Globalization, Regionalization, and Union Decline in 18 Affluent Democracies during the Neoliberal Era

• In Event: 312 - Regular Session. Labor/Labor Movements: Labor Movements in Global, State and Local Contexts

Abstract

This paper examines the sources of union decline in 18 affluent democracies during the neoliberal period. We use a fixed effects pooled time-series design to examine the effects of four dimensions of globalization on union density. In separate models, we find that trade openness, immigration, and financialization negatively affect unionization, while capital mobility has positive effects. We also examine how regionalization—as indicated by membership in the European Union (EU)—affects globalization’s effects on unionization. We find that EU membership moderates the negative effects of globalization on union density; that is, capital mobility, immigration, and financialization have less negative effects on unionization for countries who are EU members than for those which are not. We examine the temporal variability of these effects and find that differences between EU and non-EU countries are relatively large in the early part of the neoliberal period, but these differences diminish in the latter part of the period. We conclude that globalization’s effects on union decline must be interpreted against the backdrop of regionalization.

Authors

• Todd Vachon, University of Connecticut

• Michael E. Wallace, University of Connecticut

• Allen Hyde, University of Connecticut