The Singapore Economic Review

Prior to the 1970s, unions in America represented nearly a third of the non-agricultural labor force with a significantly higher percentage in major manufacturing industries. Since then, union membership in the private sector has mirrored the steep decline in manufacturing jobs. Reduced numbers means greatly reduced political clout, such that unions today exercise almost no influence on national economic policy, even at a time of deep recession. From the 1980s onward, there has been a marked shift from a Keynesian macroeconomic framework toward a monetarist and liberal market model of economic policy, such that unions are viewed by many as anti-competitive in nature and as a constraint on a free market. This has further weakened their voice on policies relating to globalization. The minimal influence of unions and the lack of other mechanisms for collective employee voice have led to a weakening of policies designed to promote employment, even at a time of high unemployment. For over a decade, there have been no formal, or even regular informal tripartite discussions on employment policy matters. Moreover, even during a Democratic administration, unions have not been given a seat at the policy table.

Over the past 30 years, British unions have been marginalised from economic policymaking. Union membership and collective bargaining coverage have fallen dramatically, and the sometimes negative economic impact of unions at the workplace level has disappeared. While strong unions were once key contributors to macroeconomic problems such as high inflation, the weakening of organised labour has created other economic problems for policymakers in Britain, such as rising inequality. The social and political consequences of deepening inequality may force a reconsideration of the role of both the state and of unions in upholding labour standards.

The recent labor reforms implemented in Italy by the so-called "technocratic" Monti Government have challenged the traditional role of trade unions. On one side, the reforms in the pension and labor market have been approved without real consultation or bargaining with social parties, under the pressures from the financial and economic crisis and the austerity demanded by the EU central authorities. On the other side, the Government is urging trade unions to contribute to stimulating labor productivity in order to produce more growth and escape from such a long period of recession. The main aim of this article is to analyze the changing role of trade unions and then the real opportunities to open a new phase of social concertation, also taking into account the historical background of Italian industrial relations.

This paper is based on two strands of relative literature. The first examines the effect of sticky wages on international trade, unemployment and trade policy. The second strand looks at the effect of the exchange rate on wages. Related to this literature is the discussion in the European Union on establishing a common currency. In this paper, a theoretical and empirical model is developed which is tested using the Greek Labor Market as a case study. Also, a policy section discuss the options available to both the Greek policy makers and the leaders of Greek trade unions.

Many of the key reforms of the past three decades that helped to strengthen the Australian economy were implemented during the operation of the Accord that existed between Australian Labor Party governments and the union movement. In order to address structural economic problems, unions agreed to moderate wage outcomes and to facilitate the transition to workplace bargaining in return for social welfare gains for workers, which successive governments have maintained. These reforms helped to improve labor market efficiency and allowed firms to integrate successfully into international markets, without substantially compromising the interests of workers and their families, which thereby allowed economic dislocation and social unrest to be contained. In contrast to the assertions of certain Australian employer groups, research has consistently shown that union involvement in workplace bargaining has a benign impact on business productivity. However, declining membership presents a significant challenge to the capacity of Australian unions to influence economic outcomes at the national and workplace levels in the future.

Within just four decades Taiwan was able to transform itself from a poor and backward economy into a high income, newly-industrialized economy. Taiwan's outstanding economic performance during this period prompted the World Bank and other international organizations to refer to this transformation as the "Taiwan miracle," and other developing countries have been encouraged to learn from Taiwan's experience. Harmonious and stable labor–management relations was — one of the major factors contributed to this successful development because they facilitated the inflow of a large amount of direct foreign investment (DFI) and therefore provided the island with the capital and appropriate advanced technologies that were urgently needed, and generated a large number of employment opportunities. In this paper, we use the concept of social capital to explain the causes of the harmonious labor–management relations in the past, and discuss the possible future of Taiwan's labor–management relations.

Trade unions may exact a heavy cost on an economy, but there is one mode of trade unionism that will enable the trade union to play a positive role in economic development. This mode of unionism, which may be characterized as macro-focused, requires the trade union to work closely with the ruling party in order to contribute to economic development. The required symbiosis between such a trade union and the ruling party may not be sustainable when there is a change in government. This paper argues that a union can remain macro-focused as long as it is not part of any political party and therefore can work with any government regardless of which political party is in power. The paper will examine the various conditions, both economic and non-economic, under which such an outcome can exist and be sustainable. The paper will also analyze how a macro-focused union induces workers to join the union based on the results of a field survey of 690 respondents in Singapore.

This paper investigates the roles played by a macro-focused union in the stabilization of the employment level and wages during periods of demand shocks. A macro focused union sets the wage at the level which maximizes employment and provides union benefits to union members to counter free ridership. We set up a solid micro-foundation to derive the industry labor demands in normal periods and in periods with shocks. We argue that the roles played by the macro focused union lead to a more stable employment level which is beneficial to both the employers and employees.