Union density and varieties of coverage: the anatomy of union wage effects in Germany

"Collective bargaining in Germany takes place either at the industry level or at the firm level; collective bargaining coverage is much higher than union density; and not all employees in a covered firm are necessarily covered. This institutional setup suggests to explicitly distinguish union p...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fitzenberger, Bernd, Kohn, Karsten, Lembcke, Alexander C.
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Mannheim 2008
ZEW
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19189644124919078269-union-density-and-varieties-of.htm
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author Fitzenberger, Bernd
Kohn, Karsten
Lembcke, Alexander C.
author_facet Fitzenberger, Bernd
Kohn, Karsten
Lembcke, Alexander C.
collection Library items
description "Collective bargaining in Germany takes place either at the industry level or at the firm level; collective bargaining coverage is much higher than union density; and not all employees in a covered firm are necessarily covered. This institutional setup suggests to explicitly distinguish union power as measured by net union density (NUD) in a labor market segment, coverage at the firm level, and coverage at the individual level. Using linked employer-employee data and applying quantile regressions, this is the first empirical paper which simultaneously analyzes these three dimensions of union influence on the structure of wages. Ceteris paribus, a higher share of employees in a firm covered by industry-wide or firm-level contracts is associated with higher wages. Yet, individual bargaining coverage in a covered firm shows a negative impact both on the wage level and on wage dispersion. A higher union density reinforces the effects of coverage, but the effect of union density is negative at all points in the wage distribution for uncovered employees. In line with an insurance motive, higher union density compresses the wage structure and, at the same time, it is associated with a uniform leftward movement of the distribution for uncovered employees."
format TEXT
geographic Germany
id 19189644124919078269_a2533b62eea845a789c9646b1c2b2191
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19189644124919078269_a2533b62eea845a789c9646b1c2b2191
is_hierarchy_title Union density and varieties of coverage: the anatomy of union wage effects in Germany
language English
physical 39 p.
Digital
publishDate 2008
publisher Mannheim
ZEW
spellingShingle Fitzenberger, Bernd
Kohn, Karsten
Lembcke, Alexander C.
collective bargaining
wage structure
trade union membership
Union density and varieties of coverage: the anatomy of union wage effects in Germany
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=117920293510
title Union density and varieties of coverage: the anatomy of union wage effects in Germany
topic collective bargaining
wage structure
trade union membership
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19189644124919078269-union-density-and-varieties-of.htm