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Public Sector Unions and Municipal Employment

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  • Stephen J. Trejo

Abstract

Using 1980 data for a large sample of U.S. cities, the author reexamines recent empirical findings of a positive association between public sector unionization and municipal employment. Several researchers have interpreted this correlation as evidence that public employee unions successfully exert political pressure to raise the demand for municipal services. Structural estimates of labor demand and the determinants of police and fire unionization reveal, however, that economies of scale in union formation are at least partly responsible for any positive association between public sector unionization and municipal employment. The author concludes that previous studies overstate the amount of political clout wielded by municipal labor unions.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen J. Trejo, 1991. "Public Sector Unions and Municipal Employment," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 45(1), pages 166-180, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:45:y:1991:i:1:p:166-180
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    Cited by:

    1. Dhammika Dharmapala & Richard H. McAdams & John Rappaport, 2019. "Collective Bargaining and Police Misconduct: Evidence from Florida," CESifo Working Paper Series 7718, CESifo.
    2. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3573-3630 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Cunningham, Jamein & Feir, Donn. L. & Gillezeau, Rob, 2021. "Collective Bargaining Rights, Policing, and Civilian Deaths," IZA Discussion Papers 14208, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Michael Marlow, 1997. "Public education supply and student performance," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(5), pages 617-626.
    5. Feiveson, Laura, 2015. "General revenue sharing and public sector unions," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 28-45.
    6. Randall G. Holcombe & DeEdgra W. Williams, 2008. "The Impact of Population Density on Municipal Government Expenditures," Public Finance Review, , vol. 36(3), pages 359-373, May.
    7. Bahman Bahrami & John Bitzan & Jay Leitch, 2009. "Union Worker Wage Effect in the Public Sector," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 35-51, March.
    8. Katharine O. Strunk & Sean F. Reardon, 2010. "Measuring the Strength of Teachers' Unions," Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, , vol. 35(6), pages 629-670, December.
    9. Tim Sass & Jennifer Troyer, 1999. "Affirmative action, political representation, unions, and female police employment," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 571-587, December.
    10. Falch, Torberg, 2001. "Collective bargaining in the public sector and the role of budget determination," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 75-99, March.
    11. Driscoll, Donna & Halcoussis, Dennis & Svorny, Shirley, 2003. "School district size and student performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 193-201, April.
    12. Kangoh Lee, 2018. "Unemployment and crime: the role of apprehension," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 59-80, February.
    13. Rebecca M. Blank, 1994. "Public Sector Growth and Labor Market Flexibility: The United States versus the United Kingdom," NBER Chapters, in: Social Protection versus Economic Flexibility: Is There a Trade-Off?, pages 223-264, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Michael L. Marlow, 2013. "Public sector unions and government size," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(5), pages 466-470, March.

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