National Culture and Union Membership

Posthuma, Richard A.

doi:10.7202/038554ar

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 69 publications

(84 reference statements)

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“…Using micro-data files for 34 countries Blanchflower (2007) found that, prior to 2005, union density rates peaked in midlife maximizing in the mid to late 40s. 3 4 This U-shaped, or hump shaped, pattern was also found subsequently for Norway by Nergaard and Stokke (2007) and Posthuma (2009) in the World Values Survey, 1999-2002. Blanchflower found it made little difference whether controls were included, such as education, gender, race, occupation, location and so on; the probability of being a union member peaked in midlife.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 60%

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Union Membership Peaks in Midlife

Blanchflower

Bryson

2021

Brit J Industrial Rel

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Using data from 68 countries on over 8 million respondents over forty years we show union membership peaks in midlife -usually around workers' late 40s or early 50s. In doing so we extend Blanchflower's (2007) earlier study, incorporating a further 39 countries and another decade or so of data. We also found it in every US state and the District of Columbia as well as across industries. The fact that this relationship exists in virtually every country across the world challenges a key precept in industrial relations, namely that institutions matter: they appear to matter little, at least in the case of the hump-shaped relationship between unionization and age. The union membership rates at the age peak in the United States and the United Kingdom have lowered over time, while the age at which the peak has occurred has increased in both countries. In part this is due to increasing union membership rates among those over the age of sixty-five. Declines in membership by birth cohort have lowered union density rates as the older cohorts with historically higher membership rates leave labour markets. Although we have yet to fully understand why union membership peaks in midlife we are able to examine some of the possible explanations. The findings have important implications for our understanding of trade unionism across the world.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 60%

“… The WVS sweeps are 19811989-19931999- 2009 (45,208) and 2017-2019 with # observations in parentheses.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Union Membership Peaks in Midlife

Blanchflower

Bryson

2021

Brit J Industrial Rel

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“…Using micro-data files for 34 countries Blanchflower (2007) found that, prior to 2005, union density rates peaked in midlife maximizing in the mid to late 40s. 3 4 This U-shaped, or hump shaped, pattern was also found subsequently for Norway by Nergaard and Stokke (2007) and Posthuma (2009) in the World Values Survey, 1999. Blanchflower found it made little difference whether controls were included, such as education, gender, race, occupation, location and so on; the probability of being a union member peaked in midlife.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 62%

“… The WVS sweeps are 19811989-19931999- 2009;2010-2014 (45,208) and2017-2019 (40,771) and all (202,976) with # observations in parentheses.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Union Membership Peaks in Midlife

Blanchflower

Bryson

2020

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Using data from 68 countries on over 8 million respondents over forty years we show union membership peaks in midlife-usually around workers' late 40s or early 50s. In doing so we extend Blanchflower's (2007) earlier study, incorporating a further 39 countries and another decade or so of data. We also found it in every US state and the District of Columbia as well as across industries. The fact that this relationship exists in virtually every country across the world challenges a key precept in industrial relations, namely that institutions matter: they appear to matter little, at least in the case of the hump-shaped relationship between unionization and age. The union membership rates at the age peak in the United States and the United Kingdom have lowered over time, while the age at which the peak has occurred has increased in both countries. In part this is due to increasing union membership rates among those over the age of sixty-five. Declines in membership by birth cohort have lowered union density rates as the older cohorts with historically higher membership rates leave labour markets. Although we have yet to fully understand why union membership peaks in midlife we are able to examine some of the possible explanations. The findings have important implications for our understanding of trade unionism across the world.

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“…By referring to cultural as well as institutional factors that might hint at a larger degree of risk aversion on the part of Japanese employees as opposed to U.S. employees, we do not only uncover one potential explanatory factor for the evolution of different types of tournaments in the two countries, but we also contribute to the body of literature on how cultural and institutional factors might reinforce each other (see e.g. Black, 2001or Posthuma 2009). In a final step of our paper we highlight the recent changes in the Japanese employment system and discuss in how far these recent trends might change future tournament structures in Japan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Tournament Structures in Japan and the U.S. : Why are They Different and Will they Change?

Chlosta¹,

Pull²,

Futagami³

2014

MOS

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Organizational reward systems based on rank order tournaments are used throughout the world. Still, the tournament structures applied in different countries differ substantially: While in the U.S., promotion tournaments are the most prominent, Japanese organizations predominantly make use of bonus payment tournaments. In our paper, we ask why tournament structures might have evolved so differently in the two countries. Referring to recent advances in tournament theory showing that Japanese bonus payment tournaments dominate U.S. type promotion tournaments if employees are sufficiently risk-averse, we search for evidence that might hint at a higher degree of risk-aversion of Japanese as opposed to U.S. employees. Having identified cultural as well as institutional factors that indeed might foster a higher degree of risk aversion on the part of Japanese employees, we render one potential explanation why tournament structures in Japan differ from those in the U.S.. To the extent that institutional factors are currently changing in Japan, we expect to observe changes in tournament structures as well. We conclude by discussing the recent changes in Japanese institutions and culture and their potential implications for the future use of tournament structures.

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National Culture and Union Membership

Cited by 13 publications

References 69 publications

Union Membership Peaks in Midlife

Union Membership Peaks in Midlife

Union Membership Peaks in Midlife

Tournament Structures in Japan and the U.S. : Why are They Different and Will they Change?

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