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The Interindustry Structure of Unionism, Earnings, and Earnings Dispersion

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  • Barry T. Hirsch

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between unionism and earnings dispersion within U.S. manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries. The author hypothesizes not only that unionism narrows earnings dispersion, as others have shown, but also that the dispersion in earnings, reflecting the degree of worker homogeneity, influences the level of unionism. Estimation of a three-equation model, using 1970 three-digit industry data, provides evidence regarding the simultaneous determination of unionism, earnings, and earnings dispersion within U.S. industries. The estimated equalizing effects of unionism on within-industry earnings distributions are found to be significant both in the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing sectors, the size of these estimates increasing after accounting for simultaneity. In addition, the dispersion in earnings does appear to affect the level of unionism, although the evidence on this point is ambiguous.

Suggested Citation

  • Barry T. Hirsch, 1982. "The Interindustry Structure of Unionism, Earnings, and Earnings Dispersion," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 36(1), pages 22-39, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:36:y:1982:i:1:p:22-39
    DOI: 10.1177/001979398203600102
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    Cited by:

    1. Barry T. Hirsch, 2004. "Reconsidering Union Wage Effects: Surveying New Evidence on an Old Topic," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 25(2), pages 233-266, April.
    2. Jiancheng Guan & Lanxin Pang, 2018. "Bidirectional relationship between network position and knowledge creation in Scientometrics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(1), pages 201-222, April.
    3. Sheng-Syan Chen & Yan-Shing Chen & Yanzhi Wang, 2015. "Does Labor Power Affect the Likelihood of a Share Repurchase?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 44(3), pages 623-653, September.
    4. Jean Farès & Terence Yuen, 2003. "Technological Change and the Education Premium in Canada: Sectoral Evidence," Staff Working Papers 03-18, Bank of Canada.
    5. Fernando Rios-Avila & Barry T. Hirsch, 2014. "Unions, Wage Gaps, and Wage Dispersion: New Evidence from the Americas," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 1-27, January.
    6. Serena Huang, 2011. "The international transferability of human capital in nursing," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 145-163, September.
    7. Katharine G. Abraham & Henry S. Farber, 1988. "Returns to Seniority in Union and Nonunion Jobs: A New Look at the Evidence," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 42(1), pages 3-19, October.
    8. Gosling, Amanda & Machin, Stephen, 1995. "Trade Unions and the Dispersion of Earnings in British Establishments, 1980-90," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 57(2), pages 167-184, May.
    9. Freeman, Richard B, 1984. "Longitudinal Analyses of the Effects of Trade Unions," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 1-26, January.
    10. 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.
    11. Mary Ellen Benedict, 1999. "The Union Effect on the Earnings Distribution in Higher Education in Ohio," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 43(1), pages 57-70, March.
    12. Westermark, A., 1999. "A Model of Union Formation," Papers 1999:8, Uppsala - Working Paper Series.
    13. Chino, Atsushi, 2016. "Do labor unions affect firm payout policy?: Operating leverage and rent extraction effects," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 156-178.
    14. Zhenxu Tong, 2015. "Labor Unions and Forms of Corporate Liquidity," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(7-8), pages 1007-1039, September.
    15. Louis Chauvel & Martin Schröder, 2017. "A Prey-Predator Model of Trade Union Density and Inequality in 12 Advanced Capitalisms over Long Periods," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(1), pages 3-26, February.
    16. Rodriguez-Gutierrez, Cesar, 2001. "Wage dispersion within firms and collective bargaining in Spain," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(3), pages 381-386, September.
    17. Jorge Saba Arbache, 1998. "The Impact of Unions on Wages in Brazilian Manufacturing," Studies in Economics 9805, School of Economics, University of Kent.

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