SOCIAL CUSTOM, MANAGEMENT OPPOSITION, AND TRADE-UNION MEMBERSHIP

This paper investigates the determinants of voluntary unionization in the labor market in a discrete-time version of the social custom model. Employer behavior in form of management opposition to union membership is explicitly taken into account. Conditions for the existence of unions in the long run are determined. It is shown that increasing the surplus per worker or the union bargaining power may have a negative impact on union density via more management opposition. Different incentives for management opposition can explain the greater success of unions in centralized bargaining systems.