International Handbook of Trade Unions

by John T. Addison, Claus Schnabel

Overview

This Handbook is an authoritative and invaluable reference tool, uniquely analysing the forces governing unionism, union behaviour and union impact from a variety of perspectives, both theoretical and empirical. The 14 chapters are written in an accessible style by acknowledged leading specialists from the fields of economics and industrial relations. They offer a truly international perspective on this important subject.

This superbly comprehensive Handbook examines the determinants of union membership, models of union behaviour and the economics of strikes, as well as the effects of unions on wages, pay inequality and firm performance (to include innovation). It also analyses trade unions as political actors and their impact on macroeconomic performance. Institutional detail is added in specific chapters documenting recent developments in the US and the UK, and prospects for a Europeanization of collective bargaining. A review of union density in more than 100 nations, is also provided.

The Handbook is suited to a range of courses and is aptly designed to meet the needs of students - from undergraduates upwards - and academics in the fields of economics, industrial relations, human resources management, as well as general labour scholars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781840649796
Publisher:	Edward Elgar Publishing
Publication date:	12/29/2003
Series:	Elgar Original Reference Series
Pages:	576
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Edited by John T. Addison, Hugh C. Lane Professor of Economic Theory, University of South Carolina, Columbia, US and Professor of Economics, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK and Claus Schnabel, Professor of Economics, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

Table of Contents

Contents:
1. Introduction
John T. Addison and Claus Schnabel
2. Determinants of Trade Union Membership
Claus Schnabel
3. Economic Models of Union Behaviour
Robin Naylor
4. Unions, Bargaining and Strikes
Peter Cramton and Joseph Tracy
5. Unions and Productivity, Financial Performance and Investment: International Evidence
David Metcalf
6. Collective Bargaining and Macroeconomic Performance
Robert J. Flanagan
7. Changes Over Time in Union Relative Wage Effects in the UK and the USA Revisited
David Blanchflower and Alex Bryson
8. Unions and the Wage Structure
David Card, Thomas Lemieux and W. Craig Riddell
9. Unions and Innovation: A Survey of the Theory and Empirical Evidence
Naercio Menezes-Filho and John Van Reenen
10. Trade Unions as Political Actors
Wolfgang Streeck and Anke Hassel
11. Unions and Unionism Around the World
Jelle Visser
12. Recent Changes in the Industrial Relations Framework in the UK
John T. Addison and W. Stanley Siebert
13. Europeanization of Collective Bargaining
Dieter Sadowski, Oliver Ludewig and Florian Turk
14. Contemporary Developments in and Challenges to Collective Bargaining in the United States
John Delaney
Index

Editorial Reviews

'A fine collection, written by the world's leading experts in this important area. If you want to know about what has been happening at the frontier of recent research on unions, this is the book for you.'

Andrew J. Oswald

'This volume is the definitive word on the topic, and likely will remain so for some time. The editors have done a remarkable job of compiling a list of contributors that reads like a "Who's Who" on the topic, ensuring quality control and summarizing a daunting amount of material. Given the dramatic changes that have been occurring throughout the world with respect to trade unions, this is a timely and welcomed contribution.'

Morley Gunderson

'The chapters are of uniformly very high quality and, taken together, represent an authoritative and comprehensive assessment of the behavior and effects of trade unions, at least in the West. This truly state-of-the-art collection earns the moniker "handbook", and deserves to be placed within close reach as a standard reference.'

Richard P. Chaykowski

'The editors have successfully drawn together leading authorities and experts in the field to outline some key aspect within the modern international trade union movement. . . Each contribution is well-researched with clearly expressed arguments set in context to ensure the reader is able, not just to follow the lines of thought, but also to develop and pursue further inquiry. . . There is a strong international dimension that runs through a number of chapters. There is an excellent index and the references and endnotes are to a high standard. This book is essential for contextual reading in any major university and will be of particular relevance to those studying economics or the social sciences.'

Ronan O'Beirne