The decline in the economy’s ability to create good jobs is related to deterioration in the bargaining power of workers, especially those at the middle and the bottom of the pay scale. The restructuring of the U.S. labor market – including the decline in the inflation-adjusted value of the...

The distribution of income lies at the intersection of states and markets, both influencing and responding to government policy. Reflecting this reality, increasing research focuses on the political origins of inequality in the U.S. However, the literature largely assumes — rather than tests...

This paper estimates the union effects on the wage gap and dispersion in two pooled samples of construction craftworkers (CPS 1983-88 and 2000-05) using decomposition analysis and kernel density estimation. It shows that despite the decline in the adjusted union wage gap declined over time, the...

I examine evidence on private sector union wage gaps in the U.S. The consensus opinion among labor economists of an average union premium of roughly 15 percent is called into question. Two forms of measurement error create a downward bias in standard wage gap estimates. Match bias results from...

We investigate the impact of exchange rate movements on wage determination in unionised labour markets. Using a simple model of international oligopoly, we show that organised labour has a rational incentive to accept lower wages in the face of a currency appreciation. This proposition is...

Utilizing provincial-level data from the period of 1994-2008, this paper studies the relationship between union density and wages, employment, productivity, and economic output in China. The findings indicate that union density does not affect average wage levels, but is positively associated...

The Israeli Male and Female Workers Equal Pay Law of 1996 declares that men and women are entitled to equal pay for the same work. Nevertheless, most sectoral collective agreements in Israel afford only men with the right to a "family supplement". The current article seeks to understand the...

I examine evidence on private sector union wage gaps in the U.S. The consensus opinion among labor economists of an average union premium of roughly 15 percent is called into question. Two forms of measurement error create a downward bias in standard wage gap estimates. Match bias results from...

This paper is the first to use a large micro-level data set to investigate the activities and effectiveness of Chinese unions. We show that Chinese unions have a strong State-Party voice face and a collective voice face but lack a monopoly face. The empirical findings on the effectiveness of...

This paper offers empirical evidence on the impact of trade unions on wage inequality in Mexico. The results indicate that unions were a strongly equalizing force affecting the dispersion of wages in 1984, but were only half as effective at reducing wage inequality in 1996. Not only did the...