A model of monopoly and “efficient” unions with endogenous union coverage: Positive and normative implications

Chezum, Brian; Garen, John

doi:10.1007/bf02685862

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…One last issue can be addressed with the data and results at hand. Did the union target the most productive mines, as hypothesized by Kuhn (1988) and Chezum and Garen (1996, 1998)? On the one hand, if coal mines experienced transitory productivity shocks that were correlated with unionization, then the estimates I presented above are biased upward.…”

Section: Did the Union Target The Most Productive Mines?mentioning

confidence: 98%

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The Effect of Unionization on Productivity: Evidence from a Long Panel of Coal Mines

Boal

2016

ILR Review

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The author measures the effect of unionization on productivity based on a panel of West Virginia coal mines from 1897 to 1928. Output and inputs are measured in physical terms, and most of the mines in the panel changed union status at least once, though not simultaneously, so the panel is close to ideal for measuring the effect of unionization on productivity. Fixed-effects estimates show that the union had little effect on productivity before 1914, but thereafter it had a negative effect of 5 to 10%. This negative effect was not reversed when mines were later deunionized. The author evaluates a variety of possible explanations for these results. Some evidence points to declining investment at union mines relative to nonunion mines, but the evidence is circumstantial and the direction of causality is unclear. The most plausible explanation is a sharp deterioration in labor relations at union mines after the violent Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike of 1912–1913.

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Section: Did the Union Target The Most Productive Mines?mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In other words, was unionization as good as randomly assigned, conditional on observed production inputs? Or did the UMWA tend to target the most productive mines, as suggested by Chezum and Garen (1996, 1998)?…”

Section: Unionization In West Virginia Coal Miningmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Unionization on Productivity: Evidence from a Long Panel of Coal Mines

Boal

2016

ILR Review

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Is Collective Bargaining Pareto Efficient? A Survey of the Literature

Lawson

2011

J Labor Res

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Are union productivity effects overestimated?: evidence from coal mining

Chezum¹,

Garen²

1998

Applied Economics

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The empirical literature of the influence of unions on productivity is extended by considering the effect in an industry with heterogeneous firms. Recent theoretical papers suggest that, in such an industry, unions will tend to organize the exogenously 'more productive' firms. Thus, a spurious correlation between unions and productivity may emerge. We test this hypothesis by estimating production functions for coal with data from Eastern Kentucky underground coal mines. The aspect of mine heterogeneity that we focus on is the width of the mine's seam of coal. Wider seams increase productivity. Empirically, we find that unions disproportionately organize mines with wider seams and this accounts for the positive relationship between unions and productivity observed in our data. In fact, once seam thickness is accounted for, the estimated effect of unions on productivity is negative.

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A model of monopoly and “efficient” unions with endogenous union coverage: Positive and normative implications

Cited by 4 publications

References 27 publications

The Effect of Unionization on Productivity: Evidence from a Long Panel of Coal Mines

The Effect of Unionization on Productivity: Evidence from a Long Panel of Coal Mines

Is Collective Bargaining Pareto Efficient? A Survey of the Literature

Are union productivity effects overestimated?: evidence from coal mining

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