Trends in Worker Demand for Union Representation'

1
Trends in Worker Demand for Union Representation.

• Farber, H. (1989) American Economic Review

2
Union membership decline

• Article written during the height of union
  decline
• Data used from 70s and 80s
• Data from 4 sources/surveys
• Key question in surveys
• would you join union today? (0,1 variable)

3
TABLE 1

• Column 1 shows successively less demand for
  unions in 80, 82, and 84 (compared to 77)
• Column 2 shows estimate of a decline in demand of
  .8 per year during survey years
• Column 3 controls for other factors, but residual
  decline in demand still exists.

4
More info on decline

• Questions on job satisfaction used
• Satisfied with pay?
• Satisfied with job security?
• Satisfied with job overall?
• Do unions improve wages and working conditions?
• Trend was towards more job satisfaction and ?
  perception of union effectiveness (Table 2)

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Final Thoughts

• VFU estimation equation shows significant effects
  (satisfaction and perceptions of unions)
• Perceptions may be due to increased employer
  resistance also
• Hicks Model?