Unions, Works Councils and Plant Closings in Germany

John Addison, Lutz Bellmann () and Arnd Kölling ()
Additional contact information
Lutz Bellmann: Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg
Arnd Kölling: Berlin School of Economics and Law

No 474, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper present paper provides the first results for Germany on the impact of works councils and collective agreements on plant closings, using data from the IAB establishment panel. We find evidence of a robust positive association between works council presence and plant closures. The strictures of collective agreements do not seemingly affect closings. By the same token, and contrary to some recent findings on other aspects of establishment performance, the presence of a collective agreement does not attenuate the impact of local workplace representation on closings. Our analysis does nothing to encourage a sanguine view of recent legislation in Germany that facilitates the formation of works councils and strengthens their codetermination powers.

Keywords: industry/regional collective bargaining; workplace representation; rent seeking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J51 J53 J58 J65 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2002-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Published - published in: British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2004, 42 (1), 125-148

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