The (Non-) Effect of Labor Unionization on Firm Risk: Evidence From the Options Market
50 Pages Posted: 17 Dec 2018 Last revised: 21 Dec 2020
Date Written: December 1, 2020
Abstract
Labor unionization has no causal effect on firm risk. Using a regression discontinuity design to study the impact of labor union elections on option-implied firm risk, we find that unionization per se does not affect investor perceptions about firm price, tail, or variance risk. This finding is robust to studying very short (5-trading day) and long (up to 2-year) windows around the elections. Moreover, there is no unionization effect on firm risk either in subsets of firms facing strong union bargaining power, or with characteristics that prior literature identifies as important determinants of the effect of unionization on firm outcomes.
Keywords: Unionization, Labor Power, Option-Implied Firm Risk, Regression Discontinuity Design
JEL Classification: J51, G30, G32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation