Wage Differentials, Bargaining Protocols, and Trade Unionism in Mid-Twentieth Century American Labor Markets

Pencavel, John H.

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Wage Differentials, Bargaining Protocols, and Trade Unionism in Mid-Twentieth Century American Labor Markets

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13175

52 Pages Posted: 27 Apr 2020 Last revised: 6 May 2025

See all articles by John H. Pencavel

John H. Pencavel

Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Abstract

Income inequality has been lower in periods when trade unionism has been strong. Using observations on wages by occupation, by geography, and by gender in collective bargaining contracts from the 1940s to the 1970s, patterns in movements of wage differentials are revealed. As wages increased, some contracts maintained relative wage differentials constant, some maintained absolute differences in wages constant, others combined these two patterns, and some did not reveal an obvious pattern. The patterns persisted even as price inflation increased in the 1970s. The dominant pattern implies a reduction in inequality as usually measured.

Keywords: bargaining, wage differentials, income inequality, trade unions

JEL Classification: J31, J51, N32

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Pencavel, John H., Wage Differentials, Bargaining Protocols, and Trade Unionism in Mid-Twentieth Century American Labor Markets. IZA Discussion Paper No. 13175, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3584938