City Research Online

Abstract

Using panel data on union locals in the United States we examine the dynamics of the union sector, investigating the impact of inter-union competition on locals’ productivity and survival. We find low entry rates, high exit rates and high levels of productivity dispersion in the sector. The entry of new locals is not associated with productivity improvements among incumbents but has a small negative association with locals’ survival rates. These findings indicate that inter-union competition is not effective in raising productivity and the effects of creative destruction are weak, with these processes likely insufficient to stem the sector’s overall decline.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2026 The Author(s). Economic Inquiry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Western Economic Association International. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher Keywords:	business dynamics; competition; productivity; TFP; trade unions; survival; supply- side
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
Departments:	Bayes Business School Bayes Business School > Faculty of Management
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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