Work

Councils of contentment: works councils and income perceptions

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we provide a comprehensive investigation of the relationship between workplace co-determination in the form of works councils and income satisfaction. Controlling for a wide range of individual, job-related, and firm-level characteristics in OLS and fixed effects specifications, we observe that employees working in establishments with a works council report significantly higher income satisfaction compared to their counterparts in non-co-determined firms. Rank in the income distribution, perceived fairness of the wage, and working conditions emerge as quantitatively relevant factors in explaining the positive correlation.

Source: Journal of Population Economics

DOI: 10.1007/s00148-026-01181-z

Authors: Laszlo Goerke, Sven A. Hartmann, Yue Huang

Institutions: Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Universität Trier

Language: English

Topic: Labor Movements and Unions

Subfield: Public Administration

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

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

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,190