Norm-Based Trade Union Membership: Evidence for Germany
29 Pages Posted: 19 Jan 2004
Date Written: December 2003
Abstract
In the absence of closed-shops and discriminatory wage policies, union membership can be explained by the existence of social norms. We describe a model, incorporating institutional features of the German labour market, which explicitly allows for social custom effects in the determination of union membership. Using panel data for Germany, we find evidence for according effects which restrict freeriding. The impact of social norms tends to increase with net union density. Hence, observed reductions in the demand for union membership can weaken the impact of a norm and accentuate the free-rider problem.
Keywords: Germany, norms, social custom, trade union membership
JEL Classification: D71, J51
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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