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The extent of collective bargaining and workplace representation: transitions between states and their determinants. A comparative analysis of Germany and Great Britain

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  • Addison, John T.
  • Bryson, Alex
  • Teixeira, Paulino
  • Pahnke, André
  • Bellman, Lutz

Abstract

Industrial relations are in flux in many nations, perhaps most notably in Germany and Britain. That said, comparatively little is known in any detail of the changing pattern of the institutions of collective bargaining and worker representation in Germany and still less in both countries about firm transitions between these institutions over time. The present paper maps changes in the importance of the key institutions, 1998-2004, and explores the correlates of two-way transitions, using successive waves of the German IAB Establishment Panel and both cross-sectional and panel components of the British Workplace Employment Relations Survey. We identify the workplace correlates of the demise of collective bargaining in Britain and the erosion of sectoral bargaining in Germany, and identify the respective roles of behavioral and compositional change.

Suggested Citation

  • Addison, John T. & Bryson, Alex & Teixeira, Paulino & Pahnke, André & Bellman, Lutz, 2009. "The extent of collective bargaining and workplace representation: transitions between states and their determinants. A comparative analysis of Germany and Great Britain," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 27779, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:27779
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Union recognition; union coverage; sectoral and firm-level collective bargaining; works councils; joint consultative committees; changes in collective bargaining/worker representation states; bargaining transitions and their determinants;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General

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