TY - JOUR

T1 - Determinants of trade union membership in West Germany

T2 - evidence from micro data, 1980 - 2000

AU - Schnabel, Claus

AU - Wagner, Joachim

PY - 2005/1/1

Y1 - 2005/1/1

N2 - An empirical analysis of various waves of the ALLBUS social survey shows that union density fell substantially in West Germany from 1980 to 2000. Such a negative trend can be observed for men and women and for different groups of the workforce. Repeated cross-sectional analyses suggest that a number of personal, occupational and attitudinal variables such as sex, occupational status, firm size and political orientation play a role in the unionization process, although the influence of some variables is not robust over time. While the results are consistent with cost-benefit considerations on the sides of employees and unions, our estimations do not support individualization theory and they cast some doubt on a crucial prediction from social custom theory. © Oxford University Press and the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics 2005. All rights reserved.

AB - An empirical analysis of various waves of the ALLBUS social survey shows that union density fell substantially in West Germany from 1980 to 2000. Such a negative trend can be observed for men and women and for different groups of the workforce. Repeated cross-sectional analyses suggest that a number of personal, occupational and attitudinal variables such as sex, occupational status, firm size and political orientation play a role in the unionization process, although the influence of some variables is not robust over time. While the results are consistent with cost-benefit considerations on the sides of employees and unions, our estimations do not support individualization theory and they cast some doubt on a crucial prediction from social custom theory. © Oxford University Press and the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics 2005. All rights reserved.

KW - Economics

KW - Deutschland

KW - Gewerkschaft

KW - Empirische Wirtschaftsforschung

KW - Germany

KW - Union density

KW - Union membership

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=11844301617&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/51d2014b-e604-3222-9153-10032ee62927/

U2 - 10.1093/SER/mwh011

DO - 10.1093/SER/mwh011

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 3

SP - 1

EP - 24

JO - Socio-Economic Review

JF - Socio-Economic Review

SN - 1475-1461

IS - 1

ER -