A Biological Model of Unions
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Olken_A biological model.pdf
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270.24 KB
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Author(s)
Kremer, Michael
Olken, Benjamin A.
Date Issued
April 2009
Journal
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Publisher
American Economic Association
Citation
Kremer, Michael, and Benjamin A. Olken. 2009. "A Biological Model of Unions." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(2): 150–75.© 2009 AEA
Version
Final published version
Abstract
This paper applies principles from evolutionary biology to the study of unions. We show that unions that implement the preferred wage and organizing policies of workers will be displaced in evolutionary competition by unions that either extract less from firms, allowing them to live longer, or spend more on union organizing, or both. This implies that unions with constitutional incumbency advantages that allow leaders to depart from members' preferences may have a selective advantage, allowing them to grow at the expense of unions lacking such provisions. Evidence from the history of American unions supports these predictions. (JEL A12, J51)
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1257/app.1.2.150
