The article tries to answer an old question of economic theory and institutional economics: How do trade unions fit into a market economy? Are they a constitutive element of the market order or: are they a source of irritation and disruption?

In this note, we apply a new test by Lind and Mehlum (2010), casting doubt on the claim proposed by Blanchflower (2007) that the probability of unionisation follows an inverted U-shaped pattern in age with a maximum in the mid- to late 40s. With this new test for an inverted U-shaped pattern,...

We study the descriptive and substantive representation of workers through worker representatives, focusing on the selection of German works council representatives and their impact on worker outcomes. Becoming a professional representative leads to substantial wage gains for the elected,...

The recent labour-market performance varies greatly between the United States and continental Europe on the one hand, and between the low- and high-skilled on the other. This book starts by presenting up-to-date empirical evidence on these stylised facts and on the importance of the intensity of...