Segmentation, switching costs and the demand for unionization in Britain

Bryson, Alex and Gomez, Rafael (2003) Segmentation, switching costs and the demand for unionization in Britain. CEP Discussion Papers (0568). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.

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Abstract

This paper explains why some employees who favor unionization fail to join, and why others who wish to abandon union membership continue paying dues. Our explanation is based on a model where employees incur switching (search) costs when attempting to abandon (acquire) union membership. Empirical analysis for Britain confirms one of the main predictions from the switching-cost- model that segmentation in the market for unionization persists even when mandatory membership provisions are eliminated and economy-wide density falls. The importance of these and other empirical findings for both theory and policy are discussed.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	http://cep.lse.ac.uk/
Additional Information:	© 2003 Alex Bryson and Rafael Gomez
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Date Deposited:	10 Jun 2008 14:19
Last Modified:	13 Sep 2024 19:51
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4947

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