Moral Economies or Hidden Talents? A Longitudinal Analysis of Union Decline and Wage Inequality, 1973–2015

VanHeuvelen, Tom

doi:10.1093/sf/soy045

Cited by 39 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Membership in a labor union has been found to raise wages for all but the highest wage earners (Firpo et al 2009), with effects particularly pronounced for blue-collar workers (Western and Rosenfeld 2011), less skilled workers (Freeman andMedoff 1984, Farber et al 2018), and less educated workers (Rosenfeld et al 2016). Previous research has shown that the wage premium paid to union members ranges between 5% and 30%, depending on how unobserved heterogeneity is accounted for (Card et al 2004, Maxwell 2008, Rosenfeld 2014, Wilmers 2017, VanHeuvelen 2018a. This union premium has been remarkably consistent over time.…”

Section: Background Power Resources Politics and Union Changementioning

confidence: 90%

The Right to Work, Power Resources, and Economic Inequality

VanHeuvelen

2020

American Journal of Sociology

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How do Right to Work laws affect the distribution of economic r esources? While sociological theories would predict inequality to increase following the passage of Right to Work laws, previous research has found these laws to be largely inconsequential for economic inequality. Drawing on power resources theory, I reassess the consequences of Right to Work laws and allow their impact to depend upon local union membership. To do so, I construct unique datasets at the state and commuting zone levels of income and wage inequality, merging data from the Internal Revenue Service, the US census, the American Community Survey, the US Union Sourcebook, the Current Population Survey, and the National Labor Relations Board for years 1939 to 2016. After using two-way fixed effects and instrumental variable regression models to replicate inconsistent results of previous studies, I show that these mask substantial and robust heterogeneity across local areas. Simply put, Right to Work laws are highly consequential when passed in times and places where labor has something to lose. Right to Work laws remove the negative association between labor union membership and inequality, while the consequences of Right to Work passage are greatest in highly unionized areas. In total, results suggest that Right to Work laws work as intended, increasing economic inequality indirectly by lowering labor power resources. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.

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Section: Background Power Resources Politics and Union Changementioning

confidence: 90%

The Right to Work, Power Resources, and Economic Inequality

VanHeuvelen

2020

American Journal of Sociology

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Section: Background Power Resources Politics and Union Changementioning

confidence: 91%

The Right to Work, Power Resources, and Economic Inequality

VanHeuvelen¹

2019

Preprint

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How do Right to Work laws affect the distribution of economic resources? While sociological theories would predict inequality to increase following the passage of Right to Work laws, previous research has found these laws to be largely inconsequential for economic inequality. Drawing on power resources theory, I reassess the consequences of Right to Work laws and allow their impact to depend upon local union membership. To do so, I construct unique datasets at the state and commuting zone levels of income and wage inequality, merging data from the Internal Revenue Service, the US census, the American Community Survey, the US Union Sourcebook, the Current Population Survey, and the National Labor Relations Board for years 1939 to 2016. After using two-way fixed effects and instrumental variable regression models to replicate inconsistent results of previous studies, I show that these mask substantial and robust heterogeneity across local areas. Simply put, Right to Work laws are highly consequential when passed in times and places where labor has something to lose. Right to Work laws remove the negative association between labor union membership and inequality, while the consequences of Right to Work passage are greatest in highly unionized areas. In total, results suggest that Right to Work laws work as intended, increasing economic inequality indirectly by lowering labor power resources. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.

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“…In the U.S., worker representation and collective bargaining have been in steady decline since the 1970s, but with variation at the local and industry level (Brady, Baker, et al, 2013;Wallace et al, 2009;Western and Rosenfeld, 2011). Accompanying this shift is a broader pattern of norm change (Kim et al, 2015;Mizruchi, 2013;VanHeuvelen, 2018a) and a plethora of measures favoring the accumulation of corporate profit and marginalization of workers (Jacobs and Myers, 2014;Tope and Jacobs, 2009;Volscho and Kelly, 2012).…”

Section: Toward An Institutionally Informed Accountmentioning

confidence: 99%

Industrial Automation and Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States

Berger¹,

Engzell²

2020

Preprint

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The maturation of industrial society has long been seen as an engine of occupational upgrading and opportunity. Following the rise of the factory, the assembly line, and the office computer, some claim that we are now entering a fourth industrial revolution where autonomous systems are transforming the nature of work. What are the consequences of this transformation for intergenerational income mobility?Examining variation across 722 U.S. labor markets, we find that intergenerational persistence is higher in areas heavily exposed to industrial automation. These effects are rooted in childhood experiences and concentrated among men from disadvantaged homes. Unequal labor relations appear to exacerbate the association, while affordable access to college ameliorates it. The received view of industrial change as an engine of mobility should be revised to consider the institutional context of automation.to high-status colleges: A cross-country comparison," Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 42,

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Moral Economies or Hidden Talents? A Longitudinal Analysis of Union Decline and Wage Inequality, 1973–2015

Cited by 39 publications

References 69 publications

The Right to Work, Power Resources, and Economic Inequality

The Right to Work, Power Resources, and Economic Inequality

The Right to Work, Power Resources, and Economic Inequality

Industrial Automation and Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States

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