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Author: Medoff, James L.
Resulting in 3 citations.
1. Freeman, Richard B.
Medoff, James L.
The Impact of Collective Bargaining: Can the New Facts be Explained by Monopoly Unionism?
Discussion Paper No. 886, Harvard Institute of Economic Research, Havard University, Cambridge MA, 1982
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: Harvard Institute of Economic Research
Keyword(s): Behavior; Collective Bargaining; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Industrial Sector; Layoffs; Mobility, Job; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Private Sector; Quits; Unions

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this paper we focus our attention on the question of whether union-nonunion differences in nonwage outcomes can, in fact, be explained in terms of standard price-theoretic responses to real wage effects, as opposed to the real effect of unionism on economic behavior. We reach three basic conclusions. First, unions and collective bargaining have real economic effects on diverse nonwage variables which cannot be explained either in terms of price-theoretic responses to union wage effects or be attributed to the poor quality of our econometric "experiments." Second, we find that while sensitivity analyses of single-equation results and longitudinal experiments provide valuable checks on cross-sectional findings, multiple-equations approaches produced results which are too sensitive to small changes in models or samples to help resolve the questions of concern. Finally, on the basis of these findings we conclude that the search for an understanding of what unions do requires more than the standard price theoretic "monopoly" model of unionism. New (and/or old) perspectives based on institutional or industrial relations realities, contractarian or property rights theories, or other potential sources of creative views are also needed.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. and James L. Medoff. "The Impact of Collective Bargaining: Can the New Facts be Explained by Monopoly Unionism?" Discussion Paper No. 886, Harvard Institute of Economic Research, Havard University, Cambridge MA, 1982.
2. Freeman, Richard B.
Medoff, James L.
Two Faces of Unionism
NBER Working Paper No. 364, National Bureau of Economic Research, June 1979.
Also: http://www.nber.org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/papers/w0364
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Unions; Wage Growth

Our research demonstrates that the view of unions as organizations whose chief function is to raise wages is seriously misleading. For in addition to raising wages, unions have significant non-wage effects which influence diverse aspects of modern industrial life. By providing workers with a voice both at the workplace and in the political arena, unions can and do affect positively the functioning of the economic and social systems. Although our research on the non-wage effects of trade unions is by no means complete and some results will surely change as more evidence becomes available, enough work has been done to yield the broad outlines of a new view of unionism.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. and James L. Medoff. "Two Faces of Unionism." NBER Working Paper No. 364, National Bureau of Economic Research, June 1979.
3. Freeman, Richard B.
Medoff, James L.
Why Does the Rate of Youth Labor Force Activity Differ Across Surveys?
Presented: Arlie House, VA, Conference on Youth Joblessness and Employment, National Bureau of Economic Research, 1979
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Longitudinal Surveys; NLS of H.S. Class of 1972; Research Methodology; Unemployment

One prerequisite for analysis of the economic problem of youth is a set of sound estimates of the employment and labor force status of the young. Existing estimates of the extent of labor market involvement and the extent of work activity of the young based on the monthly Current Population Survey and from special longitudinal surveys of the young give strikingly different pictures of the labor market for young men. The purpose of this study is to answer these questions by providing a detailed quantitative analysis of the divergences between the rates of labor force activity for male youths indicated by these surveys.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. and James L. Medoff. "Why Does the Rate of Youth Labor Force Activity Differ Across Surveys?" Presented: Arlie House, VA, Conference on Youth Joblessness and Employment, National Bureau of Economic Research, 1979.