[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/labeco/v19y2012i6p944-956.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Union threat and non-union employment: A natural experiment on the use of temporary employment in British firms

Author

Listed:
  • Salvatori, Andrea
Abstract
This paper presents the first empirical evidence on the effect of the threat of unionisation on the use of a predominantly non-union type of employment, i.e. temporary employment. The identification strategy exploits an exogenous variation in union threat induced in the UK by new legislation enabling unions to obtain recognition even against the will of the management. The analysis finds no evidence of an effect on the probability that a firm employs fixed-term workers, and some weak evidence of a negative effect on the probability of using agency workers. Furthermore, estimates of the effect on the share of temporary employment are negative and statistically insignificant. Overall, therefore, there is no support for the hypothesis that firms under the threat of unionisation are more likely to use this type of non-union employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Salvatori, Andrea, 2012. "Union threat and non-union employment: A natural experiment on the use of temporary employment in British firms," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 944-956.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:19:y:2012:i:6:p:944-956
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2012.07.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537112000760
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.labeco.2012.07.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lawrence M. Kahn, 2007. "The Impact of Employment Protection Mandates on Demographic Temporary Employment Patterns: International Microeconomic Evidence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(521), pages 333-356, June.
    2. Andrea Ichino & Fabrizia Mealli & Tommaso Nannicini, 2008. "From temporary help jobs to permanent employment: what can we learn from matching estimators and their sensitivity?," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(3), pages 305-327.
    3. Susan N. Houseman, 2001. "Why Employers Use Flexible Staffing Arrangements: Evidence from an Establishment Survey," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(1), pages 149-170, October.
    4. Richard Blundell & Monica Costa Dias, 2009. "Alternative Approaches to Evaluation in Empirical Microeconomics," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(3).
    5. Adriana Kugler & Juan F. Jimeno & Virginia Hernanz, "undated". "Employment Consequences of Restrictive Permanent Contracts: Evidence from Spanish Labor Market Reforms," Working Papers 2003-14, FEDEA.
    6. repec:bla:obuest:v:63:y:2001:i:5:p:577-98 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Alison L. Booth & Marco Francesconi & Jeff Frank, 2002. "Temporary Jobs: Stepping Stones Or Dead Ends?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(480), pages 189-213, June.
    8. Kugler, Adriana & Pica, Giovanni, 2008. "Effects of employment protection on worker and job flows: Evidence from the 1990 Italian reform," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 78-95, February.
    9. Clive R. Belfield & John S. Heywood, 2001. "Unionization and the Pattern of Nonunion Wages: Evidence for the UK," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 63(5), pages 577-598, December.
    10. Alison L Booth & Juan J. Dolado & Jeff Frank, 2002. "Symposium On Temporary Work Introduction," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(480), pages 181-188, June.
    11. Giorgio Brunello & Pietro Garibaldi & Etienne Wasmer, 2007. "Education and training in Europe," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03415950, HAL.
    12. David H. Autor, 2003. "Outsourcing at Will: The Contribution of Unjust Dismissal Doctrine to the Growth of Employment Outsourcing," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(1), pages 1-42, January.
    13. John DiNardo & David S. Lee, 2004. "Economic Impacts of New Unionization on Private Sector Employers: 1984–2001," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(4), pages 1383-1441.
    14. Corneo, Giacomo & Lucifora, Claudio, 1997. "Wage formation under union threat effects: Theory and empirical evidence," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 265-292, September.
    15. Guell, Maia & Petrongolo, Barbara, 2007. "How binding are legal limits? Transitions from temporary to permanent work in Spain," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 153-183, April.
    16. Anil Verma, 2003. "What Do Unions Do to the Workplace? Union Effects on Management and HRM Policies," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 26(3), pages 415-449, August.
    17. Salvatori, Andrea, 2009. "What Do Unions Do to Temporary Employment?," IZA Discussion Papers 4554, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2000. "The Craft of Labormetrics," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 53(3), pages 363-380, April.
    19. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    20. Wiji Arulampalam & Alison L. Booth & Mark L. Bryan, 2004. "Training in Europe," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 2(2-3), pages 346-360, 04/05.
    21. Sarah Oxenbridge & William Brown & Simon Deakin & Cliff Pratten, 2003. "Initial Responses to the Statutory Recognition Provisions of the Employment Relations Act 1999," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 41(2), pages 315-334, June.
    22. Lee, Myoung-jae, 2005. "Micro-Econometrics for Policy, Program and Treatment Effects," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199267699.
    23. René Böheim & Martina Zweimüller, 2009. "The employment of temporary agency workers in the UK – with or against the trade unions?," Economics working papers 2009-12, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    24. Brunello, Giorgio & Garibaldi, Pietro & Wasmer, Etienne (ed.), 2007. "Education and Training in Europe," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199210978.
    25. David Neumark & Michael L. Wachter, 1995. "Union Effects on Nonunion Wages: Evidence from Panel Data on Industries and Cities," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 49(1), pages 20-38, October.
    26. Stephen Wood & John Goddard, 1999. "The Statutory Union Recognition Procedure in the Employment Relations Bill: A Comparative Analysis," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 203-245, June.
    27. O Blanchard & A Landier, 2002. "The Perverse Effects of Partial Labour Market Reform: fixed--Term Contracts in France," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(480), pages 214-244, June.
    28. 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.
    29. Jo Blanden & Stephen Machin & John Van Reenen, 2006. "Have Unions Turned the Corner? New Evidence on Recent Trends in Union Recognition in UK Firms," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 44(2), pages 169-190, June.
    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. Damiani, Mirella & Pompei, Fabrizio & Ricci, Andrea, 2012. "Labour share and employment protection in European economies," MPRA Paper 43058, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. repec:pra:mprapa:43050 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Francesco Devicienti & Paolo Naticchioni & Andrea Ricci, 2015. "How Do Demand Volatility And Unions Affect Temporary Employment? A Firm-Level Approach," Working Papers 0415, CREI Università degli Studi Roma Tre, revised 2015.
    4. Francesco Devicienti & Paolo Naticchioni & Andrea Ricci, 2018. "Temporary Employment, Demand Volatility, and Unions: Firm-Level Evidence," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 71(1), pages 174-207, January.
    5. Brändle, Tobias, 2024. "Unions and Collective Bargaining: The Influence on Wages, Employment and Firm Survival," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1457, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Mirella Damiani & Fabrizio Pompei & Andrea Ricci, 2020. "Opting Out, Collective Contracts and Labour Flexibility: Firm‐Level Evidence for The Italian Case," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(3), pages 558-586, September.
    7. Belloc, Filippo & Burdin, Gabriel & Landini, Fabio, 2022. "Robots, Digitalization, and Worker Voice," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1038, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    8. Belloc, Filippo & Burdin, Gabriel & Landini, Fabio, 2020. "Robots and Worker Voice: An Empirical Exploration," IZA Discussion Papers 13799, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Filippo Belloc & Gabriel Burdin & Fabio Landini, 2023. "Advanced Technologies and Worker Voice," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(357), pages 1-38, January.

    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. Salvatori, Andrea, 2010. "Labour contract regulations and workers' wellbeing: International longitudinal evidence," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 667-678, August.
    2. Kahn, Lawrence M., 2010. "Employment protection reforms, employment and the incidence of temporary jobs in Europe: 1996-2001," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 1-15, January.
    3. Gyeongjoon Yoo & Changhui Kang, 2012. "The Effect of Protection of Temporary Workers on Employment Levels: Evidence from the 2007 Reform of South Korea," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(3), pages 578-606, July.
    4. Dräger, Vanessa & Marx, Paul, 2012. "Do Firms Demand Temporary Workers When They Face Workload Fluctuation? Cross-Country Firm-Level Evidence on the Conditioning Effect of Employment Protection," IZA Discussion Papers 6894, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Lawrence M. Kahn, 2012. "Labor market policy: A comparative view on the costs and benefits of labor market flexibility," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 94-110, December.
    6. Kahn, Lawrence M., 2007. "Employment Protection Reforms, Employment and the Incidence of Temporary Jobs in Europe: 1995–2001," IZA Discussion Papers 3241, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Francesco Devicienti & Paolo Naticchioni & Andrea Ricci, 2018. "Temporary Employment, Demand Volatility, and Unions: Firm-Level Evidence," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 71(1), pages 174-207, January.
    8. René Böheim & Martina Zweimüller, 2009. "The employment of temporary agency workers in the UK – with or against the trade unions?," Economics working papers 2009-12, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    9. J Ignacio García-Pérez & Ioana Marinescu & Judit Vall Castello, 2019. "Can Fixed-term Contracts Put Low Skilled Youth on a Better Career Path? Evidence from Spain," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(620), pages 1693-1730.
    10. Diego Daruich & Sabrina Di Addario & Raffaele Saggio, 2023. "The Effects of Partial Employment Protection Reforms: Evidence from Italy," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(6), pages 2880-2942.
    11. Smirnykh, Larisa & Wörgötter, Andreas, 2019. "The importance of institutional and organizational characteristics for the use of fixed-term contracts in Russia," Journal of East European Management Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 24(1), pages 89-121.
    12. Francesco Devicienti & Paolo Naticchioni & Andrea Ricci, 2015. "How Do Demand Volatility And Unions Affect Temporary Employment? A Firm-Level Approach," Working Papers 0415, CREI Università degli Studi Roma Tre, revised 2015.
    13. Lisi, Domenico, 2013. "The impact of temporary employment and employment protection on labour productivity : evidence from an industry-level panel of EU countries," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 46(2), pages 119-144.
    14. Miguel Á. Malo & Begoña Cueto, 2013. "Temporary Contracts across Generations: Long-term effects of a labour market reform at the margin," Cuadernos de Economía - Spanish Journal of Economics and Finance, Asociación Cuadernos de Economía, vol. 36(101), pages 84-99, Agosto.
    15. Parsons, Donald O., 2011. "Mandated Severance Pay and Firing Cost Distortions: A Critical Review of the Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 5776, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Per Skedinger, 2010. "Employment Protection Legislation," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13686.
    17. Bratti, Massimiliano & Conti, Maurizio & Sulis, Giovanni, 2019. "Employment Protection and Firm-Provided Training: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from a Labour Market Reform," IZA Discussion Papers 12773, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Salvatori, Andrea, 2014. "The effects of the EU equal-treatment legislation Directive for fixed-term workers: evidence from the UK," ISER Working Paper Series 2014-21, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    19. d'Agostino, Giorgio & Pieroni, Luca & Scarlato, Margherita, 2018. "Evaluating the effects of labour market reforms on job flows: The Italian case," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 178-189.
    20. Kabátek, Jan & Liang, Ying & Zheng, Kun, 2023. "Are shorter cumulative temporary contracts worse stepping stones? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Union threat; Temporary employment; Non-union employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

    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:eee:labeco:v:19:y:2012:i:6:p:944-956. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/labeco .

    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.