Disruption of the Ghent effect: Disentangling structural and institutional determinants of union membership decline in Sweden, 2005–2010

Abstract

In 2007–2008, Sweden implemented changes to the Ghent system of unemployment insurance, leading to union density decline. We study the interaction of labour force composition and institutional changes, finding that the structural tendencies of the decline strongly interacts with these changes, exposing previous precarious categories even further.