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The Efficacy of Hybrid Collective Bargaining Systems: An Analysis of the Impact of Collective Bargaining on Company Performance in Europe

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  • Braakmann, Nils
  • Brandl, Bernd

Abstract

Individual and company bargaining has increasingly supplanted sector and country collective bargaining leading to increasingly perforated and multi-layered national collective bargaining systems. In this paper, we develop a comprehensive categorization of bargaining and argue that both the bargaining level and the degree of integrative interaction between bargaining units matters for efficacy. This idea is tested using representative company level data for the European Union. We find that the efficacy of coordinated sector and multi-level systems is higher than for all other forms of bargaining. Policy implications are discussed as these results challenge current attempts to reform collective bargaining in Europe.

Suggested Citation

  • Braakmann, Nils & Brandl, Bernd, 2016. "The Efficacy of Hybrid Collective Bargaining Systems: An Analysis of the Impact of Collective Bargaining on Company Performance in Europe," MPRA Paper 70025, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:70025
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bustos, Emil, 2024. "Collectively Bargained Wages and Female Earnings: Evidence from Swedish Local Governments," Working Paper Series 1494, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    3. Cardullo, Gabriele, 2024. "Slouching Towards Decentralization. An Equilibrium Approach for Collective Bargaining," IZA Discussion Papers 16870, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Valeria Cirillo & Matteo Rinaldini & Jacopo Staccioli & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2023. "Trade unions' responses to Industry 4.0 amid corporatism and resistance," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 76(305), pages 91-120.
    5. Addison John T. & Teixeira Paulino, 2019. "Workplace Employee Representation and Industrial Relations Performance: New Evidence from the 2013 European Company Survey," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 239(1), pages 111-154, January.
    6. Andrea Garnero, 2021. "The impact of collective bargaining on employment and wage inequality: Evidence from a new taxonomy of bargaining systems," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(2), pages 185-202, June.
    7. Polaski, Sandra., 2018. "Building an adequate U.S. labor and social protection system for the 21st century," ILO Working Papers 994989393302676, International Labour Organization.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    collective bargaining; efficacy; hybrid bargaining systems; company performance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation

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