NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH
NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH

Unemployment and the Demand for Unions

David G. Blanchflower, Robert Crouchley, Saul Estrin, Andrew Oswald

NBER Working Paper No. 3251*
Issued in February 1990
NBER Program(s):   LS

Why do people join open-shop unions when they would receive union wage

rates even if they were not members? Why are unionization rates so low in the

south-east of England? To address these questions, which we treat as interrelated,

the paper considers the idea that unions offer insurance against

victimization and arbitrary dismissal. Consistent with our theoretical

approach, we find that union density is greatest, ceteris paribus, within

establishments in areas of high unemployment.

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