Despite recent changes in the relationship between unionism and various indicators of firm performance, there is one seeming constant in the Anglophone countries: unions at the workplace are associated with reduced employment growth of around -2.5% a year. Using German data, we examine the...

This paper examines the pattern of employment adjustment in Portugal. First, the issue is addressed using a long time series of aggregate data. Although the employment data show persistence, there is nonetheless a fairly rapid rate of employment adjustment. Second, a much shorter time series of...

While the volatility of job creations has been studied extensively, the survival chances of new jobs are less researched. The question when and how to expand a firm is of importance, both from the firms and from a macro perspective. Adjustment cost theories and arguments about option values of...

A firm's decision to employ agency workers may be perceived as a replacement of directly employed workers or as way to curb union power, which trade unions would oppose. Alternatively, trade unions may encourage the (temporary) employment of agency workers in a firm, if they manage to bargain...