Working Paper: NBER ID: w30437
Authors: Manudeep Bhuller; Karl O. Moene; Magne Mogstad; Ola L. Vestad
Abstract: In this article, we document and discuss salient features of collective bargaining systems in the OECD countries, with the goal of debunking some misconceptions and myths and revitalizing the general interest in wage setting and collective bargaining. We hope that such an interest may help close the gap between how economists tend to model wage setting and how wages are actually set. Canonical models of competitive labor markets, monopsony, and search and matching all assume a decentralized wage setting where individual firms and workers determine wages. In most advanced economies, however, it is common that firms or employer associations bargain with unions over wages, producing collective bargaining systems. We show that the characteristics of these systems vary in important ways across advanced economies, with regards to both the scope and the structure of collective bargaining.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: J31; J51; J52
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| coordinated bargaining systems (J52) | higher wages (J39) |
| effective pattern bargaining (C78) | higher wages (J39) |
| less coordinated bargaining systems (C78) | lower wage outcomes (J31) |
| centralized bargaining (J52) | wage restraint (E64) |
| union coordination (J51) | wage outcomes (J31) |
| sectoral and local bargaining (J52) | wages (J31) |
| decentralization trend (H77) | complex relationship with wage outcomes (J31) |
| coordinating substitutes (D10) | militancy in wage negotiations (J52) |
| coordinating complements (D10) | acquiescence (G34) |