Worker Power, Immigrant Sorting, and Firm Dynamics

Mikko Silliman, Alexander Willén and Alexander L.P. Willén
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Alexander Willén ()

No 11281, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: This paper combines two of the most central features of modern labor markets —immigrants and unions —to examine the role of worker power in shaping immigrant sorting across firms, and how that subsequently influences the performance of firms and the careers of incumbent workers. First, unions push immigrants to enter lower-paying and lower-quality firms with weaker union representation. Second, these firms with weaker union representation are able to use the cheaper immigrant labor to scale up production, thereby out-competing firms with stronger union representation and capturing market share. Third, incumbent workers in firms with weaker union representation benefit by shifting into management positions and capturing some of the firm’s increased rents. Fourth, despite benefiting incumbent workers in firms with weaker union representation, these workers are more likely to become union members themselves in response to greater contact with new immigrants. Broadly, our results cut across nearly all sectors but are considerably more muted in competitive markets.

Keywords: immigration; worker power; unions; firms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J20 J30 J50 J60 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
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Related works:
Working Paper: Worker Power, Immigrant Sorting, and Firm Dynamics (2024)
Working Paper: Worker Power, Immigrant Sorting, and Firm Dynamics (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11281

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