Unionisation structures and heterogeneous firms

Arbeitspapier

The effects of unions on productivity and firm performance have been the topic of extensive research. Existing studies have, however, primarily focused on firm-level bargaining and on markets that are characterised by a small and fixed number of identical firms. This paper studies how different unionisation structures affect firm productivity and firm performance in a monopolistic competition model with heterogeneous firms and free entry. While centralised bargaining induces tougher selection among heterogeneous producers and thus increases average productivity, firm-level bargaining allows less productive entrants to remain in the market. Centralised bargaining also results in higher average output and profit levels than either decentralised bargaining or a competitive labour market. From the perspective of consumers, the choice between centralised and decentralised bargaining involves a potential trade-off between product variety and product prices.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Kiel Working Paper ; No. 1566

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining: General ; Market Structure, Pricing, and Design: Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
• Subject: Trade unions ; heterogeneous firms ; productivity ; firm performance ; Tarifpolitik ; Lohnverhandlungen ; Gewerkschaftlicher Organisationsgrad ; Firmentarifvertrag ; Produktivität ; Unternehmensentwicklung ; Monopolistischer Wettbewerb ; Wohlfahrtseffekt ; Theorie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Braun, Sebastian
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
• (where): Kiel
• (when): 2009

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/30060
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET