Working Paper: NBER ID: w4733
Authors: Richard Disney; Amanda Gosling; Stephen Machin
Abstract: The authors analyze establishment-level data from the three Workplace Industrial Relations Surveys of 1980, 1984 and 1990 to document and explain the sharp decline in unionization that occurred in Britain over the 1980s. Between 1980 and 1990 the proportion of British establishments which recognised manual or non-manual trade unions for collective bargaining over pay and conditions fell by almost 20 percent (from 0.67 to 0.54). The evidence reported demonstrates the importance of the interaction between the labour market, the product market, employer behaviour and the legislative framework in determining union recognition status in new establishments. The sharp fall in trade union recognition appears to be largely driven by a failure to achieve recognition status in establishments set up in the 1980s. These results, when taken in conjunction with recent changes in the nature of employment in the British labour market, seem to paint a bleak picture for unions and there appears to be no reason why the decline in union activity should not continue into the 1990s.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: No JEL codes provided
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| economic environment of the 1980s (E65) | union recognition (J51) |
| failure to achieve recognition status in newly established workplaces (J63) | decline in union activity (J51) |
| shifts from manufacturing to services (O14) | decline in union recognition (J58) |
| establishment age (L26) | union recognition (J51) |
| recognition decisions made early in establishment's life cycle (L26) | union recognition (J51) |