The Career Effects of Union Membership

Samuel Dodini, Kjell G Salvanes, Alexander Willén () and Li Zhu ()
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Li Zhu: Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Postal: NHH, Department of Economics, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway

No 12/2023, Discussion Paper Series in Economics from Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics

Abstract: We combine exogenous variation in union membership with detailed administrative data and a novel field survey to estimate the career effects of labor union membership. In the survey, we show how workers perceive the role of unions in setting wages and determining work amenities. In the administrative data, we causally examine through which channels unions influence worker outcomes, whether unions influence workers differently across their careers, and what the overall long-run effects of individual union membership are. Our results highlight that the career effect of union membership differs greatly depending on the age at which workers enroll. In addition, we show that focusing on a restricted set of outcomes, such as wages and employment, generates a fractionalized understanding of the multidimensional career effect that union membership has on workers.

Keywords: Unions; Wage Premiums; Job Protection; Work Environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 J31 J32 J51 J63 J65 J81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 59 pages
Date: 2023-05-26
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-hrm and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Working Paper: The Career Effects of Union Membership (2023)
Working Paper: The Career Effects of Union Membership (2023)
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