Trade Unions and Productivity
Some New Evidence on an Old Issue
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9762289 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard B Freeman (0000-0001-9471-8117, Harvard University, corresponding author), James L Medoff (National Bureau of Economic Research) |
| Year | 1984 |
| Volume | 473 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 149-164 |
| Publication date | 1984-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7162 • E-ISSN: 1552-3349 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0002716284473001015 |
| OpenAlex | W2043849690 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 9 |
Econometric investigations have yielded new evidence concerning collective bargaining's impact on productivity for workers of a given quality working with the same amount of capital. These findings indicate that in many sectors—in particular, manufacturing and construction—unionized work places are on average more productive than nonunion ones. This positive effect is not an immutable constant. For example, in the underground bituminous coal industry, unionized mines were less productive than nonunion mines in 1975, with the reverse true in 1965. The routes by which unions affect productivity have not yet been carefully delineated, but they appear to differ from sector to sector. In manufacturing, reduced turnover and improved management seem to be key; in construction, better-trained workers and more rationalized hiring and supervision seem to be primary. Finally, while the union/nonunion productivity differential is likely to be positive, it is on the average not large enough to offset the greater compensation and capital intensity under unionism. Hence, higher productivity and lower profitability appear to go hand in hand under collective bargaining
Business · Capital (architecture · Capital intensity · Collective bargaining · Differential (mechanical device · Economics · Human capital · Industrial organization · Labour economics · Macroeconomics · Market economy · Productivity · Profitability index · Quality (philosophy · Work (physics · Global trade and economics · Labor Movements and Unions · Merger and Competition Analysis
The Exit-Voice Tradeoff in the Labor Market
Substitution Between Production Labor and Other Inputs in Unionzed and Nonunionized Manufacturing
Trade Unions in the Production Process
Collective Bargaining
Union Bargaining Power in the Coal Industry, 1945-1981
The Impact of Unionization on Productivity
The Impact of Union-Management Cooperation on Productivity and Employment
Unionization and Productivity in Office Building and School Construction
The Effects of Unions on Efficiency in the Residential Construction Industry
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |