Interesting article. I recently read a study on teachers’ unions. It found that when union power was reduced in the public school system, student attainment generally went up. It also found evidence that teachers unions tended to overpromise and strain budgets by spending down reserves more quickly and then seeking tax hikes to pay for them.
This is, of course, perhaps a difference between unions in the public and private sectors. I will be incorporating these findings into an upcoming essay.
Yes - definitely. I only focused on a certain aspect of unions here and not a holistic view (the costs of unions). Moreover, there is also very little research on how unions should be structured (basically how big should they be and which groups of workers should they cover). It is an under-developed research topic in economics. Often economists focus on an 'easier' topic - minimum wages and its impacts, which is quite different from unions.
Interesting article. I recently read a study on teachers’ unions. It found that when union power was reduced in the public school system, student attainment generally went up. It also found evidence that teachers unions tended to overpromise and strain budgets by spending down reserves more quickly and then seeking tax hikes to pay for them.
This is, of course, perhaps a difference between unions in the public and private sectors. I will be incorporating these findings into an upcoming essay.
Yes - definitely. I only focused on a certain aspect of unions here and not a holistic view (the costs of unions). Moreover, there is also very little research on how unions should be structured (basically how big should they be and which groups of workers should they cover). It is an under-developed research topic in economics. Often economists focus on an 'easier' topic - minimum wages and its impacts, which is quite different from unions.
Looking forward to your essay!