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Unions, Training, and Firm Performance: Evidence from the British Workplace Employee Relations Survey

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Author Info
Addison, John T. () (University of South Carolina and IZA Bonn)
Belfield, Clive R. (Teachers College, Columbia University)

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Abstract

This paper uses a combination of workplace and matched-employee workplace data from the British 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey to examine the impact of unions and firm-provided training (incidence, intensity/coverage, and duration) on establishment performance. The performance effects of training are indexed not just by individual and median establishment earnings but also by subjective measures of plant labor productivity and financial performance. Union effects on training are fairly subtle, and somewhat more positive when using individual rather than plant-wide training data. A positive impact of training on earnings is also detected in both individual and plant-based wage data, although consistent with much recent research the effects of union recognition are at best muted. There are also some signs of a positive interaction term for unionism and training in the earnings equations, but by the same token negative effects are encountered when training duration is expressed in categorical terms and interacted with union recognition. Instrumenting training yielded positive results for labor productivity and the firm’s bottom line. While some negative effects of multiple unionism at the workplace now emerge, they seemingly do not operate through the training route.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 1264.

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Length: 44 pages
Date of creation: Aug 2004
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1264

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Related research
Keywords: union recognition; bargaining structure; employer-provided training; training incidence; intensity/coverage and duration; earnings; labor productivity; financial performance;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Menezes-Filho, Naercio & Van Reenen, John, 2003. "Unions and Innovation: A Survey of the Theory and Empirical Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 3792, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Francis Green & Stephen Machin & David Wilkinson, 1999. "Trade unions and training practices in British workplaces," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 52(2), pages 179-195, January.
    Other versions:
  3. Sandra E. Black & Lisa M. Lynch, 2001. "How To Compete: The Impact Of Workplace Practices And Information Technology On Productivity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(3), pages 434-445, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Dearden, Lorraine & Reed, Howard & Van Reenen, John, 2000. "Who Gains when Workers Train? Training and Corporate Productivity in a Panel of British Industries," CEPR Discussion Papers 2486, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Harry J. Holzer & Richard Block & Marcus Cheatham & Jack H. Knott, 1993. "Are training subsidies for firms effective? The Michigan experience," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 46(4), pages 625-636, July.
  6. Black, Sandra E & Lynch, Lisa M, 1996. "Human-Capital Investments and Productivity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 263-67, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Barrett, Alan & O'Connell, Philip J., 1999. "Does Training Generally Work? The Returns to In-Company Training," IZA Discussion Papers 51, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  8. Daron Acemoglu & Jorn-Steffen Pischke, 1999. "The Structure of Wages and Investment in General Training," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(3), pages 539-572, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Zwick, Thomas, 2002. "Continuous Training and Firm Productivity in Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 02-50, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
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