Deunionization and skills

IF 2.2 2区经济学 Q2 ECONOMICS

Labour Economics Pub Date : 2025-03-22 DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2025.102711

Joseph Pickens

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Abstract

A search and matching model is developed to investigate the effect of skill distribution change and skill-biased technical change (SBTC) on United States private sector unionization. The model’s equilibrium is such that workers with moderate skill will select into the union sector while those with low or high skill will select into the non-union sector. The model’s calibration to the U.S. private sector employs a novel method to separate movements in the skill distribution and skill premium. This, in turn, is used to help identify SBTC. A counterfactual analysis documents a significant relationship between the skill distribution and unionization. In particular, a rise in skill dispersion accounts for one-seventh of U.S. private sector deunionization between 1984 and 2019. This analysis also gives a quantitative effect of SBTC in line with the literature: it accounts for between one-fifth and two-fifths of deunionization depending on the specification. However, part of its qualitative effect is novel: SBTC shifts unionization towards more skilled workers. Further analysis suggests that skill distribution change is not likely to have a significant effect on private sector unionization in the future.

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来源期刊

Labour Economics ECONOMICS-

CiteScore

3.60

自引率

8.30%

发文量

142

期刊介绍： Labour Economics is devoted to publishing research in the field of labour economics both on the microeconomic and on the macroeconomic level, in a balanced mix of theory, empirical testing and policy applications. It gives due recognition to analysis and explanation of institutional arrangements of national labour markets and the impact of these institutions on labour market outcomes.