The effect of unionization on labor productivity: some additional evidence

Article Abstract:

Following Brown and Medoff (1978), a number of studies have investigated the effect of unionization on labor productivity using a log-linear, Cobb-Douglas model of technology. To derive this model, a first-order Taylor-series approximation to the intrinsically nonlinear unionization variable is made; the resulting linear equation is estimated with generalized least-squares (GLS) techniques. We demonstrate that this approximation introduces a bias that necessarily results in an overstatement of the absolute value of the exact union productivity effect. We illustrate the magnitude of this bias by comparing GLS estimates of the linear Brown-Medoff model with GLS estimates of the exact, nonlinear relationship, using aggregate time-series data from the private domestic sector of the U.S. economy. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Research, Statistics, Labor productivity

---

The impact of unionization on labor's share of income

Article Abstract:

This study examines the effect of unions on labor's share of income. Because economic conditions within each industry are important in addressing this issue, this analysis incorporates a more disaggregated approach than has been previously used. Cross-sectional data for the 1950s - a period of more stable unionization - permit an examination of the long-run effect of wage increases on labor's share. The empirical analysis suggests that higher labor prices have no long-run impact on labor's share in manufacturing. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Analysis, Compensation and benefits, Labor economics

---

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Average employee tenure, voluntary turnover ratio, and labor productivity: evidence from Japanese firms. The nature, scope and effects of profit sharing in Japan: evidence from new survey data
• Abstracts: The composition of public sector compensation: the effects of unionization and bureaucratic size. The Effect of Unionization on Safety in Bituminous Deep Mines
• Abstracts: Break the mold: strategies for productivity. Witness to a merger
• Abstracts: Employee assistance: how to help victims of domestic violence. Appraisal goals and controls
• Abstracts: The dilemmas of civil service personnel management. Personnel's role on campus

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.