Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/34187 
Year of Publication: 
2006
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 2193
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Union density in Germany has declined remarkably during the last two decades. We estimate socio-economic and workplace-related determinants of union membership in East and West Germany using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel by means of Chamberlain-Mundlack correlated random effects probit models. Drawing on the estimates, we project net union densities (NUD) and analyze the differences between East and West Germany as well as the corresponding changes in NUD over time. Blinder-Oaxaca decompositions show that changes in the composition of the work force have only played a minor role for the deunionization trends in East and West Germany. In East-West comparison, differences in the characteristics of the work force reflect a lower quality of membership matches in East Germany right after German unification.
Subjects: 
union membership
union density
correlated random effects probit model
decomposition analysis
East Germany
West Germany
JEL: 
J51
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
270.43 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.