Publication
Title
The bargaining position of low-skilled and high-skilled workers in a globalising world
Author
Abstract
This paper extends the assessment of the impact of globalisation and technological change on the bargaining power and preferences of employees, by taking worker heterogeneity into account. In contrast with previous studies, two separate unions - representing low-skilled and high-skilled workers respectively - are considered. Using Belgian firm-level data, labour bargaining power and relative wage preference have been estimated by skill level. When these estimates are subsequently regressed on a set of potential determinants, the bargaining power of low-skilled workers appears to fall with imports and offshoring, whereas the bargaining power of high-skilled workers is only positively affected by R&D activities. In addition, a significant effect of globalisation is found on the relative preference of unions for wages over employment, indicating that the effect of globalisation on the behaviour of labour unions is more encompassing than frequently assumed. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Labour economics : official journal of the European Association of Labour Economists. - Amsterdam, 1993, currens
Publication
Amsterdam : Elsevier , 2012
ISSN
0927-5371 [print]
1879-1034 [online]
DOI
10.1016/J.LABECO.2012.02.005
Volume/pages
19 :3 (2012) , p. 312-319
ISI
000304644200005
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 03.07.2012
Last edited 09.10.2023
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