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The Effect of Labor Relations Laws on Unionization Rates within the Labor Force: Evidence from the Canadian Provinces
Author(s) -
Legree Scott,
Schirle Tammy,
Skuterud Mikal
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
industrial relations: a journal of economy and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.61
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1468-232X
pISSN - 0019-8676
DOI - 10.1111/irel.12187
Subject(s) - labor relations , labour economics , economics , inequality , industrial relations , wage , wage inequality , demographic economics , management , mathematical analysis , mathematics
We examine the potential of labor‐relations reforms to address wage inequality by relating an index of the favorableness to unions of Canadian provincial labor‐relations laws to changes in industry, occupation, education, and gender‐specific provincial unionization rates. While we find some evidence of larger unionization gains among high‐school–educated workers, the differences across groups are small and in some cases suggest larger gains among professionals. Overall, the results suggest a limited potential for reforms in labor‐relations laws to mitigate growing labor‐market inequality.