The Role of Unions in the Twenty-First Century: A Report for the Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti

Contents......Page 14
List of Cotributors......Page 17
Part I. The Future of Collective Bargaining in Europe......Page 18
1. Introduction......Page 20
2. Union Membership......Page 28
2.1. Membership trends in the twentieth century: increased cross-national variation......Page 29
2.2. Union membership decline......Page 31
2.3. Why join a trade union?......Page 34
2.4. Cyclical explanations of union membership developments......Page 36
2.5. Structural explanations......Page 41
2.6. Institutional explanations......Page 49
2.7. Centralization and unionization......Page 51
2.8. Some additional empirical evidence on union membership......Page 53
2.9. New organizing strategies......Page 59
2.10. Conclusions......Page 62
3.1. Review of literature on union wage effects: theory and evidence......Page 64
3.2. The impact of trade, integration, and FDI in Europe on union bargaining power......Page 73
3.3. Conclusions......Page 76
4.1. What else do European unions do?......Page 78
4.2. How do they do it?......Page 87
4.3. The future of union presence......Page 100
4.4. Conclusions......Page 102
5.1. The conventional wisdom......Page 103
5.2. The interaction between bargaining structure and economic policy......Page 115
5.3. Bargaining structure and macroeconomic shocks......Page 121
5.4. Bargaining structure and the EMU......Page 126
5.5. Conclusions......Page 129
6.1. Prospects for union membership......Page 132
6.2. Four scenarios for collective bargaining in the future......Page 135
6.3. Possible union strategies......Page 149
Villy Bergström......Page 152
Robert Flanagan......Page 155
References......Page 160
Part II. What do Unions do to the Welfare States?......Page 174
1. Introduction......Page 176
2. Unions' Involvement in the Welfare State......Page 180
2.1. Unions and the welfare state development......Page 181
2.2. Unions and membership structure......Page 189
2.3. Unions as a political movement......Page 192
2.4. Unions and social insurance administration......Page 194
2.5. Unions and occupational welfare......Page 198
2.6. Institutional and political veto points......Page 200
3.1. What unions do to pensions: economic theory......Page 204
3.2. The importance of institutional setting......Page 212
3.3. What unions do in practice: empirical evidence on unions and pensions......Page 214
4. Learning from Welfare Reforms: The Case of Public Pensions......Page 228
4.1. Long-term and short-term reform pressures on pay-as-you-go systems......Page 232
4.2. Tax financing or payroll contributions?......Page 234
4.3. Reversing early retirement......Page 237
4.4. How to calculate benefits fairly......Page 240
4.5. Privatization by mandated or voluntary occupational pensions?......Page 242
4.6. Towards more funded private pension systems......Page 245
4.7. Unilateral or negotiated reforms?......Page 247
5.1. Unemployment insurance and the demand for union membership......Page 251
5.2. Unemployment insurance, wage bargaining, and unemployment......Page 255
5.3. How do unions influence unemployment insurance policies?......Page 258
5.4. Unemployment insurance reforms......Page 261
5.5. How could a Ghent system help other European countries?......Page 264
6.1. Do unions interact with the welfare state? How do they do it?......Page 265
6.2. What explains union policies towards welfare outcomes?......Page 267
6.3. Which institutional structure best increases union welfare-enhancing activities relative to rent-seeking activities?......Page 268
6.4. Can unions contribute to a reform of welfare systems?......Page 269
A1. A model of trade unions and long-term benefits......Page 271
A2. Bargaining......Page 281
A3. Political economy considerations within the union......Page 282
A4. Endogenous membership......Page 290
A5. Proofs......Page 292
Gilles Saint-Paul......Page 295
Michele Salvati......Page 298
References......Page 303
Olivier Blanchard......Page 309
Stephen Nickell......Page 313
C......Page 316
F......Page 317
L......Page 318
P......Page 319
U......Page 320
Z......Page 321