Collective Wage Contracts: Evidence from Longitudinal Linked Employer–Employee Data," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 294-322, April.
    19. Claus Schnabel & Joachim Wagner, 2007. "The Persistent Decline in Unionization in Western and Eastern Germany, 1980-2004 - What Can We Learn from a Decomposition Analysis?," Industrielle Beziehungen - Zeitschrift fuer Arbeit, Organisation und Management - The German Journal of Industrial Relations, Rainer Hampp Verlag, vol. 14(2), pages 118-132.
    20. Card, David, 1996. "The Effect of Unions on the Structure of Wages: A Longitudinal Analysis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(4), pages 957-979, July.
    21. Ellguth, Peter & Kohaut, Susanne, 2012. "Tarifbindung und betriebliche Interessenvertretung: Aktuelle Ergebnisse aus dem IAB-Betriebspanel 2011," WSI-Mitteilungen, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 65(4), pages 297-305.
    22. 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.
    23. Ellguth, Peter & Kohaut, Susanne, 2011. "Tarifbindung und betriebliche Interessenvertretung: Aktuelle Ergebnisse aus dem IAB-Betriebspanel 2010," WSI-Mitteilungen, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 64(5), pages 242-247.
    24. Ellguth, Peter & Kohaut, Susanne, 2013. "Tarifbindung und betriebliche Interessenvertretung: Ergebnisse aus dem IAB-Betriebspanel 2012," WSI-Mitteilungen, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 66(4), pages 281-288.
    25. Addison, John T. & Bryson, Alex & Teixeira, Paulino & Pahnke, André & Bellmann, Lutz, 2010. "The State of Collective Bargaining and Worker Representation in Germany: The Erosion Continues," IZA Discussion Papers 5030, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    26. de la Rica, Sara & Dolado, Juan J. & Vegas, Raquel, 2010. "Performance Pay and the Gender Wage Gap: Evidence from Spain," IZA Discussion Papers 5032, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    27. John T. Addison & Arnd Kölling & Paulino Teixeira, 2014. "Changes in Bargaining Status and Intra-Plant Wage Dispersion in Germany. A Case of (Almost) Plus Ça Change?," GEMF Working Papers 2014-15, GEMF, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra.
    28. Fairlie, Robert, 1999. "The Absence of the African-American Owned Business: An Analysis of the Dynamics of Self-Employment," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt84v8v0nr, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    29. repec:zbw:sfb649:sfb649dp2008-04 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Neumayer, Eric & Soysa, Indra de, 2006. "Globalization and the Right to Free Association and Collective Bargaining: An Empirical Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 31-49, January.
    31. Hendrik Biebeler & Hagen Lesch, 2007. "Zwischen Mitgliedererosion und Ansehensverlust - Die deutschen Gewerkschaften im Umbruch," Industrielle Beziehungen - Zeitschrift fuer Arbeit, Organisation und Management - The German Journal of Industrial Relations, Rainer Hampp Verlag, vol. 14(2), pages 133-153.
    32. Laszlo Goerke & Markus Pannenberg, 2012. "Risk Aversion, Collective Bargaining, and Wages in Germany," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 26(2), pages 156-173, June.
    33. David Card & Thomas Lemieux & W. Craig Riddell, 2004. "Unions and Wage Inequality," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 25(4), pages 519-562, October.
    34. David Card, 2001. "The Effect of Unions on Wage Inequality in the U.S. Labor Market," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 54(2), pages 296-315, January.
    35. Christian Dustmann & Bernd Fitzenberger & Uta Sch?nberg & Alexandra Spitz-Oener, 2014. "From Sick Man of Europe to Economic Superstar: Germany's Resurgent Economy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(1), pages 167-188, Winter.
    36. Ellguth, Peter & Kohaut, Susanne, 2014. "Tarifbindung und betriebliche Interessenvertretung: Ergebnisse aus dem IAB-Betriebspanel 2013," WSI-Mitteilungen, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 67(4), pages 286-295.
    37. Jörg Schwiebert, 2015. "A detailed decomposition for nonlinear econometric models," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 13(1), pages 53-67, March.
    38. repec:zbw:sfb649:sfb649dp2008-41 is not listed on IDEAS
    39. Gerlach Knut & Stephan Gesine, 2006. "Bargaining Regimes and Wage Dispersion," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 226(6), pages 629-645, December.
    40. Kohaut, Susanne & Ellguth, Peter, 2010. "Tarifbindung und betriebliche Interessenvertretung: Aktuelle Ergebnisse aus dem IAB-Betriebspanel 2009," WSI-Mitteilungen, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 63(4), pages 204-209.
    41. John T. Addison & Paulino Teixeira & Katalin Evers & Lutz Bellmann, 2016. "Is the Erosion Thesis Overblown? Alignment from Without in Germany," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 415-443, July.
    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. Mario Bossler, 2019. "The Rise in Orientation at Collective Bargaining Without a Formal Contract," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 17-45, January.
    2. Ihley, Dorothee & Siebert-Meyerhoff, Andrea, 2016. "The evolution of immigrants' homeownership in Germany," CAWM Discussion Papers 92, University of Münster, Münster Center for Economic Policy (MEP).
    3. Ellguth Peter & Kohaut Susanne, 2019. "A Note on the Decline of Collective Bargaining Coverage: The Role of Structural Change," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 239(1), pages 39-66, January.
    4. Ihle Dorothee & Siebert-Meyerhoff Andrea, 2019. "The Evolution of Immigrants’ Homeownership in Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 239(2), pages 155-201, 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. Antonczyk, Dirk & Fitzenberger, Bernd & Sommerfeld, Katrin, 2010. "Rising wage inequality, the decline of collective bargaining, and the gender wage gap," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 835-847, October.
    2. Daniel Baumgarten & Gabriel Felbermayr & Sybille Lehwald, 2020. "Dissecting Between‐Plant and Within‐Plant Wage Dispersion: Evidence from Germany," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 85-122, January.
    3. Baumgarten, Daniel & Lehwald, Sybille, 2019. "Trade Exposure and the Decline in Collective Bargaining: Evidence From Germany," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 165, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    4. Biewen, Martin & Seckler, Matthias, 2017. "Changes in the German Wage Structure: Unions, Internationalization, Tasks, Firms, and Worker Characteristics," IZA Discussion Papers 10763, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Addison, John T. & Kölling, Arnd & Teixeira, Paulino, 2014. "Changes in Bargaining Status and Intra-Plant Wage Dispersion in Germany: A Case of (Almost) Plus Ça Change?," IZA Discussion Papers 8359, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. K. Sommerfeld, 2013. "Higher and higher? Performance pay and wage inequality in Germany," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(30), pages 4236-4247, October.
    7. Martin Biewen & Matthias Seckler, 2019. "Unions, Internationalization, Tasks, Firms, and Worker Characteristics: A Detailed Decomposition Analysis of Rising Wage Inequality in Germany," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 17(4), pages 461-498, December.
    8. Koomen, Miriam & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2022. "Occupational tasks and wage inequality in West Germany: A decomposition analysis," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Brändle, Tobias, 2024. "Unions and Collective Bargaining: The Influence on Wages, Employment and Firm Survival," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1457, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    10. Dirk Antonczyk & Thomas DeLeire & Bernd Fitzenberger, 2018. "Polarization and Rising Wage Inequality: Comparing the U.S. and Germany," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-33, April.
    11. John Addison & Paulino Teixeira & Katalin Evers & Lutz Bellmann, 2014. "Indicative and Updated Estimates of the Collective Bargaining Premium in Germany," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 125-156, January.
    12. Kaltenberg, Mary & Foster-McGregor, Neil, 2020. "The impact of automation on inequality across Europe," MERIT Working Papers 2020-009, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    13. Uwe Jirjahn, 2013. "Der Beitrag der Arbeitsmarktökonomik zur Erforschung von Gewerkschaften und Tarifvertragsbeziehungen in Deutschland," Research Papers in Economics 2013-03, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    14. Uwe Jirjahn, 2015. "Research on Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining in Germany: The Contribution of Labor Economics," Research Papers in Economics 2015-10, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    15. Fernando Rios-Avila & Barry T. Hirsch, 2014. "Unions, Wage Gaps, and Wage Dispersion: New Evidence from the Americas," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 1-27, January.
    16. Koomen, Miriam & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2022. "Occupational Tasks and Wage Inequality in Germany: A Decomposition Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 15702, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Andréasson, Hannes, 2014. "The effect of decentralized wage bargaining on the structure of wages and firm performance," Ratio Working Papers 241, The Ratio Institute.
    18. Pallab Kumar Ghosh & Jae Yoon Lee, 2016. "Decomposition of Changes in Korean Wage Inequality, 1998–2007," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 1-28, March.
    19. Domenico Depalo & Raffaela Giordano & Evangelia Papapetrou, 2015. "Public–private wage differentials in euro-area countries: evidence from quantile decomposition analysis," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 985-1015, November.
    20. Pallab Ghosh & Jae Lee, 2016. "Decomposition of Changes in Korean Wage Inequality, 1998–2007," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 1-28, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    collective bargaining; unions; sequential decomposition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:zbw:zewdip:15039. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/zemande.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.