The Effect of Unions on the Structure of Wages: A Longitudinal Analysis
Abstract
This paper studies the effects of unions on the structure of wages using an estimation technique that accounts for misclassification errors in reported union status and potential correlations between union status and unobserved productivity. The model is estimated separately for five skill groups using a panel data set formed from the U.S. Current Population Survey. The results suggest that unions raise wages more for workers with lower levels of observed skills. Union workers are positively selected from the population of workers with lower levels of observed skill and negatively selected from the population with higher observed skills. Copyright 1996 by The Econometric Society.
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Union status is often measured with error.
“As union status is often measured with error (see, e.g. Freeman, 1984; Card, 1996), we discard changes in union status happening twice in three consecutive years.”
From Two-Way Fixed Effects Estimators with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects (2020) · cites this paper as Card, 1996
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References 10 · Cited by 692
- Authors
- Card, D.
- Corresponding author
- Card, David
- ORCID
- Card, David
- Venue
- Econometrica
- Publisher
- JSTOR
- Published
- 1996-07
- Volume
- 64
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 957
- ISSN
- 0012-9682 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2109605428
- Cited by
- 692
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 21
- FWCI
- 36.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Econometrica (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Labor market dynamics and wage inequality
- Social Sciences › Public Administration › Labor Movements and Unions
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › General Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Global trade and economics
- Keywords
- trade unions, wage structure, union wage premium, skill differentials, productivity, positive selection, negative selection, union membership
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