In an open-shop model of trade union membership with heterogeneity in risk attitudes, a worker's relative risk aversion can affect the decision to join a trade union. Furthermore, a shift in risk attitudes can alter collective bargaining outcomes. Using German panel data (GSOEP) and three novel...

This paper investigates how demographic change affects the financial sustainability of apay-as-you-gosocialsecuritysysteminanenvironmentwithcollectivebargainingonthe labor market. Partial equilibrium analysis shows that the contribution rate or the benefit level decreases, if the old-age...

In this paper we provide new estimates of the impact of unions on nonunion wage setting. We allow the presence of unions to affect nonunion wages both through the typically discussed channel of nonunion firms emulating union wages in order to fend off the threat of unionisation and through a...