The European Participation Index (EPI) and inequality: a multi-dimensional cross-national comparative measure of worker participation

Stan De Spiegelaere and Sigurt Vitols
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Stan De Spiegelaere: Ghent University, Belgium
Sigurt Vitols: WZB, Germany

Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 2024, vol. 30, issue 2, 143-160

Abstract: Is worker participation becoming more prominent or less? Furthermore, what is the impact of worker participation on economic performance? This article introduces a tool designed by researchers at the ETUI to help answer these questions: the European Participation Index (EPI), a country-level summary measure of the strength of workers’ voice in companies. The EPI is based on (i) union density and collective bargaining coverage, (ii) workplace representation and (iii) board-level representation. This multi-level index provides an alternative to existing cross-national measures by taking into consideration two levels at which worker participation can take place: the workplace and the board. The article shows first that worker participation has become less prevalent in the EU over the past decade; and second that the EPI is robust and has superior explanatory power in relation to income inequality compared with traditional measures of collective bargaining.

Keywords: Economic democracy; worker participation; sustainability; co-determination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:treure:v:30:y:2024:i:2:p:143-160

DOI: 10.1177/10242589241252412

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