Work

Do unions care about low‐paid workers? Evidence from Norway

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: One of the core objectives of unions is to raise the wages of the lowest paid. Utilizing a panel of individual‐matched employee–employer data covering the Norwegian private sector in the period 2000–2014, I investigate how workplace union density is related to individual low‐pay risk. By exploiting changes in tax deductions for union members in Norway as a source of exogenous variation, a negative effect of increased union density on low‐pay risk is identified within jobs. The results further suggest that the effect of local bargaining power on individual low‐pay probability is larger among immigrants than among natives.

Source: Industrial Relations A Journal of Economy and Society

DOI: 10.1111/irel.12349

Author: Elin Svarstad

Institutions: Norwegian University of Science and Technology, The Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research, Fafo Foundation

Language: English

Topic: Labor market dynamics and wage inequality

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Reduced inequalities, No poverty

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,140