This paper examines the evolution, institutional structure, and challenges of collective bargaining in Germany. Collective bargaining addresses labor market imperfections, redistributes productivity gains, and shapes working conditions. Germany's system centers on industry‐level agreements, complemented by firm‐level agreements and voluntary adoption by formally uncovered firms (“orientation”). Historically, it has fostered cooperative labor–management relations while retaining flexibility during downturns. We document long‐term declines in union density and bargaining coverage, partly offset by orientation, with especially low coverage among low‐wage workers. Finally, we discuss the future of collective bargaining, the growing role of the statutory minimum wage, and comparisons with the US.
We study the causal impact of Chile's 2017 labor reform—which banned the replacement of striking workers and restricted unilateral extension of collective benefits—on strike activity, wages, and employment. Using administrative data on all regulated collective negotiations from 2008 to 2024 in a difference‐in‐differe...
Martín Dibarrart, E. Puentes, Tomás Rau· Industrial Relations· 0 citations
This study approaches minimum wage determination in Türkiye not merely as a technical bargaining process over the wage level, but also as a multi-actor decision-making arena jointly shaped by institutional rules, voting arrangements, and power relations among the parties. Its main objective is to explain why, and under...
Kerem Çolak· International Journal of Man...· 0 citations
Employers in Germany argue that collective agreements restrict their flexibility concerning working hours. Using data from the IAB Establishment Panel for the years 2008 to 2024, we investigate working-time adjustments after exit from collective bargaining. We find that exit is associated with only a modest increase in...
This paper investigates how changes in the bargaining power of trade unions affect firm-level innovation through their impact on quality investment, within a model of heterogeneous firms. In a closed economy setting, we find that an increase in union bargaining power reduces average quality investment at the industry...
Antonio Navas, Antonella Nocco· Economic Theory· 0 citations
This article addresses the key trends and challenges facing trade unionism in Portugal, with an emphasis on the first quarter of the 21st century. It examines changes in the unions’ capacity for organization and mobilization, their institutional bargaining power, and tripartite consultation, as well as their relationsh...
Campos Lima Maria da Paz, Reinhard Naumann· RBEST: Revista Brasileira de...· 0 citations
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