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Trade Unions, Wage Bargaining Coordination, and Foreign Direct Investment

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  • Roxana Radulescu
  • Martin Robson

Abstract

Conventional wisdom is that a high trade union bargaining strength and a system of coordinated wage bargaining reduce the attractiveness of an economy as a location for foreign direct investment, although there is limited evidence for this. The paper takes panel data for 19 OECD economies to examine the relationship between trade union bargaining strength, bargaining coordi nation, and a range of incentives for inward foreign direct investment. It finds a strong negative effect of trade union density on inward foreign direct investment, which is dependent on the degree of wage bargaining coordination. A high degree of coordination weakens the deterrent effect of high union density, which is consistent with the notion that under certain circumstances a coordinated increase in wages can increase profits of the multinationals by hurting domestic firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Roxana Radulescu & Martin Robson, 2008. "Trade Unions, Wage Bargaining Coordination, and Foreign Direct Investment," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 22(4), pages 661-678, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:labour:v:22:y:2008:i:4:p:661-678
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9914.2008.00430.x
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    2. Runar Brännlund & Jonas Nordström & Jesper Stage & Dick Svedin, 2016. "Foreign ownership and its effects on employment and wages: the case of Sweden," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Markus Leibrecht & Christian Bellak, 2009. "Does the impact of employment protection legislation on FDI differ by skill-intensity of sectors? An empirical investigation," Discussion Papers 09/21, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    4. Domenico Buccella, 2011. "Labor unions and economic integration: A review," Económica, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, vol. 0, pages 25-89, January-D.

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