How trade unions increase welfare

Alejandro Donado and Klaus Wälde

No 83, W.E.P. - Würzburg Economic Papers from University of Würzburg, Department of Economics

Abstract: Historically, worker movements have played a crucial role in making workplaces safer. Firms traditionally oppose better health standards. According to our interpretation, workplace safety is costly for firms but increases the average health of workers and thereby the aggregate labour supply. A laissez-faire approach in which firms set safety standards is suboptimal as workers are not fully informed of health risks associated with jobs. Safety standards set by better-informed trade unions are output and welfare increasing.

Keywords: Occupational health and safety; trade unions; welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J51 J81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Journal Article: How trade unions increase welfare (2012)
Working Paper: How Trade Unions Increase Welfare (2011)
Working Paper: How Trade Unions Increase Welfare (2010)
Working Paper: How Trade Unions Increase Welfare (2010)
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