In an open-shop model of trade union membership with heterogeneity in risk attitudes, a worker's relative risk aversion can affect the decision to join a trade union. Furthermore, a shift in risk attitudes can alter collective bargaining outcomes. Using German panel data (GSOEP) and three novel...

This paper investigates how demographic change affects the financial sustainability of apay-as-you-gosocialsecuritysysteminanenvironmentwithcollectivebargainingonthe labor market. Partial equilibrium analysis shows that the contribution rate or the benefit level decreases, if the old-age...

Trade unions are often argued to cause allocative inefficiencies and to lower welfare. We analyze whether this evaluation is also justified in a Cournot-oligopoly with free but costly entry. If input markets are competitive and output per firm declines with the number of firms (business...