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Atelier ouvert, syndicats et concurrence sur le marché du produit .
Author(s) -
Bastos Paulo,
Kreickemeier Udo,
Wright Peter W.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
canadian journal of economics/revue canadienne d'économique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1540-5982
pISSN - 0008-4085
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-5982.2010.01587.x
Subject(s) - product market , competition (biology) , economics , market power , product (mathematics) , bargaining power , labour economics , power (physics) , microeconomics , monopoly , incentive , ecology , physics , quantum mechanics , biology , geometry , mathematics
Evidence on the effect of product market competition on unionized wages is mixed. In this paper we show theoretically that the result may reflect genuine heterogeneity in the response of union wages to product market conditions. For low levels of unionization, union bargaining power may actually be enhanced by market competition, as firms have more to lose when there is a strike. Using recent data from the UK, we explore interactions between the level of industry competition and unionization, and find supporting evidence for this hypothesis.