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Does union membership really reduce job satisfaction?

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  • Bryson, Alex
  • Cappellari, Lorenzo
  • Lucifora, Claudio

Abstract

We investigate the effect of union membership on job satisfaction. Whilst it is common to study the effects of union status on satisfaction treating individual membership as given, in this paper, we account for the endogenous selection induced by the sorting of workers into unionised jobs. Using linked employer-employee data from the 1998 British Workplace Employee Relations Survey, we address the question of how the membership decision is related to overall job satisfaction and to satisfaction with pay. Once the endogeneity of membership is accounted for, the marked difference in job satisfaction between unionised and non-unionised workers characterising raw data disappears, indicating that a selection effect, rather than a causal effect, explains the relationship.

Suggested Citation

  • Bryson, Alex & Cappellari, Lorenzo & Lucifora, Claudio, 2003. "Does union membership really reduce job satisfaction?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20045, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:20045
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Miller, Paul W, 1990. "Trade Unions and Job Satisfaction," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(55), pages 226-248, December.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Job satisfaction; Trade unions; Linked employer-employee data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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

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