IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ozl/journl/v20y2017i1p57-84.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Trade Unions on Work Related Training in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Dobbie

    (Macquarie University)

  • Daehoon Nahm

    (Macquarie University)

  • Craig MacMillan

    (Macquarie University)

Abstract

This paper uses data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Survey in Australia (2009-2014) to examine the role played by unions in workplace training. We focus on the incidence, intensity, transferability of training, as well as associated wage effects. We find that there is some evidence that unions have a positive effect on the incidence and transferability of training. We find no evidence of a union effect on training intensity. We also find that unions influence wage growth in a way that is consistent with the view that unions trade off wage growth for training opportunities. Our results are not consistent with the predicted role on unions in the standard Becker model. They are consistent with predictions about union influence in imperfectly competitive labour markets, or with the idea that unions directly negotiate better training opportunities.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Dobbie & Daehoon Nahm & Craig MacMillan, 2017. "The Impact of Trade Unions on Work Related Training in Australia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 20(1), pages 57-84.
    • Handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:20:y:2017:i:1:p:57-84
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://ftprepec.drivehq.com/ozl/journl/downloads/AJLE201dobbie.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Francis Green & Stephen Machin & David Wilkinson, 1999. "Trade Unions and Training Practices in British Workplaces," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 52(2), pages 179-195, January.
    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. William Morton, 2024. "The impact of unions on the Australian enterprise bargaining framework," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(S1), pages 13-22, May.

    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. Addison, John T. & Belfield, Clive R., 2004. "Unions, Training, and Firm Performance: Evidence from the British Workplace Employee Relations Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 1264, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Pfeifer, Christian & Janssen, Simon & Yang, Philip & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2010. "Training Participation of an Aging Workforce in an Internal Labor Market," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-447, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
    3. Steven McIntosh, 1999. "A Cross-Country Comparison of the Determinants of Vocational Training," CEP Discussion Papers dp0432, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    4. Monastiriotis, Vassilis, 1999. "Is declining union density increasing regional inequalities? Trade Unions, regional economic performance and regional disparities in the UK," ERSA conference papers ersa99pa182, European Regional Science Association.
    5. Monojit Chatterji, 2000. "Trade Union Power and Economic Efficiency," Dundee Discussion Papers in Economics 108, Economic Studies, University of Dundee.
    6. Addison, John T. & Belfield, Clive R., 2007. "Unions, training and firm performance," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 40(4), pages 361-381.
    7. Anna Grochowska & Paweł Strawiński, 2010. "Impact Of Social Capital On Individual Well-Being In Poland. Proxy-Based Approach," Working Papers 2010-13, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    8. Lucia Mýtna Kureková & Noah Vangeel & Ilse Tobback & Ivana Studená & Miroslav Štefánik & Karolien Lenaerts, 2023. "The Role of Industrial Relations and Social Dialogue in Improving Adult Learning Outcomes and Equity," Research Reports 54, Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI).
    9. Niall O'Higgins, 1997. "The challenge of youth unemployment," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(4), pages 63-93, October.
    10. Addison, John T. & Belfield, Clive R., 2007. "Unions, training and firm performance," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 40(4), pages 361-381.
    11. Christos Bilanakos & John S. Heywood & John G. Sessions & Nikolaos Theodoropoulos, 2018. "Does Delegation Increase Worker Training?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(2), pages 1089-1115, April.
    12. C. Waddoups, 2011. "Firm Size and Work-Related Training: New Evidence on Incidence, Intensity, and Training Type from Australia," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 390-413, December.
    13. Jung-Seung Yang, 2022. "Dynamics of Firm’s Investment in Education and Training: An Agent-based Approach," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 60(4), pages 1317-1351, December.
    14. David Metcalf, 2002. "Unions and Productivity, Financial Performance and Investment: International Evidence," CEP Discussion Papers dp0539, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    15. Giorgio Brunello & Maria De Paola, 2004. "Market Failures and the Under-Provision of Training," CESifo Working Paper Series 1286, CESifo.
    16. Ryan, Paul., 2003. "Lifelong learning : potential and constraints with special reference to policies in the United Kingdom and Europe," ILO Working Papers 994096163402676, International Labour Organization.
    17. Jason Heyes & Helen Rainbird, 2011. "Bargaining for Training: Converging or Diverging Interests?," Chapters, in: Susan Hayter (ed.), The Role of Collective Bargaining in the Global Economy, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. O'Higgins, Niall, 2001. "Youth unemployment and employment policy: a global perspective," MPRA Paper 23698, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Andrea Mario Lavezzi, 2006. "On High‐Skill And Low‐Skill Equilibria: A Markov Chain Approach," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(2), pages 121-157, May.
    20. Erol, Serife & Ahlers, Elke & Schleicher, Sergej, 2021. "Betriebliche Weiterbildung als Handlungsfeld der Betriebsräte," WSI Policy Briefs 51, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Union training effects; training incidence; training intensity; transferable skills; HILDA;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

    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:ozl:journl:v:20:y:2017:i:1:p:57-84. 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: Sandie Rawnsley (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/becurau.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.