Unionization of Retired Workers in Europe

Vinzenz Pyka and Claus Schnabel
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Vinzenz Pyka: University of Erlangen-Nuremberg

No 16604, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We shed light on an understudied group: retirees in unions. Using representative individual-level data of 19 European countries, we find that the share of retirees in unions and the union density of retirees increased between 2008 and 2020. Econometric analyses indicate that on average retired workers' probability of union membership is 17 percentage points lower than that of active workers. This finding is consistent with social custom models and cost-benefit considerations. We further find that some determinants of union membership differ between active and retired workers and that standard membership models better explain the unionization of active than retired workers.

Keywords: trade union; retirement; union membership; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J26 J51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2023-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-eec, nep-eur and nep-lab
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Published - published in: European Journal of Industrial Relations, 2025, 31 (1), 5-29

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Related works:
Working Paper: Unionization of retired workers in Europe (2023)
Working Paper: Unionization of retired workers in Europe (2023)
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