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The Changing Size Distribution of U.S. Trade Unions and Its Description by Pareto's Distribution

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  • Pencavel, John H.

    (Stanford University)

Abstract

The size distribution of trade unions in the United States and changes in this distribution are documented. Because the most profound changes are taking place among very large unions, these are subject to special analysis by invoking Pareto's distribution. This represents a new application of this distribution. Extensions to trade union wealth and to Britain are broached. The role of the public sector in these changes receives particular attention. A simple model helps account both for the logarithmic distribution of union membership and for the contrasting experiences of public and private sector unions since the 1970s.

Suggested Citation

  • Pencavel, John H., 2013. "The Changing Size Distribution of U.S. Trade Unions and Its Description by Pareto's Distribution," IZA Discussion Papers 7232, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7232
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    4. Campolieti, Michele, 2020. "The distribution of union size: Canada, 1913–2014," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 558(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pareto's distribution; public-sector unions; trade union membership;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

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