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Investigating the Cause of Death: Industrial Relations and Plant Closures in Australia

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  • Michelle Brown
  • John S. Heywood

Abstract

This is the first study to focus on how unions affect the likelihood of plant closures in Australia. Australia is of special interest in this connection, the authors argue, because of its unique industrial relations institutions, which, at the time of the study (1990–95), limited the capacity of established unionized firms to remove unions except through plant closure. An analysis of Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey data shows that two of three measures of unionization had a robust positive influence on the probability of plant closure, and the third had a weaker positive influence. Depending on the specification, for example, a 10 percentage point increase in union density (one of the two measures found to have strong influence) was associated with a 1.3–1.7 percentage point increase in the probability of plant closure—representing a substantial increment, since the mean closure probability among these plants was about 16%.

Suggested Citation

  • Michelle Brown & John S. Heywood, 2006. "Investigating the Cause of Death: Industrial Relations and Plant Closures in Australia," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 59(4), pages 593-612, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:59:y:2006:i:4:p:593-612
    DOI: 10.1177/001979390605900404
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John T. Addison & John S. Heywood & Xiangdong Wei, 2003. "New Evidence on Unions and Plant Closings: Britain in the 1990s," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 69(4), pages 822-841, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. David M. Frankel, 2010. "Rent Seeking and Economic Fragility," Levine's Bibliography 661465000000000159, UCLA Department of Economics.
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    3. Tony Fang & John S. Heywood, 2006. "Unionization and plant closure in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(4), pages 1173-1194, November.
    4. Ling Li & Shawn Rohlin & Perry Singleton, 2022. "Labor Unions and Workplace Safety," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 75(2), pages 402-426, March.

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