[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/4956.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Youth-adult differences in the demand for unionization: are American, British and Canadian workers all that different?

Author

Listed:
  • Bryson, Alex
  • Gomez, Rafael
  • Gunderson, Morley
  • Meltz, Noah
Abstract
This paper examines demand for union membership amongst young workers in Britain, Canada and the United States. The paper benchmarks youth demands for collective representation against those of adult workers and finds that a large and significant representation gap exists in all three countries. Using a model of representation advanced by Farber (1982) and Riddell (1993) we find that a majority of the union density differential between young and adult workers is due to supply-side constraints rather than a lower desire for unionisation on the part of the young. This finding lends credence to two conjectures made in the paper; the first is that tastes for collective representation do not differ among workers (either by nationality or by age) and second that union representation can be fruitfully modelled as an experience good. The experience good properties of union membership explain the persistence of union density differentials amongst youth and adults both over time and across countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Bryson, Alex & Gomez, Rafael & Gunderson, Morley & Meltz, Noah, 2002. "Youth-adult differences in the demand for unionization: are American, British and Canadian workers all that different?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 4956, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:4956
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/4956/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Henry S. Farber, 1982. "The Determination of the Union Status of Workers," NBER Working Papers 1006, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. W. Craig Riddell, 1993. "Unionization in Canada and the United States: A Tale of Two Countries," NBER Chapters, in: Small Differences That Matter: Labor Markets and Income Maintenance in Canada and the United States, pages 109-148, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Rafael Gomez & Seymour Martin Lipset & Noah Meltz, 2001. "Frustrated Demand for Unionisation: the Case of the United States and Canada Revisited," CEP Discussion Papers dp0492, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    4. Gomez, Rafael & Gunderson, Morley & Meltz, Noah, 2001. "From 'playstations' to 'workstations': youth preferences for unionisation in Canada," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20100, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Stephen Machin, 2000. "Union Decline in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 38(4), pages 631-645, December.
    6. Card, David & Freeman, Richard B. (ed.), 1993. "Small Differences That Matter," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226092836, Febrero.
    7. Towers, Brian, 1997. "The Representation Gap: Change and Reform in the British and American Workplace," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198289463.
    8. Henry S. Farber, 2001. "Notes on the Economics of Labor Unions," Working Papers 831, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    9. Porter, Michael E, 1974. "Consumer Behavior, Retailer Power and Market Performance in Consumer Goods Industries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 56(4), pages 419-436, November.
    10. Farber, Henry S., 1983. "The Determination of the Union Status of Workers," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 227, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    11. H. S. Farber, 1982. "The Determination of the Union Status of Workers," Working papers 299, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
    12. Farber, Henry S., 1982. "The Determination Of The Union Status Of Workers," Economic Research Papers 269170, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    13. Stigler, George J & Becker, Gary S, 1977. "De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(2), pages 76-90, March.
    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. Michele Campolieti & Rafael Gomez & Morley Gunderson, 2013. "D oes N on-Union E mployee R epresentation A ct as a C omplement or S ubstitute to U nion V oice? E vidence from C anada and the U nited S tates," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52, pages 378-396, January.
    2. Epp Kallaste & Charles Woolfson, 2009. "The Paradox of Post-Communist Trade Unionism: ‘You Can't Want What You Can't Imagine’," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 20(1), pages 93-109, December.
    3. Giovanni Dosi & Richard B Freeman & Marcelo C Pereira & Andrea Roventini & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2021. "The impact of deunionization on the growth and dispersion of productivity and pay [It’s where you work: increases in the dispersion of earnings across establishments and individuals in the United S," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 30(2), pages 377-408.
    4. Helen Lam & Mark Harcourt, 2007. "A New Approach to Resolving the Right-to-work Ethical Dilemma," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 73(3), pages 231-243, July.
    5. Jonathan E. Booth & John W. Budd & Kristen M. Munday, 2010. "First-Timers and Late-Bloomers: Youth—Adult Unionization Differences in a Cohort of the U.S. Labor Force," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 64(1), pages 53-73, October.
    6. Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2005. "Determinants of Union Membership in 18 EU Countries : Evidence from Micro Data, 2002/03," Discussion Papers 31, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    7. José-Ignacio Antón & René Böheim & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2022. "The effect of migration on unionization in Austria," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(5), pages 2693-2720, November.
    8. Nickolaos Giovanis & Efstratios Giovanis, 2020. "Assessment On The Change Of Union Density Rate By Means Of Macroeconomic Indicators: A Quantitative Research," Noble International Journal of Economics and Financial Research, Noble Academic Publsiher, vol. 5(6), pages 63-73, June.
    9. Schnabel, Claus, 2012. "Union membership and density: Some (not so) stylized facts and challenges," Discussion Papers 81, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    10. Jonathan E. Booth & John W. Budd & Kristen M. Munday, 2010. "Never Say Never? Uncovering the Never‐Unionized in the United States," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(1), pages 26-52, March.
    11. Alex Bryson & Rhys Davies, 2019. "Family, Place and the Intergenerational Transmission of Union Membership," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 57(3), pages 624-650, September.
    12. Craig Berry & Sean McDaniel, 2022. "Post-crisis precarity: Understanding attitudes to work and industrial relations among young people in the UK," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(1), pages 322-343, February.
    13. Erling Barth & Alex Bryson & Harald Dale-Olsen, 2020. "Do Public Subsidies of Union Membership Increase Union Membership Rates?," DoQSS Working Papers 20-14, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    14. Alex Bryson & Richard Freeman & Rafael Gomez & Paul Willman, 2017. "The Twin Track Model of Employee Voice: An Anglo-American Perspective on Union Decline and the Rise of Alternative Forms of Voice," DoQSS Working Papers 17-13, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    15. Peter Haynes & Peter Holland & Amanda Pyman & Julian Teicher, 2008. "Free-Riding in Australia," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 29(1), pages 7-34, February.
    16. Erling Barth & Alex Bryson & Harald Dale-Olsen, 2022. "Turning Non-members into Members: Do Public Subsidies to Union Membership Matter?," DoQSS Working Papers 22-05, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    17. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2022. "Union Membership Peaks in Midlife," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(1), pages 124-151, March.
    18. Rachel Aleks & Tina Saksida & Aaron S. Wolf, 2021. "Hero or Villain? A Cohort and Generational Analysis of How Youth Attitudes Towards Unions Have Changed over Time," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 532-567, June.
    19. Christopher Gordon Smith & Tingting Zhang & Lorenzo Frangi & Linda Duxbury, 2023. "Would you like to become a union leader? Analysing leadership intentions through a generational lens," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(6), pages 425-444, November.
    20. Daniele Checchi & Jelle Visser & Herman G. Van De Werfhorst, 2010. "Inequality and Union Membership: The Influence of Relative Earnings and Inequality Attitudes," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(1), pages 84-108, March.

    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. Blanchflower, David G., 2006. "A Cross-Country Study of Union Membership," IZA Discussion Papers 2016, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Michele Campolieti & Rafael Gomez & Morley Gunderson, 2013. "Managerial Hostility and Attitudes Towards Unions: A Canada-US Comparison," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 99-119, March.
    3. Michael Baker & Nicole M. Fortin, 2001. "Occupational gender composition and wages in Canada, 1987–1988," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(2), pages 345-376, May.
    4. Jahn, Elke J. & Wagner, Thomas, 2001. "Labour's law?," Discussion Papers 6, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    5. David Card & Francis Kramarz & Thomas Lemieux, 1999. "Changes in the Relative Structure of Wages and Employment: A Comparison of the United States, Canada, and France," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 32(4), pages 843-877, August.
    6. Campolieti, Michele, 2020. "The distribution of union size: Canada, 1913–2014," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 558(C).
    7. John H. Pencavel, 2004. "The Surprising Retreat of Union Britain," NBER Chapters, in: Seeking a Premier Economy: The Economic Effects of British Economic Reforms, 1980–2000, pages 181-232, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Picot, Garnett, 1998. "What is Happening to Earnings, Inequality and Youth Wages in the 1990s?," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 1998116e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    9. Susan Johnson, "undated". "'Legal' versus 'Economic' factors in the growth and decline of unions: A stock-flow analysis of Canada and the US," Canadian International Labour Network Working Papers 44, McMaster University.
    10. Scott Legree, Tammy Schirle, Mikal Skuterud, 2014. "The Effect of Labour Relations Laws on Union Density Rates: Evidence from Canadian Provinces," LCERPA Working Papers 0078, Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis, revised 08 Sep 2014.
    11. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2003. "What Effect do Unions Have on Wages Now and Would 'What Do Unions Do' Be Surprised?," NBER Working Papers 9973, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Erling Barth & Alex Bryson & Harald Dale-Olsen, 2020. "Do Public Subsidies of Union Membership Increase Union Membership Rates?," DoQSS Working Papers 20-14, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    13. Jo Blanden & Stephen Machin, 2003. "Cross‐Generation Correlations of Union Status for Young People in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 41(3), pages 391-415, September.
    14. Daron Acemoglu, 2002. "Technical Change, Inequality, and the Labor Market," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(1), pages 7-72, March.
    15. Bryson, Alex & Gomez, Rafael, 2003. "Why have workers stopped joining unions?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20022, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    16. Freeman, Richard B., 1998. "War of the models: Which labour market institutions for the 21st century?1," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 1-24, March.
    17. Barry T. Hirsch & Edward J. Schumacher, 2001. "Private Sector Union Density and the Wage Premium: Past, Present, and Future ," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 22(3), pages 487-518, July.
    18. Michael Baker & Gary Solon, 2003. "Earnings Dynamics and Inequality among Canadian Men, 1976-1992: Evidence from Longitudinal Income Tax Records," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 267-288, April.
    19. David Card & Thomas Lemieux, 2001. "Can Falling Supply Explain the Rising Return to College for Younger Men? A Cohort-Based Analysis," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(2), pages 705-746.
    20. Susan Johnson, 2002. "Card Check or Mandatory Representation Vote? How the Type of Union Recognition Procedure Affects Union Certification Success," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(479), pages 344-361, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    unions; youth preferences; comparative labour markets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • 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:ehl:lserod:4956. 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: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.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.